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Postcard from Japan … travel and our Big USA Get-Together!

Our very first official "Stitch Trip"

Last month marked an important milestone for Stitch, when Stitch Travel held the very first official “Stitch Trip“, a journey to walk the famous Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage in Japan. A small group of intrepid over 50 Stitch members from a variety of locations all over the world accompanied me on a journey of friendship, adventure, connection and discovery that we hoped would be life-changing.

The Stitch Travel page has been running for a while now, with members travelling together in small groups on a range of trips, but this was very the first custom trip we organized solely for members of the Stitch community.

To all those members who have been asking me how the trip went: I am happy to say that the trip far exceeded our wildest expectations, and helped paint a picture for what travel can do for the community: a way to enrich lives, build friendships, and strengthen the community. but most of all, have a whole lot of fun!

The experience of the trip was so rewarding that we’ve already made plans for an even BIGGER get-together for Stitch members in September/October this year.

In case you haven’t heard, we’re calling it the Big Stitch Trip 2025, and it marks the return of Stitch hosting a major event each year in a variety of different locations to bring our members together, just like we did prior to the pandemic

Only this time, things are even better, as we are combining our get-together with a unique journey created especially for the Stitch Community.

The 2025 Big Stitch Trip is taking place in north-western USA. and will bring together not just the members who come on the trip with me, but also members of our local Stitch communities in Seattle, Portland, greater Oregon, northern California, and the San Francisco Bay Area, along with members from all over the US, Australia, the UK, Canada, and more.

It’s going to be truly extraordinary.

The plans for the trip go far beyond just the tour itself, and are very exciting. We’ll be confirming final numbers for the trip this month, so if you’ve been sitting on the fence then make sure you get in quick if you don’t want to miss out!

Later in this article I’ll give some extra info about what we’ve got planned for the USA Get-Together, so please read on to find out more.

In the meantime, however, take a look at the video below to get an idea of how life-changing a Stitch Trip can be as a member of the Stitch community.

After all, anyone can do a trip at any time. But it’s only on the Big Stitch Trip that you’re going to be welcomed with open arms by members of each local community we visit, as part of our wonderful Stitch family. It’s going to be like nothing you’ve ever experienced.

I can’t wait!

Visiting a country like Japan is always amazing, but for me what made the trip truly special were the connections and bonds I made with everyone who came on the trip.

We shared so many rewarding conversations and experiences. There were too many for me to list them all, but they included:

  • Laughing uncontrollably with Clara and Bernadette on our final night;
  • Talking to Paul about grief, resilience, and the meaning of life;
  • Being inspired by the patience and determination of Vivian, who did the entire pilgrimage but still had time to help others on the way;
  • Seeing the delight Sarah and Peter (who met on Stitch and are getting married later this year) took in just about everything;
  • Deep conversations with Gina about challenges we face in our own lives;
  • Watching Robin & Julie’s mesmerising tea ceremony;
  • Being in awe of the way Deb embraced the spirit of community on the trip, and embodied the heart and soul of what it means to be a member of Stitch.

Feedback from the attendees was absolutely inspiring too, many of whom left the trip telling us they would like to get even more involved in making a positive impact in the community once they return home.

Here are just some of the things they said:

  • “This trip has been absolutely amazing, and the best one I’ve had in my life.”
  • This has been one of the best trips of my life — honestly.”
  • Great company, great laughs, and memories.”
  • “This trip wasn’t just a holiday, it was an experience that opened my eyes. … I came home feeling like I want to be a better human because of it.”
  •  “Thank you so much for this opportunity, I am incredibly grateful.”
  • “I would encourage other Stitch members to go on trips organised by Stitch and find their tribe.”

Scroll to the bottom of this article for some photos of the trip to give you a sense of what that experience was like.

One of the things we aimed for with the Japan trip was to give everyone time to travel and explore on their own when they wanted, while also giving them opportunities to travel together, and come together at the end of the day to bond and share stories of their experiences.

We’ve incorporated that idea, along with all the feedback from the Japan trip, and rolled it into our plans for the Big Stitch Trip 2025, as we want our big USA community get-together to be just as life-changing for everyone who comes along.

We will be rotating the destination we choose for our annual “Big Stitch Trip” each year, so it’s probably going to be several years before we host a get-together in the US again. So if you want to be part of this incredible experience, make sure you don’t miss out!

You can book your place on the Big Stitch Trip here.

Here is taste of what we have planned.

The Big Stitch USA Get-Together

Trafalgar Tours have put together a fantastic itinerary for us to experience one of the most beautiful parts of the United States: the Pacific Northwest.

We will be travelling through landscape blessed with both natural and cultural wonders, with a massive variety of experiences from cities like Seattle, Portland, and San Francisco, to regional wineries, incredible natural landmarks like Mount St Helens and California’s redwood forests, and smaller communities that highlight the amazing diversity of places that few get the opportunity to visit.  

As we found on the Japan trip, these will all be experiences that help us form new friendships and bonds among everyone in the group.

It will also help that along the way, we’ll be staying in great hotels, travelling in comfort, and dining in style, as we explore the cities we visit!

United Stated of America travel for over 50s connection

What makes the trip truly unique, however, are all the local Stitch community events and activities we will experience, and members we will meet, along the way.

Stitch members like Nakano in Seattle, Susan and Meg in Portland, and Bruce, Margarite and Kim in San Francisco are already at work organizing get-togethers where the local community members can come along to meet everyone on the trip.

We’ll even have Dawn and others organizing a group of Stitch members from the greater Oregon area to come to welcome us at the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, on our way south from Portland!

In addition, during the days we get to explore each city, local community members will also be organizing Stitch activities that showcase the sorts of things they love most about the cities we’ll be visiting. You’ll get to choose which activities you like the best as you are welcomed by members of the local Stitch community.

If there has ever been an opportunity to experience what I mean when I talk about Stitch being one big family, then this is it.

Our final Gala event in San Francisco is shaping up to be the biggest get-together we host this year, and will give all our members an opportunity to experience what a fun and welcoming experience a big Stitch event can be.

I’m lucky enough to have been to a bunch of these events over the years, and they are invariably one of the highlights of my year. I hope to see you on the dance floor! 

As I mentioned earlier, we’ll be confirming numbers for the trip by the end of the month, so if you want to come along, you’ll need to reserve your spot soon. You can book your place on the Stitch Travel page here. If you’ve got any questions about the trip, just let us know.

We know it’s going to be amazing, and give us a bunch of memories we will treasure forever. I can’t wait to share the experience with everyone who attends, and with all the members who will be coming to our events along the way.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some photos from the Japan trip to help you imagine the sorts of friendships and experiences we hope to bring to everyone as part of our great big USA get-together.

Let us know what you think in the comments below!

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