New programs can get us moving this spring | SENIOR OUTLOOK

The crocuses are up, and the daffodils too. Spring is on its way. After all, it is March, so the days should warm and the sap start flowing. It makes us all want to be up and doing as well, doesn’t it?

The crocuses are up, and the daffodils too. Spring is on its way. After all, it is March, so the days should warm and the sap start flowing.

It makes us all want to be up and doing as well, doesn’t it?

For some, that means getting to work in the garden. For others, the travel bug begins to nip at the brain. If you are one of the latter, you’ll be interested to learn of the Bainbridge Island Senior Community Center’s newest program, Adventures in Travel.

Bob Leik introduced the program on Friday, March 1, with photos and information from his recent trip to New Zealand and New Caledonia. On Friday, March 15, Heather Ross shared photos and experiences from her year in Kenya volunteering at a Massai tribal school.

How about you? Have you been somewhere interesting recently that you would be willing to present to others as an interesting place to visit? Your pictures and stories could be just the thing needed to help someone looking for their next great trip.

And if you are that person searching for the perfect journey to satisfy your wanderlust, come to the senior center dining room at 10 a.m. the first and third Fridays of the month for inspiration and ideas.

If travel closer to home, and/or a love of the garden are more to your liking, be sure to sign up for the Skagit Tulip Festival on April 10.

If you’ve not been before, you are in for a grand treat. In addition to a wonderful walk through the rows and rows of every imaginable variety of tulip or daffodil you might want in your garden (all available in bulb form in the Roozengarde Gardens store), You will learn about the origin and care of these wonderful blooms.

This is an all-day trip, from 9 a.m to 6:30 p.m. so in addition to the tulip gardens, there will be time for lunch and shopping in the interesting town of La Conner nearby.

Perhaps the early signs of spring sprouting up all around us these days gives you a sense of balance and contentment that you’d love to have in your life all year around. T’ai Chi Chih is the way to attain that goal.

Donna Moore, our certified instructor, is offering a new class that continues every Wednesday through April 24 from noon to 1 p.m. Register at the senior center in person or call them at 206-842-1616. For additional information, contact Moore at dmoore@bainbridge.net or 206-842-2170.

Once you have learned the 20 easy moves of T’ai Chi Chih during the eight-week class, you can continue to practice with the ongoing T’ai Chi Chih group that meets every Wednesday from 11 to 11:30 a.m. in Huney Hall at the Waterfront Park Community Center.

If you are already one of the “regulars” at the 11 a.m. sessions, be sure to look into the upcoming T’ai Chi Chih Mini-Retreat, in Portland, Ore. April 26- 27. (See Moore for details.)

Whether gardening, traveling, learning a new practice, or just enjoying walks in our lengthening, warming days, may spring flow into your veins. It’s time to pack the thermal underwear away!