Just as we are enjoying the rich fall colors in the area, we will be looking for beautiful fall leaves on our trip to Nashville, Tenn.

We will depart at 8 a.m. Sunday morning for the country music capital. We will leave from the Walmart parking lot’s south entrance.

We will have one stay en route to Nashville, and will arrive in time for a full schedule of activities. The Grand Ole Opry will be on the first evening’s schedule.

We are also planning a trip to the new $40 million Country Music Hall of Fame. We will share our tour with you after we return from this seven-day trip.

•Oct. 23: We will be off to the Old Log Theater near Excelsior, Minn. We are looking forward to coming to our first show since the new owners have taken possession. The revised lunch menu will make it hard to choose, though the walleye and smoked pork chops still reign as the most popular. We will leave at 9 a.m. from Walmart And will return about 6:15 p.m.

•Nov. 13-16: We will be visiting Branson Mo., for a Christmas themed Journey. Our first night will be in Kansas City with a museum tour of the Steamboat Arabia.

In 1856, when the Arabia was bound for Council Bluffs, Iowa, it struck a snag near Parksville, Iowa, and sunk.

It was filled with more than 200 tons of fine dishware, jewelry, guns, gold, and other precious items aboard when it sank. Fast forward to the year 1988. The river’s course changed and the buried Arabia was discovered beneath a Kansas farm field . Men and machines have been working on the spot 45 feet underground to unearth what would become the discovery of a lifetime.

During the tour we will see people cleaning the cargo of the 171-foot ship.

Day two will have us enjoying the Christmas spirit of Branson along with Veterans Week. They are so patriotic and grateful for all of our veterans, whether its Veterans Day or at each show.

The shows we will see this year include: “Six,” “The Bretts Family 15th Anniversary,” “Hits of the 60s,” “The Lennon Sisters and Osmond tribute to Andy Williams,”and a choice of the “Miracle of Christmas” or “Shoji.”

•Dec. 11: The Chanhassen Dinner Theater for “The Fiddler on the Roof.”

Dec. 31 – Jan. 1, 2014: Our New Year’s Eve gala. This year our visit will be to Chippewa Falls, Wis. and the Fanny Hill Theater for their holiday dinner show. Early sign-up has begun and encouraged.

Our winter getaway will be to the Panama Canal, Feb. 4-12, 2014. A reminder that this is an open invitation for members and non- members to join us. Call our Travel number at 507-438-3946. Our mailing address is 1002 16th St. SW, Austin, MN, 55912.