Alumni connect while cruising Panama Canal
Bobcats on the “Gateway To Sunshine” cruise pose with an OHIO flag for a group photo. Photos courtesy of Judith Johnson
Two dozen Ohio University alumni connected with fellow Bobcats in paradise as they set sail on a relaxing 16-night cruise through the Panama Canal last month.
The Gateway To Sunshine” tour, directed by travel agency Go Next, departed from Los Angeles and cruised south through the Pacific Ocean to the Caribbean Sea, stopping in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Colombia and the Cayman Islands.
“Go Next did a very good job; they were very organized,” said Judith Johnson, the tour’s host and OHIO’s former director of heritage and alumni tours. “I think there were 300 people [from different universities] on the ship that were connected with Go Next alumni out of the 1,100 people that were on the ship."
OHIO alumni enjoy the view in Cartagena, Colombia, one of the destinations on the “Gateway To Sunshine” tour.
The Bobcats were welcomed aboard with a ship-wide party, as well as a private event specifically for OHIO alumni. Although the group ranged from ’54 to ’77 graduates, they wasted no time connecting over their shared OHIO roots.
“These trips go so well because people know the quality of the events that the Alumni Association chooses,” Johnson said. “They have always got some kind of an educational aspect, and to travel with a group is very appealing to many people.”
Tour goers had the option to sign up for different day excursions, including hiking trips around volcanoes, snorkeling activities, site bus tours and shopping opportunities at local vendors.
Alumni husband and wife duo, Robert Moorehead, BBA ’75, and Deborah Moorehead, BSED ’76, decided to attend the tour after receiving flyers for many years about the tours offered by the OHIO Alumni Tour Program.
Although the couple found the itinerary for the trip through the Panama Canal to be appealing, Robert Moorehead said they both enjoyed getting to know other Bobcats.
“I would say we would [go on another tour] if we had an opportunity that was as fun as this trip was,” he said.
The OHIO Alumni Tour Program offers numerous trips for Bobcats, both at sea and on land. Information and itineraries for the upcoming 2018 and 2019 tours are available on the OHIO Alumni Association website.
“I think that with [the OHIO tours], you get people from a background that have got a common interest in travel and in education, because they are all grads,” Johnson said. “You’ve got a similar age group, a background and an interest in Ohio University.”