President's Message By George Darnell

 Welcome to Winter!

I hope you had a blessed and joyful Thanksgiving with family and friends. Michelle and I had a quiet celebration together enjoying the carry-out meal from the Lodge and watching the parades on TV. It’s not Thanksgiving for Michelle without Macy’s and other parades. November was a quiet travel month except for the Leesburg Outlet Shopping and Wine Tour that Bill Johnson led. Read his trip reports for that trip and the Fall Colors Wine Tour II at the end of October in this newsletter. Thanks, Bill! Greg Payonk, our frequent traveler, also gave us some excellent tips and tricks for foreign travel at our November Potluck lunch. Greg’s handout provides strategies to cost-optimized luxury travel experiences especially Viking, Celebrity and United (airline/cruise options). In 2024/25 he took twelve international trips and has four booked for 2026. Check out Greg’s handout at the end of this newsletter. 

December Holiday Celebrations and Trips!

We are at the beginning of the joyous Christmas and Hanukkah holiday season when we gather to celebrate love and friendship with family and friends. There are many events at the Lodge and Athletic Center to help us get ready. Many of them, including our Travel Club events, may be sold out by the time you read this. Check out the Events Calendar and don’t wait too long to register for events you want to attend. That includes Travel Club events. Remember: you cannot charge our events to your Lodge Member Card. You must pay with a check made out to “Lake Frederick Travel Club” and leave it at the concierge desk. By now, you should have received special email notification of our events in December. They are included in this newsletter for your reference.