The Uncommon Travelers is an informal travel club in the Tampa Bay area which proudly claims to be “an unusual group of exceptional wanderers.” Our club began one summer evening in 1994 as a convergence of misfortune, opportunity and just plain luck. A dozen unusual, intrepid individuals gathered in a classroom at Baywinds Center in response to a class on international travel, but the leader and organizer did not show up. At the same time, the organizer of a separate class on travel and culture found himself without a class. So the two combined and from it sprang the idea of the Uncommon Travelers.

The dozen decided the group would have one membership criteria, to be more or less loosely followed: members should have lived cumulatively at least a year abroad, or the equivalent of extensive travel.

The group’s organizer was Terry Redding, a young globetrotter with people skills and a flair for writing. Others in that initial meeting represented a broad range of ages and travel experiences, including a childhood spent as a “CIA brat” in Asia; a Peace Corps experience in Niger, West Africa; a globe-girdling tour in the U.S. Navy; and a hitch-hiking odyssey that spanned over a decade and covered four continents. No-one knew where it was going, but they all knew they had met kindred souls and, for once, they could talk about travel with those who understood. The next month they met again; six returnees and six new members. The fourth meeting, in December, saw the first of many gatherings at Mary Arneaux's splendid Bayshore home, with a group of over 30. Bill Rose may be the only current member who attended the very first meeting at Baywinds; Bonnie and Mike Swann were at Mary's house, and interestingly enough, if the historian recalls correctly, they were skeptical that such a incohesive group could ever sustain an organization. Lo and behold, they led the group for many years.

The Uncommon Travelers has blossomed into a vibrant group - young and old, singles and couples, most living within a 60-mile radius of the Tampa Bay area. Which is not to say it hasn’t withered from time to time over the years; the “nomad mentality” is often paired with a streak of inconsistency, so there has been some turnover. By definition, travelers come and travelers go. Our members have traveled extensively; have grown up, lived and worked overseas; were members of the Peace Corps or military; some have married foreigners; and all have absorbed the culture of wherever they traveled.

We were fortunate enough to find a hall where we could hold our monthly meetings, which last for three hours. The first is a social hour with finger food, coffee and soft drinks; the second hour consists of a short, informal business meeting with updates, followed by a pre-determined program on a particular country or travel subject; the program usually spills over into the third hour, with questions and answers, and more socializing.

The monthly program dictates the theme for the evening (and occasionally the food) and usually consists of a trivia quiz, the presentation itself, slides and/or video. The speaker can be a member, such as the local couple who spent a decade sailing around the world or a member who is sharing his/her latest trip; or a resource speaker from outside, such as a German mountain climber, an Englishman devoted to organizing Buddhist meditation groups, a Fulbright scholar from India teaching for a year at a local college, or a young couple from Novosibirsk, Siberia who spent a year in Tampa.

As is often the case, much of the benefit of being in the club derives from informal spin-offs: kibitzing, friendships and phone calls, sharing the lore of new and interesting places to see and how to do it economically. Add to this the monthly newsletter (which, since month three, has been an instrument to bind the voyagers together), a holiday get-together in December, a fund-raiser at Gasparilla time, and you have a pretty vibrant group! The camaraderie is such that from June through August, when regular monthly meetings are suspended due to many members traveling, we have to arrange for get-togethers in restaurants for those of us left behind to be sure we don’t suffer severe withdrawal symptoms!

… with thanks to Terry Redding and Bill Rose for their historical contributions