The clichés about grandparents—slow-moving, chair rocking, “good old days” talking—have gone out the window. These days, they’re more likely to be found rocking and rolling down a river with a grandchild or two.

Take Margie Wholey, 76, for example. In early July, she was prepping for her 26th Road Scholar trip: six days of whitewater rafting and camping on Idaho’s Salmon and Snake rivers with grandson Zephyr, 15, and granddaughter Sunny, 13. 

This wasn’t Wholey’s first whitewater adventure, though. The retired lawyer and social worker and grandmother of three enjoyed rafting and kayaking even before discovering Road Scholar. 

Margie Wholey’s grandson, Zephyr, center foreground, helps deflate a raft after a day of adventure on Idaho’s Salmon and Snake rivers.

“You’re completely on your own, you’re completely independent, and as you develop more skills, you can do higher water,” she said.

Raised in Rhode Island but later based in Kansas, Wholey was perfectly positioned for whitewater excursions across the country. She even ventured to Chile for kayaking trips with her then-husband. 

Her first Road Scholar trip came in 2000, when she, her sister and their mother visited Apache Lake in Arizona. Wholey was hooked.

CREATING JUNIOR TRAVEL BUGS

Since then, she’s traveled with family to places like Massachusetts, the Delaware Water Gap and the Grand Canyon.

“My sister and I took three grandchildren—they were 11, 9 and 9. That was the lower part of the Grand Canyon, so that was more exciting and big water—some pretty difficult rapids,” Wholey said

Last year, Wholey, her granddaughter and five other relatives explored a river near Banff National Park in Canada on another unforgettable grandparent adventure.

Sunny gets acquainted with a horse in Banff National Park in 2023.

One of Wholey’s favorite trips was to Plymouth, Massachusetts, with her grandson James, who was 9 at the time. 

“I love history, and I wanted to introduce James to that,” she said. “I was just waiting for him to get to be old enough.”

On that trip, James was joined by three boys and three girls. A highlight of the trip was a boat ride far out onto the Atlantic, where they witnessed hundreds of whales frolicking in the ocean 

Through these adventures, Wholey has learned a lot about her grandkids, just as they’ve learned about themselves. She noticed that Zephyr socializes by sharing his enthusiasm for sports, while Sunny prefers to bond with a special buddy, often a cousin, during the trip. 

Wholey emphasized that Road Scholar trips are extraordinarily safe. Over the years, she has come to trust Road Scholar’s ability to hire counselors and guides who are great with kids. 

“They completely engage them. I just kind of watch it all happen and let the kids go,” she said. “They’ll take the kids off for a kids-only activity. No grandparents allowed.”

On the Plymouth trip with James, Wholey noticed that one boy’s grandparents were very protective of him at first. 

“But gradually, by the fourth day, they relaxed,” she recalled. 

On another trip, the children had the chance to ride horses around a corral and then learn from a farrier about caring for the horses’ hooves. 

VARIETY—THE SPICE OF SKIP-GEN

Wholey has enjoyed every Road Scholar trip she’s taken. Even activities she wasn’t initially enthusiastic about—like a scavenger hunt involving selfies with 15 different items—ended up being more fun than she expected.

Grandmother Maria Drumm explores the Colosseum in Rome with her granddaughter, Liza Green. Credit: Road Scholar

“I haven’t been on a Road Scholar trip that I didn’t like,” Wholey said, which is why she wanted to share them with her grandchildren.

Road Scholar’s skip-gen trips create fond memories for grandparents and grandchildren by providing out-of-the-box adventures. With Road Scholar’s staff trained to help, you don’t need to handle everything yourself—they do the planning for you.  

The trips are specially curated with age-appropriate activities.

“Road Scholar is really detailed about it. They’re extremely experienced,” Wholey said.

You May Also Like: Living and learning out of a suitcase

It’s a chance to indulge your grandchild’s interests, whether it’s hiking or STEM robots. You can pore over the descriptions and choose a trip together.

There are three age categories for trips: 5-8, 9-12 and 13-18. The middle of the age groups seems to be the skip-gen sweet spot, with the greatest number of available trips—but if you keep checking the website, you’ll find a trip for the newest budding travelers or those almost ready to fly the nest.

For 5- to 8-year-olds, there’s a trip to Virginia to learn about Revolutionary War history and an out-of-country experience in Costa Rica to discover wildlife.

Among the many offerings for ages 9-12 are a Harry Potter-themed outing at Universal Studios, snorkeling in Puerto Rico or seeing U.S. historical buildings and monuments in Washington D.C.

A skip-gen safari in Johannesburg, South Africa, provides an up-close glimpse of a zebra in the wild. Credit: Alyssa Bichunsky.

Ages 13-18 could take a family trip with three generations to Georgia’s Barrier Islands—sailing on a shrimp boat, climbing a lighthouse and meeting injured sea turtles.

Road Scholar has come a long way from the college dorms that housed participants in the early days.

“Over the years, the hotel accommodations have become better and better. We’re staying in pretty nice hotels, we’re eating in pretty nice restaurants,” Wholey said.

INTERGENERATIONAL BONDING 

The Salmon River trip concluded on July 27, and Wholey reflected on it a few days later. For her, the highlight was spending time with Zephyr and Sunny. 

Back home in Vermont, Sunny and Zephyr were reminiscing about their Idaho adventure. 

“Jumping off the rocks and going in all the different boats” was Sunny’s favorite part. Zephyr enjoyed “hanging out with all the new people, learning about rafting and river classifications and talking to all the guides.”

The trip also allowed them to learn more about their grandmothers. Wholey “co-grandparented” with Cici, the mother of her daughter-in-law, Shana. The kids learned about Cici’s experiences as a nurse in India and about Wholey’s health regimen and life in the Pikes Peak region.

The older participants on Road Scholar’s grandparent-grandchildren trips are typically women, and Wholey speculated that this might be because women are often more involved in raising children. 

The children offered advice for parents of other potential young travelers.

Sunny paddles a duckie, an inflatable one-person kayak.

“It’s a great investment and a way for your kids to be a little more independent but still supervised,” said Sunny.

Zephyr added, “This is a great way to see other parts of the country on trips led by professionals.”

Their mother, Shana Haines, who is married to Wholey’s son Seth, is equally enthusiastic about Road Scholar’s skip-gen program. 

“I love that my kids and my mom and mother-in-law have these amazing experiences together,” said Haines. “It creates a lasting bond between them, and it helps them to value adventure and exploration.”

She also pointed out the benefits for parents, knowing their children—and even the grandparents—are safe, well cared for and enjoying themselves. 

“I think these trips have made the kids more appreciative of experiences, more independent and more willing to try new things and go new places,” Haines added. “I hope it also encourages my kids to let me take their kids on trips like this when they’re grown up.” 

Learn more about traveling with grandkids at: RoadScholar.org/browse-collections/grandparent