Club Strikes Many Golden Matches

Golden Companions, an international travel companion matching service based in the state of Washington, has reached the mature age of three. This is a notable achievement, since most other such ventures seldom get past one.

Almost 1,000 travelers have joined the club, whose aim is to match those age 50 and up (the oldest member is 86) from across the United States. California, as can be expected, is well represented.

According to Joanne Buteau, the club’s founder and president, Golden Companions also has members in Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Europe and the Middle East. Members are a cross-section of society, and are single, divorced or married.

Membership costs $60 a year. This entitles you to a copy of the club’s roster, including the personal profiles and travel preferences of each member; a confidential mail-exchange service and a bimonthly newsletter on items of interest to the mature traveler.

Members also get some discounts from national tour companies, a vacation-home exchange listing and opportunities for local social get-togethers.

Buteau said the club also plans to sponsor group tours and cruises; the first of which will be to Alaska later this year.

It’s a natural direction for us to take,” she said. “All of our members want to travel, and what an ideal way to meet each other. We hope to plan several Golden Companion trips each year.”

More information can be obtained by writing to the club for a free brochure and/or a sample newsletter for $2. The address is: Golden Companions, P.O. Box 754, Pullman, WA 99163-0754; telephone (509) 334-9351.

Locally, Partners-in-Travel, operated by Miriam Tobolowski, has been providing a similar matching service for more than five years. More than 75% of her members are aged 50 and older.

Partners in Travel does not offer tours but does provide some very good tips for the solo and novice traveler. Subscription costs $30 for six months, $42 for a year. For more information, write to Partners-in-Travel, P.O. Box 491145, Los Angeles, Calif. 90049; telephone (213) 476-4869.

World War II veterans of the Pacific Theater who are interested in re-visiting those famous sites, might want to contact Valor Tours, Ltd. of Sausalito.

Two of the company’s trips this year are:

--”Islands of Valor,” a May 18-to-June 5 cruise-tour that covers such islands as Guadalcanal, Tulagi, Rendova, Rabaul, and Biak. The cost is $5,390, not including air fare.

--”Guadalcanal to Tokyo Bay,” a July 30-to-Aug. 11 tour with stops at Fiji as well as Tulagi and other battle sites. The cost is $2,900, including air fare from the West Coast.

Valor Tours also has plans for a Navy SeaBees reunion cruise/tour to Alaska in August; a “Leyte Landing Day Tour” to the Philippines, including Corregidor, in September, and a Tarawa-Guam-Saipan-Tinian tour in November.

For Air Force veterans or aviation buffs, there’s Valor Tours’ trip to the Farnborough Air Show in England and the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain. The Sept. 4-17 tour costs $2,600, plus air fare, and also includes visits to World War II U.S. air bases in East Anglia.

For more detailed information on these and other veterans tours being planned, contact Bob Reynolds, Valor Tours, P.O. Box 1617, Schoonmaker Bldg., Sausalito, Calif. 94965; telephone (415) 332-7850.