You may have heard the term, grow old gracefully? Well on Sunday, June 8th, that phrase will be *flipped. We are instead all being encouraged to age adventurously.

Forget bingo night. Today’s older adults are jetting off to exciting places. They they are learning to kayak, or to swim or ride a bike for the first time. They are taking classes and learning new and exciting things.

Sunday, June 8th is officially, Age Adventurously Day. It’s part of a growing movement to redefine what it means to grow older.

Mary Tripp lives in Bayfield and is a group leader for Road Scholar. That is the non-profit in educational travel for older adults that’s behind Age Adventurously Day.

“I think that the age adventurously program or day is important because relationships as we get older become so important for our mental health and our physical health,” Mary told us. Adding, “It helps us continue to be connected to our community and to those around us.”

Recent studies show 94% of older adults who engage in adventurous activities report higher levels of well-being. Age Adventurously Day encourages everyone to view aging as a journey worth celebrating.

“Whether it’s in an academic program like the University of Minnesota Duluth’s senior college program or through different types of physical activities, it’s about trying something new,” Mary said.

Some popular ideas include learning to play a musical instrument, learning a new language, playing pickleball or taking a yoga class.

As someone who loves the outdoors and is especially fond of the Bayfield area, Mary suggests trying one of her sessions there. “We do four sessions over in Bayfield. Each week about 35 people come from across the United States and they learn about the culture, the Ojibwe heritage, the flora, the fauna, the history of the area, how Bayfield started as a city, etc. It is also an opportunity for folks to go out and tour the sea caves and experience our beautiful National Lakeshore.”

But Road Scholar goes well beyond the Northland. For example, trips where older adults learn the geology of the continent as they visit the Canadian Rockies. Going places where they learn outdoor adventure skills like kayaking. Hiking trips to exotic places like tropical rain forests, traveling to see majestic pyramids first hand, or taking in awe-inspiring museums and art galleries.

Chris Heppner is the Vice President of Communications for Road Scholar. He says…”As we age, it’s easy to become spectators in life. It’s understandable. Our physical limitations might kick in and social isolation. I think some people might feel a loss of purpose. And so we’re hoping to inspire people to try new things, connect with friends, be social, and just have this mindset of living adventurously every day.”

After all Heppner reminds us, none of us are getting any younger.

“I would say don’t put your dreams on hold. You never know what’s around the corner and seize the moment of every opportunity that you can. And we hope people will take that to heart on Age Adventurously Day.”

To learn more about Age Adventurously Day and the Road Scholar organization, click here.