Grand Terrace City News Goes Around the World with Don Bartee and Arlene Weaver

The Grand Terrace City News took a little trip to the land down under over Thanksgiving and just before Christmas. Longtime Grand Terrace residents Don Bartee and Arlene Weaver took their Nov. 21, 2013 edition of their hometown's community newspaper with them on their cruise trip to Australia and New Zealand. The couple, who are both actively involved with the Grand Terrace Senior Center and have been reading the Grand Terrace City News since its beginnings in 2006, take several trips a year, they said. This was a first-time visit to both countries for the both of them. They flew in to Sydney, Australia to start their trip, where they toured famous landmarks like the Sydney Opera House, and from there caught the cruise aboard the Solstice with Celebrity Cruises. They got to see waterfalls, snowcapped mountains, and even visited Akaroa, New Zealand,a historic French and British settlement nestled in the heart of an ancient volcano. Weaver said it was difficult to pick out one particularly favorite moment from their trip, which lasted from Nov. 26 to Dec. 11, 2013. "There's no one thing for me. It was all interesting and fun, and the people were just wonderful." For Bartee, the way to his heart is through his stomach. "Some of my (best) memories are eating," he laughed. The longtime residents, who have been together almost 13 years now, might be described as jetsetters. They've traveled around the world and have seen many different countries, including the non-continental United States' Alaska and the islands of Hawaii, the horn of South America, Canada, England, Ireland, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the Panama Canal, to name just a few. "We want to see the world," Bartee said. Weaver chimed in, "We enjoy seeing different cultures, and eating their food and meeting the people. It's an experience, and unless you go there, you won't really get that." And they like to bring the City News along. "We've been reading it for years. One comes to the house and we pick one up at the senior center, too," Weaver said. The couple likes to get out and about, and they've started collecting magnets from each place they visit. "Not matter if it's by bus, car, train, plane or cruise, we get a little magnet," Weaver said. Bartee estimated the couple so far has collected anywhere from 500 to 800 magnets. "That's fun, because we can walk down the hall and see all those magnets there. That's how we relive these memories," Weaver said.