POWERGRAMS

17 Travel is exciting, and it adds variety to your retirement." About 35 members have signed up for a 2018 trip to the Italian Riviera, which includes Tuscany. In October, members will travel to South Africa, starting in Johannesburg, continuing to Kruger National Park for a wildlife safari and ending in Cape Town. Bob Prince doesn't consider himself a photo buff, but he enjoys recording his Energizers trips: He's taken about 7,000 photos. Prince has journeyed to the Alpine countries – Austria, Germany and Switzerland – and Scandinavia: Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Lengthy expeditions to Australia and New Zealand, the British Isles, Spain, Portugal, Sicily and beyond are perfect for this on-the-go retiree. "Twenty-five years ago, I never dreamed I'd have the opportunity to take all these trips," said Prince, who retired at 50 from Western Division Engineering. "You get to travel with people you know, you don't have to do any planning. You just have to know when and where to meet Horace to get on the bus to the airport." "I enjoy traveling with the group," said Prince, who was Western Energizers treasurer for more than 13 years. "It's a lot of fun. You don't have to do any heavy thinking about what you'll do next." Energizers travel has made life more exciting for Jasper Energizer Bill Gober and his wife, Jeri. The couple, whose first foray with Energizers travel was in 1994 to New York, will take their 30th trip this fall to South Africa. Gober calls the travel group a "nice, nice setup." "I started keeping a journal when we first started: who we were with, what we ate, what we saw," said Gober, an Alabama Power Credit Union board member. "It has been amazing, and we've had wonderful trips. I would have never thought we'd travel so much. "The reason we started with Energizers travel is they are so thorough – they tell you how to prepare yourself," said Gober, whose Egyptian camel ride among the Pyramids was part of an Energizers vacation. "That's the reason we've traveled so much, we've been so pleased. We're just pampered: We meet at the company headquarters and leave our cars in the parking deck. You don't have any worries, you pay and show up. All the details are covered." Jeri Gober said that Energizers relieves the couple of having to plan every detail of a trip – and they've been to 60 countries. "If you try it just once, you're spoiled," Jeri Gober said. "If we had to do it ourselves, we probably wouldn't go. It's been a joy for us just getting to know the people. Alabama Power has such a wonderful, family-type way of helping people and caring for people. This seems to be incorporated in the trips." The couple said that the chance to see the world has enriched them in retirement. "We've been truly, truly blessed," Bill Gober said. "With God's help, we've never been sick. I don't want to spend my time sitting on the porch or watching a soap opera. Traveling has been a great thing for us." Energizers 2018 Travel Itinerary May 4 – Tuscany and the Italian Riviera, including Florence, Pisa, Lucca and Cinque Terre. Sept. 23 – Iceland: Land of Fire and Ice, including glaciers, icebergs, lava fields, hot springs, waterfalls, whale watching and a visit with an Icelandic family. For information, call Horace Waugh at 205-243-7720 or energizerstyl@gmail.com. The Gobers saw the Library of Celsus in Selçuk,Turkey. St. Basil's Cathedral, Moscow

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