Metroparks and Hostelling International are fighting cabin fever with a free, weekly program series that can take Northwest Ohio residents away from the deep freeze of winter to faraway destinations.
 
Travel Circle programs, offered by the members of Hostelling International-Toledo Area Council, will be held each Saturday in January, February and March from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. at the Lodge at Oak Openings Preserve or the meeting room at the Nature Photography Center in Secor Metropark. Each program will be preceded by a walk or cross-country ski, starting at 1 p.m.
 
Weekly presentations will feature slide shows focusing on a different world travel destination, in keeping with Hostelling’s mission to promote global understanding through travel and education.

The program schedule includes:
 
• Jan. 10: Secor - End of the World, Beginning of Everything, by Kendy Edinger.
 
• Jan. 17, Oak Openings - Santiago Chile, Andes and Surrounding Area, by Renee Dallas.
 
• Jan. 24, Secor - Backpacking in Central America, by Jamie Olmstead.
 
• Jan. 31, Oak Openings - Imperial China, Tibet and the Yangtze River, by Gary and Jan Samples and Cheryl Sexton.
 
• Feb. 7, Secor - Biking in Nova Scotia, by Cheryl Smith.
 
• Feb. 14, Secor - Ten Countries in Ten Days, by Judy Pfaffenberger.
 
• Feb. 21, Secor - Acadia National Park, Maine, by Cheryl Smith.
 
• Feb. 28, Oak Openings - Space Coast Safari, by Scott Grenerth.
 
• March 7, Secor - South Africa, It's Not All Black and White, by Nancy and Tom Verner.
 
• March 14, Oak Openings - America The Beautiful, by Ruth Rittichier.
 
• March 21, Oak Openings, Traveling in Germany, by Patti and Edgar Rapp.
 
• March 28, Oak Openings, Costa Rican Escape, by Cindy Warner.

Sunday Lodge programs
Metroparks naturalists will present an audio-visual program on nature each Sunday in January from 2 to 3 p.m. followed by a nature walk from 3 to 4 p.m. All programs will be held at Oak Openings Lodge in Oak Openings Preserve Metropark. Refreshments will be provided.
 
The program schedule includes:
 
Jan. 11 - Winter in the Oak Openings
 
Jan. 18 - Biking in Argentina & Chile
 
Jan. 25 - Summer in the Oak Openings
 
For a complete list of Metroparks programs, visit MetroparksToledo.com or pick up a winter Program Guide, available now at all Metroparks, Toledo-Lucas County Library branches, The Andersons and other locations.
 
To learn more about Hostelling International, visit hitoledo.org.

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