Very soon the Cornerstone of the George Washington Masonic Memorial will be re-dedicated with the assistance of Grand Masters from throughout North America and beyond.
Cornerstone, George Washington Masonic Memorial
In April Brothers of the Grand Lodge of British Columbia and the Yukon will be holding their annual Grand Masonic Day in Vancouver B.C.
Shortly after that the Guthrie Scottish Rite will be holding its Spring Reunion.
Next fall will see the Esoterica in Freemasonry Conference in Seattle once again.
How far are you willing to travel for a superb Masonic experience?
I find that I’m willing to go a great distance, but I’m curious if I’m an outlier in that, or if many other Masons will travel for a wonderful experience.
I would like to travel more, but right now that is not an option to me. I still have a full time job and a yearly leave balance. Some of my time outside of work right now gets divided between my son with DeeMolay, family responsibilities, and sleep. This next year is going to be even less of a travel year for me once I start my Masters Degree. After that I would like to travel more to other lodges to start and then once I am fully retired and do not have to worry about a leave balance I may start traveling to the other events around the nation and in Canada, but for now I will travel in my own way through the pictures that get posted to social media by other brothers.
Practical considerations, job & family certainly do serve to limit one's ability to Masonically travel. Now that my work is much more flexible than it was in the past, and all the kids are off on their own, opportunities have certainly opened up for me.
But not yet unlimited opportunities. I am still working, and we still have family responsibilities, mostly focused around our granddaughter, so my Masonic travel, while fairly extensive, has been limited to North America.
Traveling is a Master Masons obligation. Obligation to themselves to seek further light and an obligation to carry our traditions across boarders.
I have been to the Esoterica in Freemasonry conference before. It was enjoyable and enlightening.
I can only speak for me. I would love to travel on the level more but it always comes down to the cost.
I know I personally am focused on attending the next Masonic Restoration Foundation Conference. I believe in the Observant Lodge experience as defined. I have never experienced it personally. Lodges in my jurisdiction attempt it by hosting table lodges ect., but to get dressed up to the 9's and walk the walk of our Ancients is an experience i want to be a part of before i pass on this earthly plane.
It is very interesting to see how other Jurisdictions handle things, and very helpful to steal their good ideas! I've brought things back from other places to my own Lodge, and some of those things have worked out exceptionally well.
The furthest i've traveled was singapore. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend due to unforeseen circumstances. I've attended some Chapter meetings in london, Mark masters hall for the order of the silver trowel and visited several brothers abroad. That said, Redmond, Kirkland and Myrtle lodge were always most welcoming to me from NC!
I am very much looking forward to someday being able to travel Masonically in the UK. After I've retired. I figure that if I take the long flight over, I want to be able to spend a good amount of time.
I haven't purposely traveled to another jurisdiction to visit a lodge or event. I did visit a lodge once while on vacation, but it was happenstance, not a focus of the trip.
All of my traveling has been simply within the local area, visiting lodges within a few hours of my home. I'd guess I've been to a couple dozen lodges total.
Traveling is a luxury that I have to be very choosy about how I spend my time and money on. Frankly, I'd rather expend those resources on visiting my granddaughter down in Sacramento as I only get to see her and my daughter 1-2 times a year. As Caleb mentioned, working full time also makes vacation a finite amount of time to use. I've often said, freemasonry is more of a retired man's game.
As much as I love masonry, I am also a member of several other groups that take time outside of work and relationships. While this leads to a very healthy social life, it also divides up that pie just a bit more.
Now that the covid restrictions have been loosened up I'd like to go visit my brothers up in BC, as well as relatives there. I understand that is a great treat to be able to see wildly different ritual work, even within the same area. Maybe I'll set aside some time this summer to do a road trip, riding my scooter up there would be amazing for the scenery alone.
Yes! I think that BC offers tremendous opportunities for Masonic travel, and for you and me, fairly close to home. I very much look forward to visiting Victoria Lodge one day, and in Vancouver, The Dukes.
I would travel quite a distance for a Masonic experience that I was interested in, but that would not just be a Lodge meeting. That said, when I travel, I may well visit a Local Lodge as a traveling brother.
>>>That said, when I travel, I may well visit a Local Lodge as a traveling brother.
That's kind of how I got hooked years ago. Was on vacation in an interesting place, visited a Lodge on a whim, and I guess I've been seeking out chances to Masonically travel ever since.
I believe travel is a responsibility of every master mason who has the time and money. The original stone masons were travelers due to their occupation. It is what differentiated them from other masonic groups. We should do it as part of our tradition as well as education.
I have travelled to local, Canadian and just recently returned from a trip to Scotland where we attended 4 stated meetings and 5 get togethers with companions. Absolutely fabulous! I highly recommend visiting as it strengthens our brotherhood as well as broaden the mind.
Broadening the mind (or at least keeping it active) is of vital concern to me.
Growing older, I think about that quite a bit, and my eventual decline. I don't care all that much about my physical health, and I don't plan on trying to wage a heroic, but losing battle with death. But I greatly care about my mental health. I don't want to lose my marbles.
I figure that I'm in good shape for that genetically, none of my grandparents ever had such troubles, but I still worry about it.
I think that Masonry stands me in good stead to fight that battle. Practicing and recalling our ritual has to be good exercise for the mind. Masonic conversations, especially involved conversations or debates also engage the mind, as do things as simple as just going to Lodge and chatting with fellow Freemasons.
But I think that travel plays into that as well. Being confronted with difference forces us to think a bit differently and react a bit differently, even if only for a time, and that is healthy for the mind as well I think.
If time and money permitted, I'd travel the globe for a great masonic experience. As others have said, PTO disposable income, and time are factors. I have younger kids, so I always balance that out, is this event worth an evening (or weekend) away from my family.
My family is supportive and my wife enjoys the quiet with me out of the house. But every now and then, the kids ask if I'll be home before Bed and I decide that visiting another lodge for a stated meeting isn't quite worth it after all.
>>>But every now and then, the kids ask if I'll be home before Bed and I decide that visiting another >>>lodge for a stated meeting isn't quite worth it after all.
Those moments with our kids can never be recreated, so I too embrace them whenever I can. I often find myself needing to get something done, but my grandaughter wanting to play. (We babysit in the afternoons while her parents are at work.) I try to remember at those times that spending time with her is more important, so let whatever it is I'm needing to get done slide.
I would love to do all of those things. But being a two income household with a 5 year old child means I need to really take the lesson of the 24 inch gauge to heart. My wife is very forgiving of the asks I make on behalf of Freemasonry so I have to budget time wisely if I want to keep the balance of work, life, and masonry. I considered accompanying you all to the SR Reunion, but the travel costs, time off of work, and asking my family to accommodate my absence is likely not in the cards right now. There’s so much even in my own jurisdiction I don’t get to do that I’d like to. Perhaps in the years to come
You could always torture the family by dragging them along with you! ;-)
I'll never forget the time when we started a Friday evening with a cornerstone, then traveled maybe a hundred miles to stay in a hotel, for an early morning Lodge special event on a Saturday, then maybe another hundred miles for another hotel, for a Sunday Lodge BBQ.
I can't remember where our granddaughter's parents were off to that weekend, but we were babysitting for whatever reason.
After event number 3 in 3 days, she looked up at me and declared "Poppy. I'm never doing that again!" Not bad for 5 years old!
I think when I mentioned it to her she was like “what would your son and I do in Guthrie OK?” And I was like “oh, you thought you were coming too?” Haha. Ultimately it was more about the fact I only get so many vacation days and we have another trip planned already.
I would like to travel more, but right now that is not an option to me. I still have a full time job and a yearly leave balance. Some of my time outside of work right now gets divided between my son with DeeMolay, family responsibilities, and sleep. This next year is going to be even less of a travel year for me once I start my Masters Degree. After that I would like to travel more to other lodges to start and then once I am fully retired and do not have to worry about a leave balance I may start traveling to the other events around the nation and in Canada, but for now I will travel in my own way through the pictures that get posted to social media by other brothers.
Practical considerations, job & family certainly do serve to limit one's ability to Masonically travel. Now that my work is much more flexible than it was in the past, and all the kids are off on their own, opportunities have certainly opened up for me.
But not yet unlimited opportunities. I am still working, and we still have family responsibilities, mostly focused around our granddaughter, so my Masonic travel, while fairly extensive, has been limited to North America.
Traveling is a Master Masons obligation. Obligation to themselves to seek further light and an obligation to carry our traditions across boarders.
I have been to the Esoterica in Freemasonry conference before. It was enjoyable and enlightening.
I can only speak for me. I would love to travel on the level more but it always comes down to the cost.
I know I personally am focused on attending the next Masonic Restoration Foundation Conference. I believe in the Observant Lodge experience as defined. I have never experienced it personally. Lodges in my jurisdiction attempt it by hosting table lodges ect., but to get dressed up to the 9's and walk the walk of our Ancients is an experience i want to be a part of before i pass on this earthly plane.
Traveling as a Mason is a must. My 2c.
It is very interesting to see how other Jurisdictions handle things, and very helpful to steal their good ideas! I've brought things back from other places to my own Lodge, and some of those things have worked out exceptionally well.
The furthest i've traveled was singapore. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend due to unforeseen circumstances. I've attended some Chapter meetings in london, Mark masters hall for the order of the silver trowel and visited several brothers abroad. That said, Redmond, Kirkland and Myrtle lodge were always most welcoming to me from NC!
I am very much looking forward to someday being able to travel Masonically in the UK. After I've retired. I figure that if I take the long flight over, I want to be able to spend a good amount of time.
many of the halls are beautiful its a real treat to visit.
I imagine. I've seen some photos that look amazing!
I haven't purposely traveled to another jurisdiction to visit a lodge or event. I did visit a lodge once while on vacation, but it was happenstance, not a focus of the trip.
All of my traveling has been simply within the local area, visiting lodges within a few hours of my home. I'd guess I've been to a couple dozen lodges total.
Traveling is a luxury that I have to be very choosy about how I spend my time and money on. Frankly, I'd rather expend those resources on visiting my granddaughter down in Sacramento as I only get to see her and my daughter 1-2 times a year. As Caleb mentioned, working full time also makes vacation a finite amount of time to use. I've often said, freemasonry is more of a retired man's game.
As much as I love masonry, I am also a member of several other groups that take time outside of work and relationships. While this leads to a very healthy social life, it also divides up that pie just a bit more.
Now that the covid restrictions have been loosened up I'd like to go visit my brothers up in BC, as well as relatives there. I understand that is a great treat to be able to see wildly different ritual work, even within the same area. Maybe I'll set aside some time this summer to do a road trip, riding my scooter up there would be amazing for the scenery alone.
Yes! I think that BC offers tremendous opportunities for Masonic travel, and for you and me, fairly close to home. I very much look forward to visiting Victoria Lodge one day, and in Vancouver, The Dukes.
I would travel quite a distance for a Masonic experience that I was interested in, but that would not just be a Lodge meeting. That said, when I travel, I may well visit a Local Lodge as a traveling brother.
>>>That said, when I travel, I may well visit a Local Lodge as a traveling brother.
That's kind of how I got hooked years ago. Was on vacation in an interesting place, visited a Lodge on a whim, and I guess I've been seeking out chances to Masonically travel ever since.
I believe travel is a responsibility of every master mason who has the time and money. The original stone masons were travelers due to their occupation. It is what differentiated them from other masonic groups. We should do it as part of our tradition as well as education.
I have travelled to local, Canadian and just recently returned from a trip to Scotland where we attended 4 stated meetings and 5 get togethers with companions. Absolutely fabulous! I highly recommend visiting as it strengthens our brotherhood as well as broaden the mind.
Broadening the mind (or at least keeping it active) is of vital concern to me.
Growing older, I think about that quite a bit, and my eventual decline. I don't care all that much about my physical health, and I don't plan on trying to wage a heroic, but losing battle with death. But I greatly care about my mental health. I don't want to lose my marbles.
I figure that I'm in good shape for that genetically, none of my grandparents ever had such troubles, but I still worry about it.
I think that Masonry stands me in good stead to fight that battle. Practicing and recalling our ritual has to be good exercise for the mind. Masonic conversations, especially involved conversations or debates also engage the mind, as do things as simple as just going to Lodge and chatting with fellow Freemasons.
But I think that travel plays into that as well. Being confronted with difference forces us to think a bit differently and react a bit differently, even if only for a time, and that is healthy for the mind as well I think.
If time and money permitted, I'd travel the globe for a great masonic experience. As others have said, PTO disposable income, and time are factors. I have younger kids, so I always balance that out, is this event worth an evening (or weekend) away from my family.
My family is supportive and my wife enjoys the quiet with me out of the house. But every now and then, the kids ask if I'll be home before Bed and I decide that visiting another lodge for a stated meeting isn't quite worth it after all.
>>>But every now and then, the kids ask if I'll be home before Bed and I decide that visiting another >>>lodge for a stated meeting isn't quite worth it after all.
Those moments with our kids can never be recreated, so I too embrace them whenever I can. I often find myself needing to get something done, but my grandaughter wanting to play. (We babysit in the afternoons while her parents are at work.) I try to remember at those times that spending time with her is more important, so let whatever it is I'm needing to get done slide.
I would love to do all of those things. But being a two income household with a 5 year old child means I need to really take the lesson of the 24 inch gauge to heart. My wife is very forgiving of the asks I make on behalf of Freemasonry so I have to budget time wisely if I want to keep the balance of work, life, and masonry. I considered accompanying you all to the SR Reunion, but the travel costs, time off of work, and asking my family to accommodate my absence is likely not in the cards right now. There’s so much even in my own jurisdiction I don’t get to do that I’d like to. Perhaps in the years to come
You could always torture the family by dragging them along with you! ;-)
I'll never forget the time when we started a Friday evening with a cornerstone, then traveled maybe a hundred miles to stay in a hotel, for an early morning Lodge special event on a Saturday, then maybe another hundred miles for another hotel, for a Sunday Lodge BBQ.
I can't remember where our granddaughter's parents were off to that weekend, but we were babysitting for whatever reason.
After event number 3 in 3 days, she looked up at me and declared "Poppy. I'm never doing that again!" Not bad for 5 years old!
I think when I mentioned it to her she was like “what would your son and I do in Guthrie OK?” And I was like “oh, you thought you were coming too?” Haha. Ultimately it was more about the fact I only get so many vacation days and we have another trip planned already.
Two quick thoughts:
If she likes Astoria, I imagine that she'd enjoy Guthrie. It's a really cool historic city, very well preserved.
But yeah, a Reunion would not be conducive to a family trip. The Masonic stuff starts early in the morning and goes solid all day long.