Bette Davis is credited with saying, “Old age is not for sissies.” And many will agree that extended senior tours are not for sissies either.

Last month while the rest of us were a captive audience to the media giving continuous sniper reports, a large group of Northwest Washington seniors were invading the nation’s capital in Washington, D.C.

From the Senior Centers on South Whidbey, Oak Harbor, Bainbridge and several other Northwest towns, they gathered at SeaTac at 5 a.m. Oct. 11 to wait for their flight. At the same time, seniors from several centers in Eastern Washington were gathering at the Spokane airport for their flight to to the East Coast.

Surprisingly, the two groups, 50-some seniors in all, arrived at nearly the same time at Ronald Reagan National Airport to be met by Collette Tour buses and transported to their hotels. That evening another group of seniors from the Boston area joined the Northwest seniors, bringing to over 90 the number on the 10-day tour experience.

They all knew about the sniper, said Doris Hunter, who with Joan Focht was part of the group from South Whidbey.

“We’d watched television, but there had been a lull in his attacks, so no one was highly concerned or frightened,” Hunter said. She also pointed out that the extra security in the central part of the city since 9/11 made them feel quite safe.

The tour began with a three-day trip to Colonial Williamsburg, Shenandoah Valley, Skyline Drive, Monticello and Mount Vernon.

“We had to be up very early ready to board the buses that morning,” Focht said.”Everyone was excited and in good spirits. We exchanged introductions, laughed about the early hour, and piled into the buses.”

Both Focht and Hunter said the scenery, the Colonial reenactments in Williamsburg, the accommodations and good meals made that part of the trip “superb.”

“We were very impressed with the visit to Monticello and learning more about Thomas Jefferson,” they said.

“We arrived back in Washington, D.C., in time for a half-day of sightseeing on our own,” Focht said. “Doris and I immediately headed for a ‘trolley’ stop.” Trolleys, she explained, are a popular transport for visitors who are sightseeing. They can travel the narrower streets and visitors can get on and off as desired. The trolleys run frequently and have polite, very articulate driver-guides.

Originally, the group had planned to visit the White House, but no visitors are allowed there now.

“So plans were changed and that evening the tour buses took everyone to see the monuments and memorials,” Hunter said. “It was an incredible evening that I’ll never forget. Seeing the beautiful structures and sculptured memorials at night with lighting was even more impressive than during the day, and there weren’t as many people around.”

At the Vietnam Memorial Wall, a woman from Spokane found her son’s name, which touched the entire group. At the Korean War Memorial, both Focht and Hunter were deeply moved at seeing statues depicting soldiers under full pack trudging across a field.

The next morning Collette Tours gathered up the Boston group for the return to their city. But the buses had already deposited another group from New England for the ongoing sightseeing.

“All the seniors were very flexible, meshing easily with new members,” Focht said.

The following morning was another early morning pickup to arrive at the Capitol for a 9 a.m. tour. Although tickets had previously been reserved, the group needed to be there early for security reasons since each ticket has to be given to an identified recipient.

“This was the only time we had a serious change in plans,” said Focht with a laugh. “We were all waiting in line when at 8:15 a.m. a Capitol guard announced that since restrooms were scarce in the building, he suggested we could use the restrooms at the nearby Visitors Center for the White House. With senior bladders being what they are, most of us trooped over there, but with so many people we couldn’t get back in time to pick up our tickets for the 9 a.m. tour.”

The tour bus drivers changed gears, and with very little grumbling, the seniors all boarded the buses and headed for Arlington National Cemetery, to return for a tour of the Capitol Building at 1 in the afternoon.

“We hiked our feet off at the cemetery, but it was worth it,” Hunter said. “We saw everything from Robert E. Lee’s statue to the flame at John F. Kennedy’s grave.”

Focht chuckled, “We were dragging a bit in the afternoon during the tour of the Capitol. Nothing was in session. No doubt our elected officials were working in their offices, but at least we were able to view all the other important and beautiful parts of the building.”

Both women spoke of their comfortable hotel accommodations across the river, though they were at times disquieted by the view from their room of the Pentagon. They said it brought back the horror of 9/11, particularly as some of the scaffolding was still in place for the uncompleted repairs.

They were moved as well by a visit to the Smithsonian, where the huge flag that was hung over the Pentagon by the employees after 9/11 hangs in the foyer.

At the National Cathedral they were present for a noon eucharist. At the Museum of American History they were unexpectedly treated to a brief performance by the the West Point Cadet Glee Club.

On their free day, Focht and Hunter took to the trolleys again.

“We got a real feeling for the inner city with a chance to visit many of the older historical sites,” they said. And at the close of the day, they took a cab back to their hotel, in what proved to be an adventure.

“Our driver was Asian — Chinese, I think,” Focht said. “We had a difficult time communicating because he didn’t speak English very well and we don’t speak Chinese.”

Since the main arteries were clogged with traffic, their driver took to the back streets and alleys, which he seemed to know very well, Hocht said.

“We were swaying around on the back seat as he drove very fast, swerving this way and that to avoid collisions with other cars,” Hunter said. “When we got to our hotel, we noticed there was no meter. We questioned this, but couldn’t understand his explanation. So, we fished in our purses and came up with what we thought might be an appropriate amount. He took it and drove off.”

Both Focht and Hunter spoke highly of the trip as “an excellent value, with superb meals and accommodations.” They heaped high praise on Margaret Scehovic at the Bayview Senior Center for staying on top of the planning from beginning to end and being a true watchdog for their safety and comfort.

“I hope more trips will be in center plans for the future and more seniors will sign up. They are truly a bargain,” Focht said.

More information on Bayview Senior Center activities and trips is available on line at Margaret@islandseniorservices.org, or by calling 321-1600.