72 and Lucky
Hank Schrader, USMA '71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
Yesterday I turned 72.
Hard to believe I’ve been around so long in some ways, but in others I still think of myself as a young man.
I consider myself very lucky. I’ve had a great life for the most part; done some amazing things, laughed a lot, cried on occasion, loved, and faced the many challenges we all face in life.
My West Point classmate Jeff and I share the same birthday but he is one year older than me
So I thought I’d hit a few highlights and tell you how it lead to our current journey as travel advisors.
My Early Life and High School
My Dad was a career military officer and we moved quite a bit as I grew up. I liked parts of school and didn’t like others and although I was a pretty good student, I really was not a great student, as I got easily bored in classrooms. The only thing I constantly excelled in was physical education and sports.
Perhaps the two defining aspects of my early life was earning my Eagle Scout at the age of 13 and living in Okinawa in my junior high school years. What any eye opening experience to live in Asia as an early teen. In many ways, it started my lifelong love of travel.
Arriving in Okinawa. My Mom and Dad are in the background
My high school years was a constant climb to improve my grades and by my senior year I was doing very well in school. But the real story is my track success and playing football. I was number #15 as a running back and wide receiver, we went 9-1 and were third in the state in 1966. I earned 3 varsity letters in track, was named the most valuable track athlete my senior year and was a state track level athlete.
West Point
At 17, I began the next phase of my life for 47 months. In many ways, I was over my head—I struggled with math and engineering subjects, did alright in social studies, Spanish and physical education. I was always fighting the many regulations and rules and occasionally got into trouble and was punished for violating this or that, so you can see, I was not a model cadet.
Photo of me as 17 year old Plebe (first year) cadet
The one constant was the track team, where I earned 5 varsity letters, never lost to Navy in my career during our dual track meets and had some success as member of the mile relay team in some of the bigger national track meets.
Indoor track meet against Navy, where I ran the 2nd leg of the mile relay on the way to a win against Navy
Outdoor track meet against Navy, where I ran the first leg on the way to another victory
At West Point, you are being constantly evaluated in your academic standing and out of 729 members of my 1971 Class, I just managed to rank above 50 of my classmates.
Graduation Day 9 June 1971
So on 9 June 1971 I graduated and my Dad swore me in as a second lieutenant in the US Army. Great day for me and during our 2 month leave period, I traveled to Europe for 6 weeks. Loved it and decided to go there as often as possible.
My Army Career
I served 20 years as an Infantry Officer. After airborne school, ranger school and the infantry officer basic course, I was finally ready to lead soldiers. I served in the First Infantry Division, then in Panama in the School of the Americas (teaching military subjects in Spanish) and later as a Company Commander of B Company 4/20 Infantry Battalion; next as a physical education instructor at West Point; then in the 7th Infantry Division and my last assignment was an instructor in the US Army Physical Fitness School.
West Point Founder’s Day in Panama with 2 other classmates. From left to right, Hank, Rich and Larry
I' have just finished swimming my command track B6 in Panama—I’m in the turret.
The officers of 4/20 Infantry ready for a field exercise
Ready to hit the jungles of Panama
I retired in 1991 with the rank of Major. I made many lifelong friends, faced some difficult situations, but for the most part really enjoyed these 20 years.
The best part was meeting Anne and getting married to her in 1987 at Fort Ord, CA. Best decision I ever made!
Prior to our Wedding Ceremony with Anne and our daughter Kelly.
The second best part was teaching and coaching rugby at West Point—it was the prelude to the next part of my life as a coach and teacher in the civilian sector.
1983 at Sandhurst, England as a coach of the West Point Varsity Team
There were many travel opportunities during this period of my life and Anne and I have always had a passion for European travel, so any chance we could, we visited the Old World.
My Teaching and Coaching Career
I spent the next 20 years as a coach and teacher. My football coaching career and teaching jobs were at St. John’s Military Academy, Brookfield Central HS (both in WI), at Bellevue, WA (where I helped our team win a State Championship in 2001 as their Defensive Coordinator) and last in TX at Westbury HS.
My football team at St. Jon’s—I was the Head Coach.
2001 State Champions Football team—the Bellevue Wolverines
Since I taught most all the social studies subjects, Anne and I often traveled whenever we could, especially to Europe. I used these travel experiences to help my students learn more about the world around them.
The best part, aside from winning a State Championship, was knowing I helped some young folks develop into productive, educated citizens of our country.
My Travel Advisor Career
In 2011, I retired a second time, this time from teaching and coaching and went full time into our travel business, which we started in 1995.
We have had a lot of success for a small mom and pop company. We have helped dozens have better vacations, led special tours in Europe, become some of the top river cruise advisors in the US and won a couple of awards in the travel industry.
The best part of business—making vacations better for our clients at no extra cost to them.
Anne & I at the Captain’s Table on a river cruise.
At the Regensburg Christmas markets, each of us wearing our hats made by owner of the Hutkoing
As Anne likes to say “Please remember, it doesn’t cost you anything extra to have us book for you. The prices you see on vendor’s websites is the price we quote, it just means they pay us a commission and you don’t have the hassle of trying to reach them if you need info or assistance.”
Trust, service, unique knowledge and a quest to give the best possible advice—these are the hallmarks of our business and our core values
72 and Lucky
By now, you probably get it, I am a lucky man with a great wife. A lot of life experiences have gone into our business. We never forget how lucky we are. We use it to help you. Here is how we celebrated last night:
My Final Thoughts
What a great adventure Anne and I have shared in life and the travel business. Thanks for sharing this journey with us! We look forward to helping you in the future.
We are travel experts, ocean and river cruise specialists, and Europe destination experts. We have first-hand knowledge of almost anywhere you want to visit in Europe. We know our products and the vendors who sell them to you. We have designed special tours for dozens of clients, led several and will continue to find just the right vacation that will exceed your expectations.
When you are spending your hard-earned money for a vacation, you want an advisor who can match you with the right trip. You want someone who will understand your expectations and fuel your anticipation (or excitement) to get you the best possible trip experience. And, you want someone who can help you with the decision making process. We think we have all these qualities.
Whatever your Dream Destinations are, we are here to help you get the best possible vacation based on what is important to you! We will provide you high quality, expertly planned travel. Please give me a call 713-397-0188 (Hank) or email me at hschrader@dreamdestinations.com. We want to help you: Savor life…make memories…Visit Dream Destinations! Your journey begins here!
HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 49 years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
AmaWaterways River Cruise Specialist
Viking River Cruise Specialist
Scenic River Cruise Specialist
Emerald Waterways Specialist
Avalon Waterways Specialist
Brit Agent
