SAN ANTONIO – Exercising and playing games are some of the keys to staying happy and healthy for seniors in the Northern Hill/Valencia neighborhood. An average of 450 seniors visit the Northeast Senior Center every day.
The center, located on Thousand Oaks Drive, opened in November 2015. The center boasts 29,000 square feet of space and a huge workout area supplied with different workout equipment, from treadmills to exercise bikes to weight machines.
For the health conscience, it’s more than just walking on a treadmill for an hour a few times a week. There is another advantage and opportunity.
“A lot of women come and just visit, play, mingle, just, you know, look forward to it,” said Helen Garcia, who has been visiting the center for over a year and a half.
“l enjoy it. I really do,” Garcia added, “a lot of good people.”
Along with the weight equipment, there are fitness and dance classes. The center is filled with classrooms for arts and crafts, and computers. There are also bingo and table games like pool and ping pong.
One of the events growing in interest is the women’s monthly billiards tournament. Norma Olmedo is a three-time champ.
“Try to encourage other women to play and now we have 10 people in our league,” Olmedo said.
Hayden Norris shows up almost every day. The 88-year-old spends time working out his body — and his mind. He is a master at the Rummikub table.
He moved to San Antonio from North Carolina to be closer to two of his sisters. They all live close to each other.
“I love the neighborhood,” Hayden said. “I don’t want to live downtown San Antonio. I want to live out in the outskirts, and this is just right.”
He also lives in the vicinity of the senior center. “This is a real nice addition to the neighborhood,” Hayden said.
Seniors can also take advantage of health screenings and resources, not to mention a free lunch served daily.
If they want to enjoy the great outdoors, the Northern Hills Golf Course is just around the corner. It was once a private course. The owners tried to sell to a developer but that didn’t pan out, and the City of San Antonio ended up purchasing the course and clubhouse with a push from the community.
“For us to have this here, to live here with this, it is probably the best well-kept secret,” said Mary Carriker, who has lived on the course for 30 years. “We just feel very fortunate to have a good course here.”
The course is now part of the San Antonio Golf Trail and is one of the most popular to play at, especially since it is the only one on the Northeast Side.
Between the golf course and the senior center, there is no shortage of places to visit and things to do to stay happy and healthy in the Northern Hills/Valencia neighborhoods.