A new program offered by the Charleston Parks and Recreation was created to give Charleston residents a new experience outside the city.

Kim Wargo, the recreation supervisor at the department, said she wanted to provide a program specifically for seniors.

Cuisine Cruisin’ is a monthly program that allows anyone ages 55 and up to take a three-and-a-half-hour trip to a unique restaurant.

Wargo said so far the program is just offered to seniors because they may not have the resources to travel.

“I wanted to offer something to seniors so they can socialize and get out of town because they can’t on their own,” she said. “I just wanted to give them a new opportunity to get out of town, try new restaurants and see some sights.”

The roundtrip is $5 per person, but does not include the cost for the meal.

Wargo said the cost per roundtrip covers the cost of travel expenses.

She said part of the draw to the program is the low cost.

The lowest price for a roundtrip train ride from Mattoon to Champaign on the Amtrak is $12.

That price is from station to station, but with the program, the van takes people to and from the restaurant, Wargo said.

Wargo said she chooses the restaurants based on online reviews, price and distance.

“I do a lot of web searches,” she said.  “The restaurant has to have a reasonable driving distance and reasonable price.”

Wargo also said she tries to pick restaurants that will offer a different experience.

The first trip to Biaggi’s Ristorant Italiano in Champaign on Feb. 6 went smoothly, she said.

“They all seemed to enjoy traveling and enjoy each other’s company,” Wargo said.  “The food was really delicious.”

As of now, there is a 15-person limit on who can join the program, but more requests could result in better traveling facilities, Wargo said.

“If we had 30 or 40 people, we would rent a bus,” she said.

Even though the program is only offered to people ages 55 and up, Wargo said the department would offer a program for younger people if there was interest.

Liz Moll, a junior communication studies major, said the program would be great for freshmen because they cannot have cars on campus.

“I know a lot of them take the bus,” she said.

Cynthia Libby, a senior family and consumer sciences major, said it can be costly for people without cars to travel as far as Mattoon.

“For people who don’t have cars, it’s nice to pay $5 to go there and back; when you take a cab, it’s $12,” she said. “I took a cab one day from my house to Panther Paw one day, and it was $12. So from here to Mattoon, it’s probably more than that.”

She said if she had the option, she would join the program to eat healthier options.

“The fast food places offer kind of the same things, so it’s not much of a variety,” Libby said.

Bart Zamora, senior family and consumer sciences major, said if he asked his friends if they wanted to travel to Champaign for $5, they would be up for it.

Wargo said as for right now, this program is only offered to seniors because a younger crowd may deter them from joining.

“I just wanted to make it more of a club atmosphere,” Wargo said. “When there’s a lot of younger crowd participating, it makes the seniors feel like they don’t fit in and they won’t participate.”

Amanda Wilkinson can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].