IF YOU TAPPED Nancy and Bill Mickelson's phone and listened in on their conversations, you'd swear the Lee's Hill couple was running a tour company.

One moment, Nancy's on the phone with the Kennedy Center, using charm and persistence to negotiate the price of a holiday show ticket from $75 to $35 a person for a busload of folks.

The next, Bill's on the line, checking with a fellow resident of the Spotsylvania County subdivision to make sure he gets his payment for a trip to New England in on time.

In between, one of them is checking on the price of lunch at a restaurant in Bavaria or the availability of rooms at a motel near the Myrtle Beach.

That these hard-working spouses do all this organizing as unpaid volunteers for their Lee's Hill 55 Club--down to details like making sure a traveler with diabetes has a fridge in his room--makes it all more inspiring.

Especially when you realize they have put together nearly 104 trips over the past 11 years.

Working with the same tour company for years, the Mickelsons have toiled tirelessly sorting out details on meals, shows, rooms and attractions from Niagara Falls to Vienna to Savannah to Mackinac Island in Michigan.

Linda Renkes, a friend, club member and frequent traveler with the group, got in touch to tell me about the couple's efforts.

She noted that the lion's share of the trips have been one-day bus jaunts or drives to theaters, art galleries or other attractions within a day's drive.

Twenty-four have been trips lasting three to seven days, four have been cruises to spots like Bermuda or the Danube River, and two have been overseas land trips.

"They take care of everything, from snacks and drinks on the bus to daily schedules to making sure those who need it get help with their bags," Renkes said.

Another friend and frequent traveler, Bertha O'Connor, said the support the Mickelsons provide goes beyond logistics.

"Bill's there checking everyone in in the morning and telling jokes once we get on the bus," she said. "And Nancy's letting us know everything we need to about the places we'll be visiting."