thanks to everyone for their replies. This board is fantastic! I just signed up and I quite pleased with the involvement of everyone. To clarify an inportant point of my original post that started this, while I will follow up on the great suggestions to find groups, hostels, etc., the most pressing issue for me is that I do not like to travel alone. Nothing to do with security, or being afraid to travel (I travel out of the country a lot for work, hence the decent mileage). But, quite frankly, I can get lonely travelling (a.k.a. sightseeing, hiking, etc.) by myself. A few days at a resort, beach, etc., to relax is one thing. But anything more, and again, being really honest, I prefer companionship. What I would really love is some type of network where people can just fly and get together for 2-3 day weekends, doing hiking or whatever (I am not an avid hiker, mountain climber, etc... just like the outdoors, or sightseeing while walking, etc.) My age (42) is not really the issue, as in it does not limit my ability to travel.
--- Thanks again everyone for their great advice, I am pleased to be part of this online community.