xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
EH Notebook #105 July 10, 2002
oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Welcome to EH Notebook, the e-zine where e-friends who have
attended Elderhostel programs can compare notes.
There is an independent but cooperatively maintained index to old
issues at http://members.aol.com/ehindex
To subscribe to the e-mail publication and/or to submit reviews of
programs taken send an e-mail to the editor, Bob McAllester, at
EHnotebook$A$earthlink.net
Please keep all correspondence in simple e-mail text format.
################################################
From the Editor's Notebook
################################################
I have been concerned that SPAMERS can pick up the e-mail
addresses of our contributors from the web site where each issue
is stored and indexed for future reference. I am going to try a
little trick to frustrate their automatic e-mail address scanners.
The key character of an e-mail address is the "at symbol".
I am going to replace each "at symbol" with the string - $A$.
That means that if you want to correspond with one of the
contributors, you will have to substitute the "at symbol" for the
characters $A$ when you are using the e-mail address.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After distributing the last issue of EH Notebook, containing my
China report, I received the following excellent advice:
"Glad you shortened your size...I have been saying this for
years...People put in too much detail...Keep it simple and
short...we don't want a schedule of what you did every day... just
highlights and maybe something you didn't like."
Martha S
Martas773$A$aol.com
Yes, for many readers, my report did drag on and on. On the other
hand, one of our fellow Elderhostelers said:
"I enjoyed your synopsis of our trip. One highlight you didn't
mention was the Yuhan Provincial Museum, which contained the
contents of the 433 BC Tomb of Marquise Yi. It had the original
chime bells featured in Crouching Tigers among other treasures."
"What really made the trip special though, was the quality of the
guides, especially Tony, who were so knowledgeable as well as
personable, and gave us real insights into their lives and
aspirations."
Susan Kunz
I keep looking to follow the advice of Martha S and just hit the
highlights, but those interesting details keep creeping in. Even
then, I find that I have left out some interesting details.
Two people may have entirely different perspectives of the same
program. Their opinions and their highlights would be different.
If you see a review of a program that you have attended, but your
view is different or if there is something more you think needs
saying, please send your own review.
Bob McAllester
EHnotebook$A$earthlink.net
################################################
Comments and Queries
################################################
HGlucks$A$aol.com
At the end of July, Elderhostel co-founder Marty Knowlton will be
celebrating his 80th birthday. We met him at an Elderhostel
program in Ventura several years ago. He was absolutely
delightful, fascinating everyone with his entertaining stories
about the early days of Elderhostel.
As he approaches this milestone birthday, I thought it would be
nice, for any Elderhostelers who wish to do so, to send Marty a
birthday card or note wishing him well.
Mr. Marty Knowlton
Victoria Care Center
5445 Everglades Street
Ventura, CA 93003
Thanks to Paul Felts of CSF for providing Marty's current mailing
address and getting approval to post it in EH Notebook.
HG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Would appreciate recommendations of Watercolor EH programs...
SUZIKUKAR$A$aol.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I would like to hear from anyone with information on purchasing
slides of maps of various countries for use in my slide
presentations.
AND
I would like to correspond with anyone having been on
Elderhostel's Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand 21-day trip or
Poland, The Czech Republic, and Hungary 24-day trip.
Diane Tanner
jtdtjtdt$A$concentric.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Has anyone taken the trip to Peru (Majesty and Mystery: Ancient
Civilizations of Peru)? We would like to have information that
includes any problems with altitude or the places which were
traveled: Lima, Chiclayo, Trujillo, Cusco, Yucay/Urubamba Valley,
Aguas Calientes/Machu Picchu. We are considering that trip in
January. Please send the info right away as we need to sign up.
Thank you.
Barbara Parker
Parker2372$A$aol.com
################################################
Program Reviews
################################################
Shelburne Nova Scotia Elderhostel
Ontario: Theater by Bicycle
YAVAPAI COLLEGE/COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST/RED ROCK COUNTRY, AZ
Brittany: Land of the Celts, Land of Legends Traditions
St Charles Community College ^Ö Intergenerational - Missouri
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Shelburne Nova Scotia Elderhostel
June 16-21 2002 (65077-0616)
Sponsor Coastal Peoples Learning Network
(Elizabeth Rhuland and Faith Guay)
Coordinators: Sylvia Smith (daytime), Shirley Holden (evenings)
This Elderhostel was housed at the Cape Cod Colony Motel This is a
basic motel, but the rooms were clean and comfortable. The Coastal
Peoples office was just over a half mile away.
Meals were held at the Coastal Peoples office, restaurants in
Shelburne or nearby.
Breakfasts were cooked to order by Al and Mary Lou Keith, and were
delicious. They also cooked supper on Sunday and Wednesday.
Every dinner was either fish or seafood, and one or two people
were served something else if they were unable to eat the main
course. Our final dinner was lobster served at the nearby Sandy
Point Lighthouse center.
The program was excellent. David Walker a retired naval
architect, gave programs on The history of Shelburne, the
development of the fishery, and the golden age of Sail. We broke
up the classroom time with a walking tour of Shelburne led by Al
Keith and a trip to the Dory Shop Museum. We also had
presentations on Ecosystems given by Tony Bowron and his assistant
Nancy.
Wednesday was a day long field trip to Cape Sable Island, where we
visited a salt marsh with Tony and Nancy. This was followed by
visits to a fish processing plant, a fish drying plant, a very
modern Lobster storage facility, and a working wharf. Lunch was
at a restaurant at Snug Harbor.
Thursday morning we met Frankyn D'Entremont a retired Swordfish
harpooner. We had a delightful talk and demonstration of his
trade.
Friday morning we met at the Lockeport wharf, and had a walking
tour of the area with Vickie Farrell. We also visited a smokehouse
and had samples of smoked salmon and Solomon Gundy (pickled
herring). Our final meal was a barbecue at the Crescent Beach
center.
Our coordinators were excellent and we had interesting programs or
entertainment every evening. I highly recommend this Elderhostel
or the ones held in Yarmouth NS and Lunenburg which are also
sponsored by the Coastal Peoples Learning Network.
Helen Sternheim
helen$A$umassk12.net
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ontario: Theater by Bicycle
International Catalog:
SPECIALTY/ACTIVE OUTDOOR - BICYCLING
Ken Niewoehner
Kniewoehner$A$enter.net
Hey. We've had some great Elderhostel trips and the last one
Biking and Theatre in Canada was one of the best. Great Food,
etc.
The Biking and Theatre in Canada is fairly well described in the
Catalogue. It has many sessions and I believe that one is on at
this time. I know that one followed ours as we slightly
overlapped. The first 3 nights were in a hotel in Toronto with
local short biking trips, ie, to a park, etc. The plays were Lion
King and Mama Mia. Backstage tours of the theatres, etc. The
next three nights were at the Shaw Festival at Niagara on the
Lake, Ont. Two more plays, Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra, and
Merrily We Toll Along. Stayed at Colonel Butler Inn. Very nice.
Here we had a little more biking. To a butterfly conservatory and
another day to a wine tasting vineyard. Easy biking because the
area is so flat.
We also had sessions on the history of the area, (from a
Canadian prospective- The Americans invaded the area in the war of
1812 and weren't too nice. ) Some people have long memories.
The last three nights were at Stratford on Avon at the Shakespeare
Festival. We had great daytime biking. The land was rolling but
no more than here in Pa. The second to last day we had a 46
miler. Only 9 of the 26 persons finished. They picked up
people in their vans at various towns, 12miles. etc. It was set
up that way, so there was no problem.
Frankly it was more a theatre crowd than a biking crowd. We have
biked Elderhostel 4 times and are scheduled for Providence in the
fall. The plays at Stratford were super. Henry VI which you'll
never forget if you see it, and the Scarlet Pimpernel, which the
critics panned, but it was a neat play based on spiriting persons
out of France during the French Revolution. It would never play
in Montreal. It was Anglophyle. Stayed at Festival Inn, one of the
nicest places we have ever stayed. The food during the entire
trip was excellent. All three meals provided. Two were catered
picnics.
Not recommended for serious bikers, who see miles covered as the
goal. Meant more for casual bikers. Great bikes. I have a Trek
but these were much better, 27 speed DiVinci's. They sell in
Canada for $1000.00
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
YAVAPAI COLLEGE/COCONINO NATIONAL FOREST/RED ROCK COUNTRY, AZ
003881-05050-02
SACRED MOUNTAIN ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY MAPPING PROJECT
Robert S. Thoms
rabbit.inpa$A$verizon.net
INTRODUCTION: This Elderhostel SERVICE PROGRAM took place around
Sacred Mountain, which is located South of Sedona AZ on an
extension of Route 179 a few miles East of where it intersects
with the interstate. Our purpose there was to identify and map
Indian Artifacts and Agricultural features. The program went from
5/5 to 5/12/02
GETTING THERE: Due to the 9/11 business, I elected to come by
train to Flagstaff, rent a car and drive the 26 miles or so to
Sedona. It was recommended that I take Route 89a, which resulted
in the most spectacular landscape scenery this retired East Coast
office worker has ever seen.
THE FACILITIES: "Home Base" was located eight miles South of
Sedona, in the village of Oak Creek. There were seven
Elderhostelers on this service trip, and I would think we were all
treated like royalty at the "Oak Creek Wellness Center". As I
understand it, Elderhostel has entered into a long-term agreement
with this facility; to provide room and board for several
Elderhostel Programs in this area. Accommodations were suites (not
rooms), that included full kitchenette, dining, and living areas
in addition to your typical bedroom/bathroom motel room. My suite
had a back door that opened onto a small patio and included a
wonderful view of Council Butte.
The facilities also included a pool, Jacuzzi, and exercise room.
Food was served buffet style, and included fabulous breakfasts
(including eggs benedict) and good dinners (that was personal
taste more than quality of food). Lunches consisted of "brown bag
specials" and included a sandwich, fruit drink, granola bar and
munchies.
NIGHTLY PROGRAMS: So many people shared their knowledge of the
area, history and culture surrounding the evolution of the HOPI
Nation. By the end of the week, I felt like I had completed a
course entitled "A Culture and History of The Hopi Indian Nation
101". All the presentations were well put together and told in
such a way to make it all so interesting; especially when we were
using what we learned every day at the site.
SERVICE PROGRAM: Or better stated; the reason why we were there.
We were joined in the field by experienced Archaeologists from the
college, members of the forest service, and additional volunteers
from other organizations.
We were divided into small groups that worked in several different
locations doing mapping, or walking "transects" to identify
agricultural features and artifacts. Our groups were set up so
that there was always at least one experienced person who knew the
"lay of the land" and site conditions.
We started work at 8:30 AM, and wrapped up at 3:30 PM. The entire
day was spent at the site, including lunch break.
TOUR DAY: Wednesday was our day off, and we were given a tour that
included Indian Petroglyphs and a climb to the top of Sacred
Mountain to view the Pueblo Ruins. Our Elderhostel Coordinator
made it that much more interesting by sharing tales of Indian lore
and history.
It should be noted that although Montezuma Castle and Jerome were
mentioned in the write-up, they are available for tour, but not
included as part of this program.
REFLECTIONS: I learned an awful lot on this trip, much more than
an average tourist. The work was not that hard, but the site
conditions and the environment were rugged. Although the ground
was level for the most part, it was almost impossible to avoid
walking over rocks.
Because of the dry heat, you cannot drink enough water.
Due to the extreme drought conditions, there is no smoking
anywhere, once you leave the center until you return.
For a more detailed description of all that happened on this
"Adventure", along with photos, please visit my "Group" at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RST43INPA/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brittany: Land of the Celts, Land of Legends Traditions
EH# 40366
May 31 to June 15, 2002
Thomas and Jean Foran
thomaseu$A$aol.com
This program was a very full and interesting experience. We flew
into CDG (Paris) from JFK and had to make the transfer to a
domestic flight to Nantes with no assistance. We found this to be
very difficult after a transatlantic flight. There was a three
hour layover for the one hour flight to Nantes. If we were to do
a program with a transfer such as this, we would opt to fly a day
early and spend the night at the airport. Our luggage was,
however, checked through from JFK to Nantes which was very
helpful. After the flight to Nantes we were met at the airport
for our 2 hour bus trip to Vannes. All in all, it was a very
tiring day!
After arriving at the Hotel Mascotte in Vannes, a lunch was
waiting for us and we had free time until the Orientation Session
that evening followed by dinner. This free time helped us to
readjust our bodies to the new time zone.
We stayed five nights in Vannes, three in Quimper at the Hotel
Mascotte, three in Perros-Guirec at the Hotel Mercure, two in
Rennes at the Interhotel Le Sevigne and then overnight in Nantes
at the Hotel Jules Verne Holiday Inn for our flight home the next
day. The Farewell Dinner lasted until 10 p.m. and the wake up
call was at 4 a.m. for a 6:35 a.m. flight to Paris. Another
exhausting day. (We extended in Paris for three nights, but that
was not part of the Elderhostel program.)
The hotels in all five cities were typical of Elderhostel European
programs. They were all two-star with the exception of the final
night in Nantes which was a three-star. All were centrally
located and within easy walking distance of the city centers. Not
all hotels had dining rooms but the food situation worked fine
with some meals in local restaurants. The meals were all from a
set menu and showed off the seafood of the Brittany area.
Breakfasts were buffet, lunches were one and two courses with
dessert and dinners were all two courses and dessert. Coffee was
not usually part of the meal and was available at an additional
cost as was wine. In a few instances, coffee service was included
as was wine a few times. In each city, there was an afternoon of
free time which included a free lunch or dinner. We always
received our money for each of these meals: 10 Euros for lunch and
15 for dinner. We really enjoyed these free times as we would
look for restaurants on our walks that appealed to us.
The weather for the two weeks was basically cool and rainy. This
was typical for the area. All field trips went on regardless of
the weather and all were successful. It was cool enough for a
sweater or jacket (and sometimes both).
There were lectures at all the hotel sites and again in the field.
The guides in the field were more interesting than the lecturers
in the hotels. The lecturers seemed to have been hired from local
universities and dealt more with background materials. The field
trip guides were all very vivacious and interesting and had the
benefit of being at the place of action. The theme of the trip,
the Celtic Connection, was handled very well as it progressed in a
timeline. We first visited Carnac and saw the megalithic remains
and then followed that pattern up to the Enchanted Forest through
medieval times to Mont Saint Michel and then ending with Saint
Malo with its rebuilding from the WWII. The field trips were on
foot, by bus and by boat or a combination. There was a serious
amount of walking but the opportunity sometimes to stay on the bus
to wait for the more adventurous sorts.
The highlights of the trip for us:
Experiencing the megaliths at Carnac and Locmariaquer
Folk dancing with the Breton dancers and musicians at the hotel
Seeing the lighthouse at Pointe du Raz
Boating to Brehat Island
Eating galettes and crepes and drinking local cider
Climbing the rocks at Huelgoat to look for the little people
Walking through the Enchanted Forest
Viewing the stained glass window in the church of the Holy Grail
Getting to the top of Mont Saint Michel to watch the tide come in
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
St Charles Community College ^Ö Intergenerational - Missouri
CallieK
calliek2$A$cox.net
I have just returned from my first experience at an
Intergenerational Elderhostel. My nine-year-old granddaughter and
I attended one sponsored by St. Charles Community College in St.
Charles/St. Louis, Missouri. We spent three days at the St. Louis
Zoo, one day at pioneer sites, and one day at the Gateway Arch and
a Children's Museum.
We were based at a TravelLodge in St. Charles, MO. The first
event was a Sunday evening picnic in a local park. After eating,
the directors organized a Kick Ball game with the 6 boys and 9
girls, ages 8, 9 and 10, which gave them a chance to interact and
get acquainted, while the 20 grandparents visited and did the
same. The grandchildren were from Oregon, California, Texas,
Oklahoma, Georgia, Connecticut, Iowa and Missouri. Some were with
one grandparent, some couples brought one grandchild, others
brought two. The required ratio was one grandchild to one
grandparent.
Every morning, we had to be ready to leave the motel at 8:00 a.m.
Breakfast was at the motel. All but one lunch was a catered box
lunch at the zoo, and the museum on Friday. All but one dinner
was at a Buffet near the motel. Lunch on Pioneer Day was at a
Buffet because of the lighter supper at the Daniel Boone farm.
Zoo activities were divided between "out on the grounds" with a
docent educator and a classroom - all designed to have us indoors
by the time the day got really hot. Great docent educators and
the kids enjoyed the interactive classes, which included live
animals, games (one on computers), and learning stations. "Lesson
themes" included classifying animals, tools used by zookeepers,
how and why zoos trade animals (an opportunity to "build our own
zoo" by making trades, which kept the kids up and moving), and
"speaking Chimp", with an opportunity to try out our skills at the
Chimpanzee exhibit (the kids loved this one!).
Pioneer Day included tours of the Lewis Clark museum (wonderful
story-telling docent) and the first State Capitol (another good
docent), both in St. Charles - and an afternoon/evening at the
Daniel Boone farm, where the kids stacked firewood, dipped
candles, did laundry with a washboard, churned butter and chopped
veggies and apples (with grandparent help) which became our supper
of chicken soup, cornbread and fried apples - all cooked in a
cabin fireplace.
On Friday, we went to the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial
(child-oriented tour of the museum there and an opportunity to go
up in the Gateway Arch) and the City Museum, where kids can be
turned loose to explore three floors of tunnels, slides, climbing
things, arts and crafts while adults can sit and wait for them to
show up by the aquarium!!! No child is allowed to leave the
building without an adult and there are supervisors everywhere to
keep things from getting dangerous! Great way to spend the last
afternoon, when the grandparents were wearing down and the kids
were still going strong!!
We were back at the motel every afternoon by 4:00 p.m., when the
kids could swim for an hour (supervised by a certified lifeguard
and the director) and grandparents could rest.
Evening activities were at the motel and included making a Memory
Book, a demonstration on preparing and spinning wool (interactive
with kids), a video on how the Arch was built, and Graduation,
with director-guided "performances" by the kids. All ended by 8:00
p.m.
Unfortunately, the director is leaving the St. Charles Community
College Elderhostel program to return to the classroom. She is
recommending that the Intergenerational program be continued, but
doesn't know if it will - or what changes may be made.
The title of this Elderhostel was "Getting To Know You/Making
Memories" - and I think my grandchild and I did both. It was a
very special time. I look forward to taking my next oldest
grandchild to an Intergenerational Elderhostel when she is nine.
Callie