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> Elderhostel Notebook #77Nov 14, 2000
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>
>Welcome to Elderhostel Notebook, the e-zine where hostelers
>compare notes on elderhostel programs.
>
>EN is an independent project, appreciative of but not associated
>with Elderhostel Inc. http://www.elderhostel.org
>
>EN has a WWW site at
>http://homepage.mac.com/jimolson/EHnotebook
>
>To subscribe to the e-mail edition and/or to submit reviews of
>programs taken send an e-mail to the editor, Jim
>Olson, at EHnotebook@aol.com
>
>Please keep all correspondence in simple e-mail text format.
>
>################################################
> From the Editor's Notebook
>################################################
>With this issue I am returning to the earlier format of including
>Comments and Queries in the Notebook rather than having a
>separate Dialogue newsletter.
>
>This is a personal decision as this format makes the newsletter
>and web page easier for me to handle.
>
>The interactive web archive will continue to contain just
>reports.
>
>################################################
> Dialogue
>################################################
>
>
>From: "JG Hansen"
>
>Has anyone attended the Elderhostel week at the Marine Resources
>Development Foundation at Key Largo? I think I want to attend in
>January, but a little uncertain about the water temp.
>
>J G Hansen
>################################################
> Program Reviews
>################################################
>
> Cambria Pines, Lodge, Cambria, CA
> Bay Area Classic Learning/Tiburon
> Miami University/Hamilton, Ohio
> Northern Arizona University / Canyon de Chelly
> College of Santa Fe "Travels Through Time:
>
>
>_________________
>
>Cambria Pines, LodgeCambria, CA
>Gavian @aol.com
>
>Have just returned from my 25th EH, at Cambria Pines Lodge, and
>would like to review it for you.
>
>My first requirement in choosing an EH is always the site, and in
>this case the Cambria Pines Lodge more than lived up to its
>blurb. It's a long-established retreat center on 25 acres of
>pines, within walking (hilly) distance of the charming little
>town of Cambria. The rooms are large (some even with fireplace),
>with TV, morning coffee, and 2 dbl beds. There's an indoor pool
>and spa available. The place is built around large lovely
>gardens. We ate, exercised and had classes all in the same
>room...but it was large enough for our group of 36.
>
>The food was served buffet style, and was healthful, ample and
>not particularly exciting (no choices)...but we don't go
>hosteling to "dine", do we? One of the high spots to the (5-day)
>week was (were?) the co-ordinators, Shirley Jack Yates. It was
>their first time, and I hope they go on forever. This was my
>25th EH and I've never had finer hosts. They were charming, but
>efficient, knowledgeable and good-looking and extremely helpful.
>
>As to the courses, we had Tai Chi, and Zoos, but Cal Poly has
>many different weeks and other courses offered. But whatever you
>choose, be sure to pick one that features "Sangs Clatters: a
>Glimpse of Scotland". Maisie Eggers, the instructor, is a
>National Treasure worth coming across country for! She could
>read the dictionary in that great accent and I'd be enthralled,
>but she gave us a wonderful picture of growing up in Glasgow, and
>some history of the Highland Clearances, and life in the crofts.
>The climax was a Ceilidh the last night; a tribute to Robert
>Burns, and even serving a real Haggis, with all its ceremony.
>
>There were two field trips in a very comfortable bus: one to a
>Tasting and Tour of a Winery, and the other to the Zoo in
>Atascadero, where we had a glimpse behind the scenes of this very
>fine little zoo. We also had a free afternoon, which many used
>to visit the famous (kitschy) Hearst Castle nearby. We went up
>the coast a ways to see the Elephant Seals on the beach.
>
>Because of its location, this site requires a car, so most of the
>group were fellow Californians. Another slight drawback was
>noise....the buildings are not well-insulated, so if you have
>inconsiderate neighbors, you would do well to call the
>desk...they take quick action. But those are very small things
>compared to the pleasure of this EH. If I didn't have the rest
>of the EH Catalog to visit, I'd go back in a minute!
>
>Terry Kirker
>
>_________________
>
>Bay Area Classic Learning/Tiburon
>05022-1015-01
>wcarter@softdisk.com
>
>
>My first experience with this EH "Provider", and it was a good,
>albeit only five day, program.
>
>Instructors: Three excellent lecturers, probably the best I have
>had in years of EH-ing. One's subject was Puccini Operas, and he
>- a man of seventy-odd years - is a professional musician, and
>obviously knows and loves his subject.
>
>The second, a professional sculptor and apparently a successful
>one, talked about, and showed many slides on art in the Bay area
>with emphasis on his and others' work in that medium.
>
>The third subject was the portrayal of the Old Testament in the
>movies. I had expected a lightweight movie critic and was
>astonished when a bright young Ph.D. in archaeology, who also
>heads a Jewish adult education center in the area, turned up.
>Witty and well informed.
>
>Course content: Excellent, as evident from the quality of the
>teaching. Two excursions offered, one of which cost extra.
>
>Housing/Meals: A mixed report. We stayed in the same hotel where
>our lectures were delivered. My bedroom was large and very
>comfortably furnished. It should have been, as the so-called
>"single supplement" was forty dollars a night. I continue to be
>baffled by the logic of charging extra for one who uses half the
>hot water and towels. The rooms were serviced once during the
>five nights, but extra towels could be had for the asking. There
>was a computer available for retrieving one's e-Mail.
>
>Food was quite good and ample. Cafeteria style, in a semiprivate
>dining room which was too small for the number of people, and
>quite noisy. The hotel has no bar so drinks and wine were BYOB.
>
>We were issued a bizarre sheet of printed "rules", some of which
>were about nursery school level, e.g., "food will not be taken to
>bedrooms - it might attract ants". (I took care to leave a muffin
>on my bureau on checking out).
>
>
>Final score: B+ or A-.
>
>
>___________________
>
>
>Miami University/Hamilton, Ohio
>The Underground Railroad
>Oct 22 - 27, 2000
>rmcallester@earthlink.net
>
>
>This program met in the Hamiltonian Hotel, an old but comfortable
>hotel on the banks of the Great Miami River. Most of the classes
>were held in the Fitton Center for Creative Arts - about 3 short
>blocks from the hotel.
>
>A continental breakfast (no hot food) was served in the hotel. It
>was served in a room for Elderhostelers only so we didn't have to
>compete with other guests.
>
>The other meals were served in a variety of locations - the
>hotel, the Fitton Center, and at the Presbyterian Church across
>the street from the Fitton Center. Three lunches were served on
>our field trips. All the meals were tasty, filling and
>nutritious. We never resorted to sack lunches.
>
>The program was well designed to familiarize us with the perils
>that were faced by the runaway slaves and by the people who aided
>them on their way to freedom. The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made
>it legal for slave catchers to pursue the runaways into the free
>states and return them to their owners. To be really free, the
>slaves had to travel all the way to Canada. There were also
>penalties for anyone who was caught assisting an escaped slave.
>
>The escapees would travel at night and seek safety during the day
>at one of stations of the Underground Railroad. In the border
>towns along the Ohio River, it was generally well known who was
>pro-slavery, who was anti-slavery and who were the abolitionists.
>The slave catchers had a pretty good idea where those stations
>were and they were not above forcing their way in to a home to
>search for the fugitives.
>
>The conductors had to be very clever about where they hid the
>fugitives. On our field trips we were shown some secret
>compartments that may have been used to hide the fugitives. These
>compartments were not comfortable or even healthy places to stay.
>They may have been below floorboards or little tunnels from the
>cellars. They were probably used only when some suspicious person
>was observed in the area.
>
>We heard of some of the stories that have been preserved. We also
>heard and sang some of the songs that inspired and directed the
>attempts to reach freedom. We studied the signals that were used
>along the way, the candles and the quilts.
>
>This was the first time that this program has been presented. The
>principal flaw in the program was that the main presenter read
>most of his material. This is a very boring way to present some
>very interesting material. At one point the group literally took
>the program away from him and we delved into our own discussion
>of more modern race relations and how they have progressed or
>digressed from the Civil War era. I think that he was getting
>bored himself and enjoyed the change.
>
>Miami University only hosts one Elderhostel a year. We all
>enjoyed this one and have encouraged the coordinator to repeat
>it. Watch for it. I think that the program will only get better.
>
>Grace Bob McAllester
>Rmcallester@earthlink.net
>
>__________________
>
>
>Northern Arizona University / Canyon de Chelly
>Nov. 5, 2000
>rmcallester@earthlink.net
>
>This program met at the Best Western Motel in Chinle, Arizona.
>Chinle is a very remote Navajo community at the mouth of Canyon
>de Chelly. The motel is very comfortable. Meals are served in the
>motel restaurant. At each meal, breakfast included, we were able
>to choose from a select menu of two or three items. The food was
>good by Elderhostel standards.
>
>The classes met in the same room where meals were served. The
>room was large enough so that this worked well. We ate in booths
>around the edge of the room and then had classes at tables in the
>center, a very congenial arrangement.
>
>Except for one park ranger, the speakers were all Navajo. The
>Navajo speakers were all well informed and entertaining. We
>studied Navajo culture, history, language, arts and music. We
>empathized with those people who were forced to take the long
>walk to eastern New Mexico in the 1860s. We had a fascinating
>visit with a Navajo Code-talker from World War II.
>
>Our coordinators were Jerry and Wilma Begay. One of them was
>always there during the day and they were available by phone at
>night. They filled in for a couple of presenters that couldn't
>make it. When one of our Elderhostelers re-injured an old
>football knee, Wilma was at the hospital to help him deal with
>the Indian Health Services.
>
>The highlights of the trip were the trips to view the canyon. On
>Tuesday afternoon, we had a bus trip to view the canyon from the
>south rim, good views but it was cold and windy. On Friday
>afternoon, we were taken into the canyons, aboard six wheeler
>vehicles. This was a real adventure. We had two vehicles for the
>trip, one had a Plexiglas cover and the other was open. As we
>started into the canyon, it started to rain and the driver
>immediately provided rain ponchos for those of us in the open
>truck. Our ponchos also gave us more protection from the cold
>wind. As we were visiting Antelope House, another covered truck
>caught up with us and we switched to it. The view through the
>Plexiglas was not as clear, but there were no complaints.
>
>Saturday morning we woke up to a world coated with about two
>inches of snow. That complicated life for us because this was our
>departure day and we were in a remote area where snow removal
>activity is very sparse. We drove very carefully over the ice and
>snow for about sixty miles until we found consistently bare roads
>at Window Rock.
>
>This program is offered in March and November. These are the
>months before and after the tourist season when it is possible to
>negotiate Elderhostel prices. You do risk the possibility of
>inclement weather. People are aware of this. The last program for
>next March is already full. The earlier ones have a slightly
>greater weather risk.
>
>If you are willing to take the weather risk and have
>transportation to this remote area, this is a great Elderhostel.
>Remember that most of the program is in a snug meeting room.
>
>Grace and Bob McAllester
>Rmcallester@earthlink.net
>
>___________________
>
>
>College of Santa Fe "Travels Through Time:
> From Ancient Ones to Conquistadors"
>10/10/00 through 10/21/00
>Joan Middaugh
>
>This is an eleven night Elderhostel "on the move" which started
>and ended in Santa Fe, NM. The catalog advertised upgraded
>accommodations and meals for approximately $150 pp/day. Most of
>the motels were Holiday Inns which were very nice, except in
>Gallup. It was right on the interstate and had paper thin walls.
>Very few of the motels had elevators so anyone with a problem
>with stairs would need to request a first floor room. Two of the
>hotels, the Loreto in Santa Fe and Little America in Flagstaff,
>were 5*.
>
>Breakfasts were in the hotels, either a special menu or buffet,
>or the continental breakfast which came with the room. Lunches
>were mostly picnics, which is a real time saver when you are in
>the middle of nowhere. Dinners were a stand out, including an
>excellent Italian restaurant in Cortez, CO., a catered meal in
>Aztec, NM, and the restaurants at Little America and the Loretto.
>
>31 of us, including three staff, travelled in three 14-passenger
>vans through Taos, Mesa Verde, Lowrey Pueblo, Hovenweep,Canyon de
>Chelly, Grand Canyon, Wupatki, Aztec and Chaco Canyon. Jay Peck,
>who has a degree in Anthropology and has worked on numerous
>archeological projects, was the tour coordinator. He was assisted
>by Bill Stevens, a cultural anthropologist, and Richard Montoya,
>a Native American of the Tewa tribe. On the first three nights
>there were classroom lectures on prehistory, culture and
>archeoastronomy. From then on, the tour leaders lectured at the
>sites.
>
>This was an excellent Elderhostel in terms of planning,
>educational experience and interesting sites. The only negative,
>in my opinion, was the inclusion of the Grand Canyon, which took
>approximately two travel days for a couple of hours at the
>canyon. Perhaps, it would be worth it if the tour stayed in one
>of the hotels on the rim. The Grand Canyon experience is
>available on other Elderhostels.
>
>October was the perfect time for this trip--cool, bright days,
>and golden Aspens and Cottonwoods.
>
>Please feel free to contact me by e-mail if you have additional
>questions.
>
>Joan Middaugh
>jmidda@juno.com