GOING ELDERHOSTELING
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Elderhostel Notebook March 1996
oxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
Elderhostel Notebook is the bimonthly e-mail publication of the
Senior Group, an informal collection of net seniors. It is the
product of elderhostlers, and is independent of the Elderhostel
organization and not associated with it.
It is published in alternate months with the Senior Group
Newsletter, but has a separate mailing list. Submissions are
welcome and voluntary as are comments and suggestions.
Editor is Jim Olson olsonjam@uwec.edu
There is no charge for either publication. Just contact the
editor to subscribe.
**********************************************
Contents
From the Editors Notebook
News and Comments
Elderhostel Information on America Online
Using the Elderhostel World Wide Web Site
Exploring Issues of Singles at Elderhostels
Tales from Elderhostel
STRANDED!
Mel and Pauline
Meeting an Old Friend
Elderhostel Reviews
Meet Fellow Elderhostlers
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Editor's Notebook
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As I sit here looking into cyber-world in the screen before me, I
glance out the window at the real world to the street below and
see it gradually filling with snow. Here in Wisconsin March is
snow, slush, slip, and slide month, and the time we get the
worst cases of Elderhostel Fever for which there is only one
known cure- going elderhosteling. Lacking that cure at the moment
we can all engage in the next best therapy, talking about
elderhostel.
Welcome to the first edition of Elderhostel Notebook. We
currently have 76 subscribers about evenly divided between
America On Line users, where there is an elderhostel message
board, and readers using a wide variety of internet servers from
Canada, USA, and some smattering of other countries.
If you like what you see and know of other elderhostlers who
might like to subscribe, have them contact me at
olsonjam@uwec.edu. But more than readers we need more writers.
The notebook will only be as good as the readers help make it by
contributing to the various sections. Again, send material to me
at the address above using either e-mail or attached text files.
My mail system at UWEC will not handle attached word processor
files although from within AOL you can attach WP files if sent to
me at my AOL address of Sierrajimo. My software can handle most
of the standard WP's.
Please feel free to comment on our format and suggest topics for
the news and comments section.
We would also like to meet you in our "Meet Fellow Elderhostlers"
section.
-Jim Olson
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News and Comments
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Elderhostel Information on America Online
Readers (about half of you) who have access to the commercial
service America On Line may wish to participate in the
elderhostel forum on that service. To access the elderhostel
forum you need first to go to the Seniornet area. To do this
select the keyword "seniornet." You do not need to be a member of
the SeniorNet organization to do this.
Once in that area you will find an icon labeled "SeniorNet
Forums."
Click on this icon and you will be in the main SeniorNet Message
Boards menu.
At the bottom of the window will be an icon labeled "List
categories."
Click on it and you will see a list of categories of message
boards including one called "Senior resources and Organizations."
Highlight that by clicking on its little folder icon.
Next click on the icon labeled "list topics" at bottom of screen.
You will see a list of topics including "Elderhostel."
Highlight it by clicking on its little folder and look at the
icons on the bottom of the scree.
They include three that you should consider:
"List messages" lists all messages starting with first
"Find New" lists messages you have not yet read
"Find Since" allows you to specify how far back in days
you wish to go.
Ignore the others and choose one of these three based on where you
wish to start reading messages that users have posted on the
elderhostel forum.
There is also a travel message board in the AARP area on AOL.
Use the keyword AARP and the message boards there function in
much they the same way as they do in the seniornet area. In
future issues we will discuss other internet sites of interest to
elderhostelers. If you know of some please contact the editor.
-sierrajimo@aol.com
_________________
Using the Elderhostel World Wide Web Site
The elderhostel World Wide Web site at http://www.elderhostel.org
is developing at a rapid rate with new features added regularly.
A catalog of US and Canada programs is available online and can
be searched for key words if you have a web browser such as
Netscape that supports searches. For example, I entered the
search word "birdwatching" for the Spring catalog and found
several sites. I found one that looked interesting to me,
"Birdwatching in the Canadian Rockies" and read the information
about it.
A new feature of the web site allows the user to check on the
status of any program currently being enrolled, giving the
enrollment status. I went back to the home page clicked on
Catalogs and then on the new feature "program availability
index," entered the program number I got from the earlier search
(and had wisely copied to the "clipboard" in my PC,) and found
that the program has a capacity of 26 and is filled with 11 on
the waiting list. It takes a little doing to do this and a web
browser, but it does save multiple phone calls to Boston to see
if a desired program is full. What it didn't tell me, however,
was what my relative position on the waiting list was if I had
entered the waiting list. Can't have everything, I guess.
-olsonjam@uwec.edu
_____________________
Exploring Issues of Singles at Elderhostels
One of the questions that often comes up as "newbies" consider
elderhosteling is the issue of going to an elderhostel alone.
Programs will match single participants with roommates and many
offer single occupancy at a higher rate. Since the capacity of
the program is sometimes determined by available room
accommodations and housing seems to be generally geared to
doubles at many sites, the general trend is to encourage people
to either come with a friend or to let the staff choose a
roommate for you.
Following are some selected responses to a discussion of this
issue on the AOL Elderhostel forum:
None of the offerings require double occupancy. Since John died
last year I have been on several and roommates have been fine.
It's the only way to travel and see the world.
-LITZ
If you wait for a friend to go somewhere with you may never
go anywhere. I have been going all over the world in the last
few years by myself. I go elderhostel some and university
programs also. There are always others who are single. I always
seem to find people who are compatible with my spirit. I also
like to have some time to myself to just take it all in. The
first trips and the beginning of trips are nervous making. But
take a chance. I don't think you will regret it. I've met some
wonderful people and make many friends. Please e-mail me if you
need for encouragement.
-Barbar624
I went alone to two the year after being widowed and paid a very
small single supplement for room at that time (since then some
of the charges have gone up considerably - maybe it depends on
the place).
It is the ideal way to travel alone - you can have as much or as
little company as you prefer. I have found them about half
couples and half singles - and of course, the singles are about
85% female. OR - they will assign you a room-mate - I wasn't
too thrilled with the one I got the one time I did this.
On the other hand, the room mate I found on line was fantastic -
the marvelous Alice W. (who wants me to adopt her - she has all
the talent, but I am richer, also cute but our clothes don't fit
each other - oh well, )
-TERRY BEE
ed note
The reference to finding a roommate online is to the use of the
AOL forum.
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Tales from Elderhostel
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STRANDED!
It was a brilliant Montana day in September as our Elderhostel
group set out in two vans for a geology field trip in the rugged
Pioneer Mountains near Dillon. We headed for the top of a
mountain which, for lack of a name, we all called "Old Smokey".
The U.S. Geodetic Survey marker on the top read 8,892 feet, and
the view from up there over mountains and river valleys was
nothing short of spectacular. The road up, a one-lane, winding,
bumpy dirt track clinging to the side of a bare mountain (with no
turnouts) was no less spectacular. My eyes were shut the last
mile or so.
After a bit of exploring and being silly (we had a lot of
comedians in that group), we all headed for the vans to go back
down the other side. Professor Rob and his group took off first
and disappeared in a fast cloud of dust down the steep grade. We
followed at a good clip for about 500 feet, and then....the
engine died.
The nine of us held a conference. Would the other van come back
to check on us? Probably not--no place to turn around for 13
miles. Were we on our own? We surveyed our situation. The van
was stopped on a steep grade with no hope of a rescue car
reaching it--but another 300 feet down the road was a fork, which
was wide enough to allow another vehicle to reach us. So while
Rod and I hiked down the mountain to alert anyone who might
possibly be missing us, the others took turns blocking the wheels
of the van as Debra slowly coasted it down to the fork.
Three miles down the mountain we both decided there was no point
proceeding further; they were obviously more interested in dinner
than in the second van. So we turned back up the road, as the
shadows were now getting long and the warm, sunny day was rapidly
turning into a chilly evening.
We were finally forced back into the van to keep from getting too
chilled, and passed the time telling stories, cracking jokes
(gallows humor), and running a pool to see who could guess the
closest how long it would take for them to miss us and send up
the rescuers. Our speculations were interrupted by the sound of
an engine laboring up the hill.
Turned out to be a couple of elk hunters with their wives on
their way up to their favorite hunting ground for bow-and-arrow
hunting. They were miffed when they saw the van--thought we were
a bunch of poachers, until they saw us frantically waving at
them, and one of them said, "Hey, Neal, we gotta stop! That's a
bunch of OLD people in that van!"
Turned out the driver (his name was Kelly) was a more than
competent mechanic and never left home without his tools. He
looked at the van, asked Debra if it was a diesel, and when she
nodded, groaned and proceeded to tear it apart to bleed the
lines.
Forty-five minutes later he was ready to start it up...only
problem was that the battery was so weak from Debra's earlier
efforts it wouldn't turn over the engine. No sweat--he goosed
his pickup over a 10-foot ridge of roadbank and got it parked
close enough to the van to jumpstart the battery. Eureka!
Ignition!
Our friendly mechanic offered to follow us down the mountain in
his truck to see us safely back and 15 minutes later it
died...again. This time it was worse--steep bank on the left
side, 1000-foot dropoff on the right side, 10-foot wide road. So,
we all climbed out (by mutual consent; no one wanted to take a
chance on the van staying put), and Kelly started in again--in
the dark, this time--while the rest of us listened to more of
Neal's stories, who was an original character if there ever was
one.
About 7 p.m. a small pickup appeared around the bend. It turned
out to be the lady who operated the College Wildlife Center at
the bottom of the mountain. She said she was notified about 6:45
by someone at the college, and the way they told her was "We've
lost the Elderhostel! Get up on the mountain and see if you can
find them!"
About that time, Kelly got the engine ready to try again, but the
battery was still too weak to turn over the engine. The other two
cars were too small to jump start the van, so they carefully
coasted the van right into the bank while Kelly inched the pickup
even with the van. There was less than four inches between the
two vehicles and his right wheels were brushing the edge of the
dropoff.
We held our breath--again--as small pebbles cascaded down the
mountainside. Suddenly the engine roared to life, the truck
stayed put, and things began to look better. Kelly VERY
CAREFULLY backed up his truck to the middle of the road, Debra
eased the van out from the bank so that we could get back inside,
the other two vehicles moved to the edge of the bank (as chunks
of dirt started breaking off), and Debra inched past them with
millimeters to spare.
We were able to inch head down the mountain--followed by our
mechanic and party in his pickup, and the Wildlife lady in her
car. What fun! Deb rocketed around curves and hurled us down the
straight stretches, jarring the fillings out of our teeth and
making us wonder which was more dangerous--being hung up on the
edge of the cliff or bucketing down the mountainside at full
speed!
Like horses headed for the barn, we zipped into town, piled out
of the van and headed for food. Not only had they saved us food
from the regular dinner but also what was left from the Board of
Regents Banquet held that night, and we all dined like royalty.
We tucked in like shipwreck survivors, and judging by the look of
our rescuers, it was the first really good meal they had had in
recent history. ..
Next morning our resident curmudgeon presented us with a
selection of headlines which he wrote for the local paper--just
in case we didn't make it back. The most printable read,
"BUSLOAD OF ELDER HUSTLERS TERMINATE ON TERMINAL MORAINE!"
- Laurie Stone bb233@scn.org
________________
Mel and Pauline
Pauline stood there at the entrance watching us with her alert
eyes, turning her head from side to side , her graceful neck
stretched atop a svelte body dressed in quiet gray, her long legs
resting for a moment. We were delighted later to learn that she
was to assist Mel in conducting our elderhostel group on a nature
walk at the Hassaymapa River Preserve. Mel is a retired
executive who works as a volunteer at the preserve maintained by
the nature Conservancy near Wickenburg, Arizona. Pauline is
Sandhill Crane who is a temporary resident of the preserve.
Pauline was partially "imprinted" on humans early in her life as
a part of a U.S. Fish and Wildlife experiment to develop a
method of restoring a colony of Sandhill Cranes that at one time
spent their summers nesting in Northern Arizona and their
winters in northern Mexico and southern Arizona. If the
experiment succeeds, not only will this colony be restored, but
it may be a method for meeting the much more critical need to
establish a second productive colony of the endangered Whooping
Crane.
Eggs from the Idaho colony of sandhills were artificially hatched
and seven of the hatchlings selected to form the new colony. They
were imprinted (self identified) on other cranes to develop
breeding habits and on humans to assist in setting up the new
migration pattern. They were trained to follow their human
companions who drove in a converted ambulance with a large white
cross painted on the top. The ambulance stopped at selected
resting stations along the migration route. The nature preserve
was a primary stop since it is ideal riparian crane habitat, in
contrast to the desert area surrounding it.
Things proceeded quite well. Unfortunately one crane was killed
with an encounter with a power line, and Pauline did not rejoin
the colony after the rest stop. Instead she flew off alone into
the desert where she was later found with a severely injured
bill and was returned to the preserve to heal and rejoin the
colony when it stopped again in the spring. Mel volunteered to be
her primary care giver, and it did not take long before Pauline
became imprinted on Mel.
Since Mel is an "elder" Pauline developed an affinity for elder
visitors at the preserve and when Mel started to give us the
tour she joined us, walking along with the other elders and
refusing to leave when the younger preserve manager attempted to
lure her back to the preserve center. We proceeded on the tour
and it did not take long before we all just walked along together
listening to Mel's enthusiastic descriptions of the preserve and
his work there. Among other things he told us how he had reached
the point in his career when he hated to get up in the morning
and go to work, and now he gets up early and impatiently waits
for the time he can go the preserve to work with Pauline and with
the group of college students studying the preserve's ecology.
After the tour, Mel left with Pauline for a run along the river
to allow her some flight time. He ran down the beach and she took
off flying 15-20 feet above and behind him, giant wings slowing
flapping, legs tucked behind, long neck extended forward. When he
slowed down, her long legs moved forward as she landed and walked
along with him. As I watched, a Red Tail Hawk appeared in the
sky. Pauline quickly ran up to Mel and snuggled against his leg.
I talked with Mel afterwards, and he explained how much he was
learning about cranes from reading about them and from his
experience; details of diet, anatomy, mating habits, calls, and
more. He talked about Pauline and her personality, of how she had
been the lowest one in the pecking order of the small flock, and
his concerns about how she would fit in when the flock returned.
As I listened I began to wonder about who was being imprinted on
whom. I had no doubt, however, that while Pauline faces an
uncertain future as a member of the experimental flock, Mel's
future as a reinvigorated elder is assured.
-Jim Olson
_____________________
Meeting an Old Friend
I attended my first EH in Keane, New Hampshire. One day as we
were going through the lunch line the lady in front of me
said,"You are from Ohio?" I told her I was and soon learned she
had also lived in Akron, Ohio. We talked a little more and
learned that we both had attended the University of Akron. I
asked her if she belonged to a sorority and she said she did.
Of course my next question was which one and low and behold we
realized we were sorority sisters!. We had not seen one another
since 1954. What a wonderful surprise and so much fun in
learning about each other again.
(Since then we have stayed in touch via Christmas Cards)
- Evelyn Bauer
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Elderhostel Reviews
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editors note-
These reports all vary in format and indicate the range of
possibilities for inclusion here. Since programs in the catalog
are listed by sponsoring institution and often change over time,
it would probably be best to include in the report the name of
sponsoring instituition and the date.
Naniboujou Elderhostel
Vermilion Community College Elderhostel at Naniboujou Lodge on
Lake Superior north shore between Grand Marais and Grand
Portage, Minnesota, October 22-27, 1995.
Naniboujou Lodge was built in 1928 as part of a private hunting
and fishing club later opened to the general public as the stock
market crash cancelled plans for completion of the entire resort
type complex.
It is a comfortable, excellent facility with a dining room
dominated by a huge native stone fireplace and ceilings and walls
painted with Cree Indian symbols and figures. While it is
relatively close to a city with shopping and most needed
services (our car problems were quickly taken care of), the
general impression is one of a place to escape civilization for
awhile. There is no television and only a public phone in the
lobby. The lodge does not serve alcoholic beverages and is
entirely non-smoking. The food was excellent as the lodge is
noted for its cuisine and even the more basic menu for
elderhostlers was embellished with fine touches such as gourmet
oatmeal. .
The lodge is on Lake Superior and has a walking beach (water
temperatures of 43 degrees year round preclude swimming). A
state park across the highway provides many walking trails and a
walk to a spectacular falls on the Minnesota Brule River that
enters the lake at the Lodge site. The Lake Superior walking
trail of some 27-28 miles also goes through the park. The program
itself, however, did not require more than a short level walk of
1/2 mile or so.
The program consisted of Lake Superior ecology, geology,
wildlife, etc., local lore, and a class in the Chinese relaxing
exercise mode, Tai Chi.
The instructors were excellent and the program was well
coordinated, the director and all Lodge staff were friendly and
helpful, laid back but efficient and competent. One has to think
of Garrison Keillor's vignettes on Minnesota character
exhibited by some of the local people brought in for evening
lectures on local history, art, and music lectures.
If there is a drawback to this program it is the timing during
the last week in October when the fall colors that the area is
noted for are gone and winter is about to arrive. Snow is
possible a few miles back from the lake and we experienced some
on our afternoon off trip up to Thunder Bay in Ontario, some 50
miles further up the lake.
Vermilion College offers other programs in the area that use more
of the summer season and what it has to offer.
Jim and Maggie Olson olsojam@uwec.edu
_____________
Elderhostel at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine
Title: A Week of Wellness.
Three classes that had to do with "wellness" were offered -
exercise, stress management, and nutrition. The exercise class
was very good in that the instructor was enthusiastic and offered
advice about exercises that could be done at home or in a hotel
room with a minimum of equipment. Since I am a competitive
masters swimmer the exercise class was bit basic for me but a lot
of fun just the same.
The stress management class was the only class that I didn't
really enjoy. The instructor dealt mostly with "the research"
and didn't offer any "hands on" activity such as, for example,
the use of meditation or yoga as a way of lessening stress. He
did mention that for some people adjustment to retirement can be
stressful.. This, however, did not appear to be a problem for
the folks at this elderhostel who were a congenial fun group of
people.
The best class was the class on nutrition. The instructor was
knowledgeable, interesting, and enthusiastic. On the last day of
class she brought samples of vegetarian goodies for us to try.
What made this class
especially effective was that the food we were eating in the
college dining hall complimented perfectly what we were learning
in nutrition class.
The manager of the food service at Bates College is a vegan
vegetarian who prides himself on serving tasty healthy food.
Every lunch and dinner featured a vegetarian dish as well as meat
dishes that for the most part included a lot of vegetables. My
husband and I had "pigged out" in Bar Harbor the night before
reporting to Bates College figuring that we better load up as we
would be eating dorm food for the rest of the week. We were very
surprised when the food turned out to be not just good but
fantastic - and healthy too! The vegetarian dishes featured
herbs and spices that were so tasty that I actually asked for the
recipes. There was also an extensive salad bar. Breakfast
featured everything from eggs and sausage to cereals and low fat
muffins that were delicious. It was hard to believe that
something healthy could taste so good.
Accommodations were on the Bates College campus. Some people
complained about the number of people per bath. However, there
were a lot of good things about staying on the campus. The
campus is beautiful and we
had use of the college facilities including a 25 meter swimming
pool, fitness center, computer center (Apple Macs with Netscape),
library, book store, running track.
There was a summer dance institute at Bates so many of the night
activities revolved about modern dance performances. Modern
dance is kind of "far out", and I don't think a single
elderhosteler understood what it was all about. To me it seemed
like an effort to be as weird as possible.
Jean Sterling sterlij@freenet.scri.fsu.edu
_______________
SEPTEMBER 1992 Held at Pilgrim Pines conference Center on Lake
Swanzey just outside Keane, New Hampshire. The classes were
History of Berlin, History of New Hampshire and Photography. The
classes and instructors were good. The Coordinator and the
food(served buffet style)were outstanding. The Homespun was
good. We had good field trips enjoying the fall leaves. One
nice thing was they took a group picture and gave to us. Lodging
was in Cabins as this is a church camp. Some were nice and
others were not very good.
JULY 1993
Held at the Covenant Conference Center at Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.
A lovely location and beautiful, spacious rooms. The food was
good and healthy. The highlight was a cruise around Lake Geneva.
The Homespun was fun. The entire week was spent studying
watercolor painting. (We had never done any and were a little
apprehensive but the two artists that taught the class were
wonderful and we enjoyed the week. It was quite a relaxed week.)
MARCH 1994 Held at St. Simons Island, Georgia. We stayed in a
Days Inn Motel which was very nice. Breakfast was served by the
motel -the other meals were catered. The food was ok but several
of us got sick from one of the evening dinners. ( The food was
brought over from Brunswick) The classes were the life of
Eugenia Price, author; History of the Golden Isles; and Big Band
Music. The teachers were good-had retired sea captain for the
history and a former member of the big bands for the music
classes plus a personal friend of Ms. Price's taught that class.
Only a couple field trips.
University of Alabama/Huntsville MARCH 1995 Huntsville, Alabama
held at the University. Lodging was at the Tom Bevil
Center(former Marriott Hotel) and was wonderful. The food was
very good. Breakfast and lunch at the college cafeteria and
dinner at the hotel. Classes were Books For Children;
Landscaping and Space. The instructors were good but the
highlight of the week was spending a day at the Space Center and
meeting several scientists. Also had several other field trips
and a fun homespun.
University of Texas/San Antonio SEPTEMBER 1995 San Antonio,
Texas. Lodging was at a Travelodge Motel(only fair)and the
classes were held at the Witte Museum. Breakfast was at the
motel, lunch at the museum and dinner each evening at a different
restaurant on the River Front. The classes were outstanding-got
to go to some of the back rooms at the museum and watch as they
were setting up displays. One day was trip over the entire city.
The instructors were outstanding. Used city transportation except
the the city tour which was by chartered bus.(We feel this EH is
a must-felt it was our best one yet) -
--the last four reports are from
Evelyn Bauer ERWB@aol.com
____________
Bay Area Classic Learning
organization.
We have just returned from an excellent Elderhostel experience in
Tiburon,California. The town of Tiburon is spectacular and the
classes and instructors are all first rate. Some of you might
want to consider this Elderhostel, and we would be happy to
answer any of your questions.
The classes were:
The Life of Richard Nixon, The History of San Francisco, Pop and
Jazz Music from 1910-1950
-DonElis@aol.com
__________
I attended my first Elderhostel the last week in May at Bentley
College, Waltham, MA. We stayed in an apartment building owned
by the college, each unit complete with small kitchen/living
room, bedroom, and full bathroom. The Elderhostel was on
"Massachusetts and Emancipation", but since all were interested
in more than just the Civil War, we were visited many
Revolutionary sites, etc. Excellent food, catered by Marriott!
Enjoyable week, but somewhat tiring.
FranAnd@aol.com
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Meet Fellow Elderhostlers
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Jean Sterling
I am a "newbie" to the elderhostel scene, having only attended
two elderhostels.
My husband, John, and I had heard many good things about
elderhostel and planned to attend some when we turned 60. Then
last year the age was lowered to 55 and we got to try hosteling a
couple of years earlier than we had anticipated. Our experiences
lived up to our expectations.
We attended two very different hostels on opposite ends of the
country - one in Lewiston, Maine, and the other in St. Marys,
Georgia. The hostel in Maine had accommodations on campus, while
we stayed in a motel in St. Marys.
Some folks much prefer commercial accommodations to staying in a
colleged dorm, citing the bath-sharing problem in the dorms.
However, staying in a dorm had a lot of compensations to make up
for the shared bath. At Bates, we had use of the campus
facilities such as the library, a state-of-the art fitness
center, tennis courts, computer center, and an 8-lane 25 meter
swimming pool. I was able to go to the computer center, which
had several Apple Macs, and e-mail the kids just like at home.
My husband loved the fitness center, and, since I am a
competitive masters swimmer, I delighted in the swimming pool
which was actually big enough to swim laps in. When we stayed at
St. Marys in the motel, I had to drive 30+ miles down the
interstate to a YMCA in Jacksonville, Florida, to find a pool big
enough to swim laps in. (I had a swim meet coming up in a couple
of weeks)
We hope to do some more elderhostels in the summer and fall. I
work part-time, teaching homebound students, and summer and early
fall is when I am off. We would like to do hostels that have to
do with exercise or nature - perhaps canoeing or cycling or
walking in the fall colors. Our first two hostels reflect this
preference - one was a "week of wellness", while the second
featured trips to Okefenokee Swamp and Cumberland Island, which
is a part of the National Seashore.
_________
Evelyn and Ralph Bauer (ERWB@aol.com)
We live in Wadsworth, Ohio where we have lived all our married
life. We will be celebrating our 40th anniversary this coming
November. We have attended five Elderhostels, each one being
different and fun.
Our first was at a church camp in New Hampshire. The food was
the outstanding thing there although the classes were fun and we
met wonderful people-three couples of which we still correspond.
We usually decide on an area we want to visit and then check
out what is there.
I had several careers from Elementary teacher to Office Manager
at a Lutheran Church from where I retired three years ago.
Ralph just retired from substitute teaching after taking an
early retirement as a Research Chemist. We are the proud
grandparents of six children. We have two children, a son who
is a College Professor and a daughter who is a free lance writer
as well as a Mom.
We had a wonderful Elderhostel in San Antonio in September. We
think our best one yet. We prefer hotel, motel accomodations.
We enjoy the last night "Homespun" when it is made available and
enjoy participating in that. At one of these we sang "Glory
Glory Elderhostel"
____________
Frank and Bene Jablonski (FranknBene@aol,com)
We're "newbies", planning our first trip on the Burgundy Barge
trip in July. We live in North Haven, Connecticut, and first
learned of EH from friends, Nancy and Dag Pfieffer, who have
taken several EH trips and never (as far as I know) had a bad
experience. I recently retired from the telephone company, but
Bene' is still working. The first time we tried to do the barge
trip, we were 101 102 on a waiting list. We had no idea that
EH was so popular, so we learned quickly that you have to get
your applications in early. As it turns out, we may have a free
week in April and, if so, will try to find a short trip so as to
advance our "indoctrination" into EH tripping. I wish there was
some way to check available "slots" on a short notice basis.
Maybe someone can get EH to provide some sort of online listing
of forthcoming, not fully booked, trips. We look forward to
doing our first trip and will be sure to report back to the
NOTEBOOK on our experiences
_______
Jim and Maggie Olson (sierrajimo@aol.com)
We live, in an apartment building in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. We
have been attending elderhostels since 1986 and have done about
thirty of them, mainly in the U.S. We enjoy a variety of
programs but particularly like those that deal with nature (Jim)
and with local culture and lore (Maggie) and with Indian history
and culture (Jim amnd Maggie.)
Our last Elderhostel was a "nature study" type at Wickenburg,
Arizona, in January and our next will be at the Grand Canyon in
April. We usually drive to the programs and enjoy exploring the
country along the way.
Jim is a retired English teacher and Maggie a retired Executive
Assistant for a Church foundation Both of us are active
grandparents.
Our most interesting elderhostel was one on Lakota Spirituality
in Custer, ND, where we participated in the sacred Sun Dance (as
prayerful observers- not dancers or flesh sacrificers) and
climbed a sacred mountain to leave prayer cloths. As we get
older we more and more appreciate those that have some of the
more comfortable accomodations and finer food.
*************************
ELDERHOSTEL PARODY ON "THE BATTLE HYMN OF THE REPUBLIC"
supplied by LITZ@aol.com
VERSE I
Our eyes have seen the glory
of the Elderhostel plan,
In response to all the passing years
we say, "so what! - we can",
We sill make the yourhful student feel
just like an also-ran,
Through the brilliance of our minds.
REFRAIN
Glory - Gloory - ELDERHOSTEL
Glory - Gloory - ELDERHOSTEL
Glory - Gloory - ELDERHOSTEL
Through the brilliance of our minds
VERSE II
In the beauty of advancing years
we seniors march along,
With other Elderhostelers
we sing a victory song.
We confound our dear professors
as we top the mundane throng,
Through the brilliance of our minds.
REFRAIN
VERSE III
We dispel the common feeling
that all seniors live in fog.
In exchanges in the classroom
we're the tail that wags the dog.
When the wheel of life is stymied
Elderhostelers clear the clog,
Through the brilliance of our minds.
REFRAIN