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EH Notebook #114 FEB 5, 2003
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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.
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From the Editor's Notebook
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I only have three reviews for this issue but I have important
information regarding the Kauai program that was reviewed in the
previous issue. There is also some other news concerning the
Silver Penny Farm, where several of us have enjoyed relaxing but
provocative Elderhostel programs.
I also hope that I can squeeze out another issue before leaving
for the Kauai-Hilo program on March 3.
Bob McAllester
EHnotebook$A$earthlink.net
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Comments and Queries
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The following text was extracted from a letter sent to the editor
by an Elderhostel representative in Hawaii. It regards a review
of a Kauai - Hawaii program that appeared in issue #113.
. . . .
January 30, 2003
Firstly I would like to thank you for sending us a preview of the
notebook entry about the University of Hawaii at Hilo Kauai
Historical Consortium program, which began on November 12, 2002
and I would like to apologize for not responding earlier. We were
extremely concerned when we received your e-mail of December 20,
as this program usually receives extremely positive evaluations.
An investigation was immediately started and evaluations were sent
out to all participants. While we have not yet received back all
of the evaluations for the November program, the majority of those
that we have received so far reflect an excellent experience on
Hawaii and a fair/good experience on Kauai.
After reviewing all of the information it appears that several
factors contributed to the quality of the program on Kauai. The
most significant factor was that the scheduled on-site coordinator
had a family emergency on another island which meant that she
could not be present for the entire program and responsibilities
were given to a fairly new on-site coordinator. She is deeply
apologetic that hostelers' experiences were not entirely positive
for both sites. We have reviewed the on-site and post-program
evaluations from the January 7 program and have found that they
are more reflective of the previous positive ratings, the program
was overwhelmingly rated as excellent as was the coordinator and
everyone said that they would recommend this program to a friend.
I can assure you that the November 12 program was an anomaly and
we are very apologetic that all hostelers did not have an entirely
positive experience. We are waiting to receive all of the
evaluations back to see what steps, if any, we should take.
Sincerely,
Lucy McClelland
Program Associate
Program Services
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Those of us who have attended programs at Silver Penny Farm have
received an announcement of their programs for 2003. They are
presenting their programs independent of Elderhostel. The prices
are right. $350 - double, $375 - single.
The programs they are presenting are:
May 4 - May 9
"Quakers, Shakers, Amish Acres!"
May 25 - May 30
"Contemplative Living and Earth on the Edge"
July 13 - July 18
"Jesus in History: Yesterday and Today"
These are the same quality programs that were offered as
Elderhostel programs. For more information, contact:
Silver Penny Farm
5215 Old Lakeville Rd #1
Petaluma, CA 94954
Telephone: 707-762-1498
Or go to my new web site at
http://home.earthlink.net/~rmcallester
Bob McAllester
Rmcallester$A$earthlink.net
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I have registered for "Cultural Legacy in the Heartland of Europe"
which includes a week each in Germany, Switzerland and N. Italy
this summer. For those who say Elderhostel is getting soft re
accommodations, here's the caution given (verbatim) in the info
packet describing our site Hochstetten-Dhaun, Germany: "Wild
edible berries that grow in the vicinity of the castle can contain
fox tapeworms. Watch your steps when you walk around in the castle
park there are roots growing on the paths. Also, there are uneven
and dark passages in the casemates of the castle. There could be
sudden noises from military airplanes and military shooting
training in the area." I can't wait!
Nancy Fuchs, Virginia
nfuchs$A$sybercom.net
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I am interested in "Humor and Comedy American Style" (Program
7764) and "Explore Cumberland and Amelia Islands and Float The
Okefenokee Swamp" (Program 1378). I would appreciate any
information.
Paul E. Fagan
pefagan$A$bellsouth.net
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Program Reviews
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N O T I C E
To use an e-mail address, substitute
the "at symbol" for the 3 characters $A$.
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Center For Studies of the Future/Ventura by Sea, CA
Barry Univ/Edison-Ford Edu Center/Fort Meyers, FL
Barry University/Sanibel Island, FL
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California
Center For Studies of the Future/Ventura by the Sea
January 12 - 17, 2003
Digital Photography:
I just returned from one of the best of my many Elderhostel
experiences. Everything was incredibly smoothly organized from the
information mailed to us, directions, hotel registration, classes,
food, etc.
AMENITIES: We were housed at the luxurious Sheraton Four Points
Hotel located right by the Ventura harbor. The rooms were spacious
with a balcony and a harbor view. Hotel staff was courteous and
efficient. All meals were served in the hotel's Alexander
Restaurant, where we had our own section, complete with a fire in
the fireplace! Breakfasts were buffet style. There was cereal
(hot or cold), toast, coffee/tea, juice and fresh fruit every
morning. On alternate mornings either french toast, pancakes,
eggs, bacon and/or sausage were offered. Lunch and Dinner were
plated, with no alternate choice. However, I found the food quite
good and actually appreciated the 'sit down' service as I tend to
over eat at buffet style meals :-) There were a lot of fresh
vegetables and fresh fruit with almost every meal.
Since I flew in from the East Coast, I was really happy that I had
scheduled a few extra days to explore the area. I visited Santa
Barbara, Ojai, The Getty Center, and Venice Beach... great fun! I
opted to rent a car but several folks did not have vehicles and it
is not really necessary.
All classes and meals were self-contained within the hotel, and
all on one level. The rooms are upstairs, but there is an
elevator. The only walking was the day that we went, as a class,
to take pictures for approximately one hour, and that was done at
each person's own pace, both with regard to speed and to distance.
ORGANIZATION: I cannot say enough good things about the seamless
organization that Center for the Studies of the Future achieves.
Our coordinator was Norm, and he was ever present but very laid
back. There apparently was a glitch whereby our meeting room had
been given to a honeymoon couple and had to be switched literally
at the last hour. Had Norm not apologized so profusely, none of us
would have known about this mini-crisis... and we were quite
comfortable in our new quarters! The size of this class is limited
by the computer space to 20 students. I felt this was a real plus
as such a small group leads easily to a warm feeling of
friendliness and cohesiveness.
CLASSES: The main focus of instruction was on the use of digital
cameras, from what to look for when selecting a camera to what to
do with the images once they are in the computer, to printing and
scanning, etc. The prerequisite for this class is minimal
knowledge of how to use a PC, and the few folks who did not have
this struggled and tended to slow things down a bit. This is a
very basic introductory class on digital photography and folks
hoping to get into the finer nuances of more sophisticated
programs such as Adobe Photoshop might be disappointed.
Personally, I felt it really pulled things together for me and I
am eager to begin to use what I learned now that I am home.
Instruction was provided by two people, one focusing more on the
artistic elements of photography, and the other on the technical
aspects.
Donna Granata talked about the artistic side, about light,
composition, line and what makes a good photograph. Donna is
amazing... totally enthusiastic, extremely knowledgeable about all
forms of photography and art. She even gave us a brief history of
the emergence of photography from the mid 19th century. Time just
flew listening to her!
After taking photos, we each uploaded our 'favorite' picture into
a special folder (we did this on two days) and Donna critiqued
each photo... but in the most positive way, which was a wonderful
learning experience for all. Paul Felts was the 'tech guy'. He
was totally thorough, very well organized so that instruction
flowed very logically from very simple to more complex. And
man..... was he patient!!! On several days he was assisted by a
volunteer, Egmont, who was equally knowledgeable and patient. Each
student is loaned an Olympus digital camera (a few students chose
to use their own cameras). Paul very thoroughly went through each
and every button and menu option on that camera, emphasizing which
were more useful. We then walked to the harbor behind the hotel
and were told to fill up that memory card with pictures. Each
student also had use of a brand spankin' new notebook computer.
EVENINGS: The computer lab was open for an hour each evening.
While there was no formal instruction we were free to work on our
images, check e-mail... whatever. Paul and Norm, the coordinator,
were both present to answer questions during that time.
CONCLUSION: If you've been wanting to get into digital
photography, or already have a digital camera but really don't
know what to do with it.. and if you have basic computer skills...
then this is the class for you!!!
Joan Balen
JoanClaireStudio$A$yahoo.com
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Florida
Barry Univ/Edison-Ford Edu Center/Fort Meyers
Jan 12-17, 2003
Coordinator Art Pierce
This program was housed at the Quality Inn on US 41 in Ft. Myers
The rooms were very comfortable and all the meals eaten here were
good to very good. The meeting space was excellent, and iced tea
and water were always available. Some of our dinners and lunches
were at local restaurants and those were good too. At restaurants
we were able to make our menu choices ahead of time; at the hotel
the buffets always had lots of choices.
The pool at the hotel was not heated since the heater was broken,
so we were unable to use it. The weather was cool for Florida
with most days in the 60's. We were able to wear shorts only one
day. The program spent the first 2 days on Thomas Edison and
Henry Ford. We had 3 lectures at the hotel on Monday morning about
Thomas Edison and the plantings at the Edison/Ford Estate museum
complex. In the afternoon we had a very enjoyable tour of the
grounds and the houses. After returning to the hotel we had an
excellent lecture by Charles O'Connor on fossils he had collected
from SW Florida. On Tuesday morning we had boat rides on the
Caloosahatchee River in electric boats similar to the ones Edison
designed. This was followed by some talks on Ford and Edison at
the museum complex followed by time to tour the museum on your
own.
Wednesday we visited Corkscrew Swamp and toured the boardwalk with
a guide, and we saw lots of birds. After an excellent box lunch
we had time to walk on our own before returning to Ft Myers.
Thursday we visited Pine Island and the Randall Research Center
(Calusa Indian Mounds). This site had guides to tell us about the
Indians who had lived there. We also were able to observe osprey
nests and a red shouldered hawk. Lunch was at Bart's Bar, a
charming restaurant on the water. This was followed by dessert at
the funky Matlacha Art Gallery. On our way back to the hotel we
stopped at Manatee Park on Route 80 and enjoyed seeing the
manatees, which enjoy the warm water from the power plant.
Friday was a very short day, with a mystery program for one hour.
The program was excellent. Then we were free to leave and take
box lunches with us.
We had evening gathering or lectures on Monday, Tuesday and
Thursday evenings. A talk on Tuesday evening prepared us to
identify birds of South Florida. The speaker, Brian Murphy, handed
out a bird data sheet that was very handy at Corkscrew Swamp and
other locations we visited later on. On Thursday evening we had a
delightful talk and reading by Charles Sobczak a local author from
Sanibel Island. On Wednesday evening, my husband Mort Sternheim
gave an optional presentation on digital photography that was well
received by those who are considering buying a digital camera. He
will teach an Elderhostel course on this subject in Eastport Maine
during the week of September 14, 2003.
We thoroughly enjoyed the week and our coordinator was excellent.
Some people were disappointed that the program varied from the
preprogram that was mailed out. However the program as scheduled
matched the description in the catalog.
On the weekend of January 17-19th we visited Everglades City and
Shark Valley in the Everglades Nation Park on our own. The birds
in Shark Valley were a delight to see. We enjoyed the Everglades
so much that we have been inspired to attend an Elderhostel there
some time in the future.
Helen Sternheim
helen$A$umassk12.net
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Florida
Barry University/Sanibel Island
January 19-24, 2003
Coordinators Ron and Sandy Jacobs
Hosts Ron and Evie Weiss
The Sanibel Island Elderhostel was housed at the West Wind Inn,
located right on the beach. This is a beautiful hotel, with
excellent rooms and a large heated pool. We did get to swim there
on Sunday when we arrived. The meals at the hotel were all very
good, but some mornings the breakfast buffet was somewhat limited.
The causeway to Sanibel from Fort Myers was closed on Monday,
January 19, for repairs and we had a very limited program that
day, with a talk by Francis Bailey, a member of one of the early
Sanibel families. The preprogram that was mailed to participants
had many more activities overall than actually took place. More of
an effort should have been made to have Sanibel locals come to the
hotel on Monday to do shelling or botany with us or give some
talks. The buses used by the program had to come over via the
causeway. Therefore except for about an hour we all had free time
on Monday. Luckily we had a car and were able to tour the island
with one additional participant.
On Tuesday our group of 50 participants was divided into two
groups for various activities. 50 people are just too many and a
maximum of 44 would have been better. Half the group went to the
Bailey-Mathews Shell museum and half to shell crafting.
The museum was excellent and there we were divided into smaller
groups each with a guide to see behind-the-scene-places as well as
the public parts of the museum. The other 25 participants got to
make shell novelties from shell kits with glue guns at the
community center. The amount of time allowed for this second
activity was just too much for most of us and some additional
activity should have been planned. After lunch back at the hotel
the groups switched activities.
On Wednesday half the group went to the Ding Darling nature
preserve for a tram ride and the other half went to CROW (a
rehabfacility for injured birds and animals) followed by a bus
tour of the island. The Ding Darling tram could only hold 24
people, so our coordinators had to follow in their own car. In the
afternoon two people ended up standing on the tram tour. We
really enjoyed seeing all the birds in Ding Darling and actually
visited this facility 3 times, once with the group and twice on
our own. We also visited the Ding Darling visitors' center museum
on our own and felt that it should have been included in the
Elderhostel. We later discovered that our admission fee to the
preserve would have been covered by our National Parks Golden Age
Pass.
The bus tour of the island was ok, but there were several other
places to visit that would have been much more interesting.
On Thursday the Elderhostel went to the Edison/Ford Museum complex
in Fort Myers. Since this overlapped with the Fort Myers'
Elderhostel we had attended the week before, we skipped this
activity. Instead we revisited the Ding Darling preserve and
toured theHistoric Village complex which has several early homes
with docents in each. We then toured Big Arts, next to the
Historic Village, which had some nice outdoor sculpture and an
indoor showroom with works by local artists.
We only had one scheduled evening talk. That was on building a
home in the area by a local builder. The talk was very good.
Also, my husband Mort Sternheim gave his optional evening talk on
digital photography. About 20 people attended, and several
expressed an increased interest in this new technology. He will
teach an Elderhostel course on this subject in Eastport Maine
during the week of September 14, 2003.
Some of the dinners were at the hotel, and the others were at
local restaurants. All were very good. The Friday program was
very light, with a talk by Charles Sobczak. Since we had heard
his similar talk in Fort Myers, we left after breakfast, and
visited the Manatee Park in Fort Myers and friends in Venice, FL.
This is a very expensive Elderhostel and better planning by Barry
University or the local arranger was needed for this week. The
program could have included a visit to the Historic Village
complex, a naturalist-guided walk on the beach, and one or two
more evening programs. Also the overlap with the Fort Myers
program - the Edison/Ford museum and the talk by author Charles
Sobczak - was inappropriate, since Barry University sponsors both
Elderhostels in these adjoining communities.
We had an optional opportunity to attend the Old School House
dinner theater and about 20 of us enjoyed a production of "Forever
Plaid."
My husband and I enjoyed our time on Sanibel, but we did end up
doing a lot on our own.
Helen Sternheim
helen$A$umassk12.net
Photos from both of these Florida Elderhostels can be seen at
www.umassk12.net/mort/photo.html