Summer is Calling – Vacation or Staycation
June 29, 2017 -
Staycations
So what do residents look forward to most on campus? Many have family and friends visiting and one mentioned an annual “Camp Carol Woods” they have for their grandchildren.Topping the Staycation were Simulcast operas, movies, the Summer Festival (music, dance, and poetry twice/week in the Carol Woods Assembly Hall), ongoing bridge games, croquet and writing poetry. Others are ready to go on short shopping excursions, have dinner out with friends, attend the American Dance Festival and take in the latest movies at the Chelsea. One mentioned that a trip to Mapleview Ice Cream might be in order.The more energetic are looking forward to local hikes and tennis.
Some feel their enjoyment level is going to be enhanced by air conditioning, lying in the weeds (I suspect that means totally relaxing), reading, reliving past travel adventures through photo albums, harvesting vegetables, and simply being home. A couple of the newest residents are looking forward to unpacking, unwinding and finding their way around campus.
Farther Afield in the US, Canada and Europe
In all, our respondents plan to visit 30 states and 19 foreign countries. More are heading north to Maine (13), Massachusetts (10), and Pennsylvania (6) than are going to South Carolina (5) or Virginia (5). Two are going to Illinois, with a Chicago Cubs game being the primary destination for one of them. Not to be outdone, another resident is having a family reunion in Maryland and taking in two Orioles games.
Many are going to workshops, including Ukrainian egg decorating, genealogy, viola da gamba, writing and paper sculpture.These workshops last for one or two weeks and are scattered around the country from Washington, DC to New Mexico.One resident will be teaching in a two-week literacy project workshop.
Several have a “home away from home” in the mountains of North Carolina (4) or Virginia (2), or a beach cottage (1) or lake house (1). Some go for weekends, a week each month or spend their entire summer there. Some of these homes are further afield: Maine, Vermont or Wisconsin. These may be found on islands in Penobscot Bay, or in Green Bay area of Lake Michigan or in a small village in the Green Mountains.
Most residents take briefer trips to the beach or mountains. Thirteen are going to North Carolina beaches, another three are hitting the South Carolina beaches, and one is going to the shore in New Jersey and one to the Virginia shore. Many are joining family for weeklong trips though one or two have plans lasting three or four weeks. Twelve are relaxing in the mountains – two for a weekend at MerleFest (already happened), four to the Brevard Music Festival (two staying for six and a half weeks), and six are simply spending time in mountain cabins.
The Solar Eclipse is attracting at least three Carol Woods trippers to South Carolina on August 21. Websites covering the total eclipse say most people should be in place by August 19. The nearest spot with the path of totality will be centered between Greenville and Columbia.
And our neighbor to the north? Three sets of Carol Woods residents are taking a 10-day excursion by train across parts of Canada. Another is taking a three-week trip to the Maritime Provinces, another spending time in British Columbia and yet another spending a week on a lake in Ontario.
The Road Scholar program is attracting four residents to Spoleto. Another is going with her granddaughter to a cooking school and drama school in Minneapolis (plus a trip down the Mississippi River) and two are tripping to Iceland (two weeks), two to Portugal (three weeks) and two to the Isles of Scotland and Ireland (three weeks).
It’s river cruises rather than train rides in Europe. Two residents are starting their river cruise in Amsterdam, but one goes to Barcelona and the other to Budapest. (It must not be the same cruise ship.) Another one is going on a 10-day cruise into France, beginning and ending in Paris.
And speaking of foreign travel: one resident just completed a trip to Antarctica, two recently returned from France and Italy, and two are back from Portugal. One is going on a choir tour celebrating the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther. Others will be spending days, weeks and months in Spain, Scotland, Italy, Greece and Germany.
Three respondents are going south of the Equator: One couple will go to Costa Rica – one teaching and the other volunteering on a sea turtle project and in an institute that supports sustainable travel in the 35,000-acre Monteverde Cloud Forest. Another will be on a mission trip to Zambia, Ethiopia and Tanzania.
Best of all is that many will share their travel experiences with those of us who choose to stay right here at Carol Woods.
--Resident Sindy B.