Summer Camp

For so many years I have been wanting to go to Chautauqua for a week in the summer. Several years ago, our friend Bill Casey also expressed an interest in going. His wife Kris and my David were never interested – Kris probably because she can think of a lot of other ways to spend vacation time (of which she has very little because she works for a private company) and David because he’s just not a fan of high-brow music and he is suspicious that Chautauqua is a Christian institution.

Recently my latest double-bass partner Deborah suggested that we go to Chautauqua the week in July when she and her husband are going to be there. As it turns out, David is going to be in New Orleans that week at a technical conference, which has absolutely no appeal for me. So I asked Bill if he would like to go with me. At first David was somewhat ticked off since we have never taken separate vacations. But at the same time, he realized just how much I wanted to go and could hardly say no.

As I learn more from Deborah, it sound like there are so many great ways to spend your time in this idyllic environment. Her husband Neal enjoys the group lectures and discussions, as Bill is intending to do. She gets together with a group of people who are there to play chamber music. They play in all sorts of combinations and get coaching from some of the wonderful people who are working as musicians at Chautauqua in the summer, including my friend Bill V and her teacher Curtis. Sounds remarkably like summer music camp for adults!

There is this sticky issue of lodging, which is scarce no matter what you are looking for. I started out looking for 2 singles and quickly concluded that this was going to cost a fortune! So I then found one double with 2 twin beds and a kitchenette for $1150. Still sounds expensive to me! I continue to look. David and Kris laugh about Bill and me running off together for this vacation. I actually can’t think of a “safer” person to go with. Bill almost became a Catholic priest. At the last minute, he met Kris, fell in love, and decided to try another career. He is recently retired and is working hard to figure out how to spend the rest of his life. We are both terribly Type A and accomplishment-oriented. He enjoys meditation and discussions about spirituality and philosophy. A perfect traveling partner, I’d say.

So I think this trip may actually happen. Deborah didn’t seem to blink when I said I wasn’t bringing my husband, but rather my friend Bill. We’ll see what happens...