{"id":2687,"date":"2016-07-17T22:51:50","date_gmt":"2016-07-18T02:51:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/?p=2687"},"modified":"2025-02-23T19:17:24","modified_gmt":"2025-02-24T00:17:24","slug":"why-do-we-keep-going-back-to-haliburton-adult-camp-july-2016","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/?p=2687","title":{"rendered":"Why Do We Keep Going Back to Haliburton Adult Camp? – July 2016"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the seventh or eighth or ninth time \u2013 I\u2019ve lost count \u2013 Steve and I returned to “adult camp” at The Haliburton School of Art & Design<\/a> (as it is now known).\u00a0 Those who are reading this might be quietly (or not so quietly) asking, “Again”?<\/p>\n

Good question.\u00a0 What keeps us going back so many times over approx. 15 years?\u00a0 Is it because we like the area?\u00a0 Is it because we\u2019re too lazy to plan something different?\u00a0 Is it because we don\u2019t want to be idle, sitting on a beach, for two weeks?\u00a0 Is it because we get the opportunity to either engage in an art form we already like or try something completely different?\u00a0 Is it because we can’t go to France every year?\u00a0 Maybe a little bit of all of the above but, regardless, it\u2019s a rewarding way to spend a vacation.<\/p>\n

Aside from our classes, we really look forward to being in the country and seeing some wildlife and, within 26 hours, we were not disappointed \u2013 a turkey hanging out by the side of the road, a fox that started out curious then changed its mind, a kamikaze chipmunk that played chicken (repeatedly) with our car, a young deer munching on long grass, and a larger one ambling across the road in front of us.<\/p>\n

\"Fox1\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"Fox2\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"Deer1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And, every morning upon waking, and every evening as dusk settled in, I\u2019d peer out a window down the long driveway hoping to see some kind of beastie at the end.\u00a0 Very near the end of our vacation, coming back late in the dark, I kind of got my wish.\u00a0 There at the end of the driveway was a healthy black and white striped furry beastie who wasn\u2019t too pleased that we were interrupting its evening stroll and who wasn\u2019t hesitant to display its displeasure.\u00a0 Needless to say, we came to a sudden stop then very slowly followed, at a safe distance, as it ambled up our driveway!\u00a0 There was a moment of indecision on its part, and some tension on our part, before it chose to continue down the side of the garage instead of hanging out at our front door.\u00a0 Disaster avoided!<\/p>\n

Because I was limited to early July, and because I\u2019m more discerning (picky) than Steve, I didn’t end up doing anything unique or funky for me this year.\u00a0 I stuck with two repeats \u2013 a Travel and Landscape Photography course I took two years ago and another Ukulele course which was a continuation of the beginner\u2019s course I took three years ago.\u00a0 (Steve took another guitar course, then a photography course similar to the one I took the week before.)<\/p>\n

During the first week, I spent an enjoyable four days completing seven various photography assignments that allowed me to wander in the great outdoors for a considerable amount of time.\u00a0 I do believe I may have absorbed some sun into my somewhat pale skin.\u00a0 Here’s a picture of me in action on one of our field trips.<\/p>\n

\"Me<\/a><\/p>\n

On day five, we presented a selection from our assignments for a final critique.\u00a0 If you\u2019re interested, I included my 40 choices at the bottom of this post.<\/p>\n

Although I\u2019ve been playing my Uke regularly for three years, and fairly well I’ve been told, I\u2019ve been spending that time improving my repertoire of chords and learning how to strum to match my guitar buddies in our weekly jam sessions.\u00a0 Ukulele Ensemble 1, the next level up from the beginner course I took before, focuses on reading music and picking the individual notes of the melody (or the harmony) on the fret board.\u00a0 In my case, there\u2019s nothing like sheet music to make me feel incompetent, like a true beginner.\u00a0 I\u2019m better than I was three years ago but there’s LOTS of room for improvement.\u00a0 At the end of the week, the two Ukulele classes (beginner and ours) got together for a little performance in the lobby of the school.\u00a0 Here\u2019s an audio of our five pieces.<\/a> You have to scroll down to choose each one – # 2 & #5 are the best.\u00a0 In # 2, if you can hear the harmony in the higher register in the chorus and last verse, that’s me!\u00a0 Also, this is a wee video<\/a> in which the last song got cut off because the video device ran out of battery.\u00a0 (Our jam group, with the guitars and my Uke all playing chords, and our bass player and drummer keeping us grounded, does this last song so much better but note picking is hard so it\u2019s not too bad.)\u00a0 In any case, don’t set your expectations too high – think of your kids’ elementary school concerts!!!<\/p>\n

The night of our arrival there was an unexpected, but short-lived, rainstorm followed by a brilliant rainbow.<\/p>\n

\"Rainbow1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As beautiful and serene as the country is, there are also some inconveniences.\u00a0 Friday night after our first week, we met Doug and Louise (long-standing friends from a previous lifetime and who are now permanent residents in nearby Bayfield) at the Pepper Mill Steak and Pasta House<\/a> for dinner.\u00a0 We had a lovely catch-up, as well as dinner, but the predicted rain had settled in and, over the course or our 2.5-hour visit we lost power three times!\u00a0 It came back each time but it just as likely might not have.\u00a0 Then, upon leaving the restaurant, we noticed our gas tank indicator hovering very close to empty.\u00a0 At home, we are not used to covering longer distances in the same time it takes you in rural areas and we had lost track of our gas consumption.\u00a0 At home, this would not have been a problem but, in the middle of what seemed like nowhere, this was a bit concerning.\u00a0 Thank goodness for smart phones as Steve was able to find two open gas stations about 15km south in Minden.\u00a0 But that took us a bit out of our way and we didn\u2019t get \u2019home\u2019 until close to 11 mostly because of our reduced speed due to heavy rainfall.\u00a0 The drive was safe (no random animals on the road) yet not uneventful as we were treated to a spectacular light show for most of the way.<\/p>\n

And still on the subject of weather, it was either sunny and suffocatingly (sp?) hot or it was pouring and still hot.\u00a0 Our bunky didn’t have air conditioning but the overhead fans helped a lot.<\/p>\n

We had an enormous amount of rain between Friday night and Saturday night of our in-between weekend \u2013 especially on the Saturday \u2013 yet, although we had a very slow and lazy start, our day was interesting.\u00a0 We started with a visit to The World\u2019s Smallest Book Shop<\/a>, a unique location we discovered a few years back just at the side of the road near Kinmount.\u00a0 Although it\u2019s cramped and jam-packed, it\u2019s organized by author.\u00a0 It also works on the honour system \u2013 that\u2019s Steve recording our purchases after dropping our cash payment into the lock-box.\u00a0 We came away with nine used books for the price of either one new hardcover or two new softcovers.\u00a0 Unfortunately, there is a \u2019sold\u2019 sign on the property so who knows what\u2019s going to happen to this little gem…<\/p>\n

\"WSB1\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"WSB2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"WSB3\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"WSB4\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"WSB5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Continuing on, we stopped at a park in Kinmount where the old Austin Sawmill is being restored.\u00a0 Of course, as soon as we got furthest from our car, it started to pour again!\u00a0 Fortunately, there was a comfy and dry place to wait it out along with another guy and his lovely dog.\u00a0 The rain didn\u2019t stop the die-hards though…<\/p>\n

\"untitled-7642\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"untitled-7657\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"untitled-7660\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"untitled-7645\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"untitled-7647\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"untitled-7704\"<\/a><\/p>\n

To top off our rainy day, following a quick dinner at a diner in Minden, we attended an Open Stage evening at the Haliburton Museum compliments of the Haliburton County Folk Society.\u00a0 There was a variety of performers, some more experienced than others but, overall, worth the $20 we dropped into their donation jar.\u00a0 And I left determined to learn how to play and sing \u2019Wagon Wheel\u2019 by Darius Rucker<\/a>.\u00a0 So, the next day Steve downloaded the chords and lyrics, spent a considerable amount of time tweaking it to make it right, then presented me with a finished product that we could practice at home then introduce to our jam club group.\u00a0 Then, coincidentally five days later, one of my classmates presented Eve, our instructor, with the exact same song and asked if we could learn it, play it, and sing it, so she could record it for a memorial service (her passed friend\u2019s most favourite song) \u2013 so we did.\u00a0 (I like Steve\u2019s version better.)<\/p>\n

\"z2-openstage2\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"z2-openstage3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"z2-openstage4\"<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"z2-openstage5\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Haliburton County, which encompasses several small towns and villages, is a community of artists \u2013 musicians; sculptors; painters; jewellers; photographers; those who work with glass, wood, fabric, metal, stone; etc. \u00a0Throughout the year, mostly during the summer and fall, there are various opportunities for these artists to display their work.\u00a0 To name a few, there is the Rails End Gallery<\/a> in the heart of Haliburton Village, there are tours of artists\u2019 studios, there are fairs, and there is the weekly Music in the Park held every Tuesday evening at the one-air amphitheatre in Head Lake Park in Haliburton.\u00a0 We totally forgot about it the first week but spread our blanket on the grass the second week and were entertained by Fifth Business (Thom Lambert opened for them but we missed him by the time we arrived after dinner.)<\/p>\n

While away, we received an unexpected invitation from our jam club bass player, Chris, to join him at his cottage in Coboconk, about an hour south of our bunky.\u00a0 What a lovely midweek treat that was complete with a leisurely boat tour of some of Balsam Lake, and a delicious dinner on the dock accompanied by great music and charming company, including Steve’s new friend, Belle.\u00a0 When the mosquitos swarmed around 9:30, we declared our thanks to Chris and Rosalind and headed back.<\/p>\n

\"Coboconk<\/a><\/p>\n

Two weeks passed too quickly.\u00a0 In reflecting, we will miss the dark and star-filled nights, the overall quiet interrupted only by the lonely call of the loons, the random wildlife sightings, the artist community, the varied and sometimes quirky locals and their restaurants, and the power of the storms.\u00a0 Until next time, Haliburton\u2026<\/p>\n

(my photography course presentation, if you’re interested…)\u00a0\u00a0 2016 Travel & Landscape Presentation<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the seventh or eighth or ninth time \u2013 I\u2019ve lost count \u2013 Steve and I returned to “adult camp” at The Haliburton School of Art & Design (as it is now known).\u00a0 Those who are reading this might be Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,29,32,48,90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art-camp","category-haliburton","category-music","category-photography","category-ukulele"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2687"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3561,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2687\/revisions\/3561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maureensmusings.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}