No pictures of graduation in the slideshow, so here's one my dad sent us:
Dr. and Dr. Camwell!
Showing posts with label Travels. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travels. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
I Love Oregon
Here is a link to a slideshow of our photos from last week on the Oregon coast. By the end of the week, 65F felt quite warm! We were happy for those 70F days though. We really lucked out with the weather all week. No rain! In Oregon!!
No pictures of graduation in the slideshow, so here's one my dad sent us:
Dr. and Dr. Camwell!
No pictures of graduation in the slideshow, so here's one my dad sent us:
Dr. and Dr. Camwell!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
It's official!
I even walked across two different stages and was congratulated by several people. I'm Dr. Camwell! (There are 3 Dr. Camwells in our family now! This might get confusing!)
We're in Oregon now, and I'm writing from the public library in Lincoln City, a coastal town. Graduation was lovely on Saturday, but it was a LONG day. My parents, Dave's parents, Dave's sister and her boyfriend all came down to celebrate with us. The inlaws left today, and we're staying on the coast with my parents until Saturday. A well-deserved vacation, if I do say so myself!
Check out my belly blog for fun pregnancy news.
Having a wonderful time in beautiful weather! I'll post pictures when I get home.
We're in Oregon now, and I'm writing from the public library in Lincoln City, a coastal town. Graduation was lovely on Saturday, but it was a LONG day. My parents, Dave's parents, Dave's sister and her boyfriend all came down to celebrate with us. The inlaws left today, and we're staying on the coast with my parents until Saturday. A well-deserved vacation, if I do say so myself!
Check out my belly blog for fun pregnancy news.
Having a wonderful time in beautiful weather! I'll post pictures when I get home.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
DC Photos!
Once Dave shows me how to convert it from video, I'll put a photo of Ray Still and I on my blog. I had a great time in DC! There are a lot of photos, so feel free to skip around! (Although why would anybody want to do that?) ;)
Click here to view photos of my trip to Washington.
Click here to view photos of my trip to Washington.
Monday, April 09, 2007
D.C., Annapolis and Still
Wow--what a weekend! Robin beat me to the punch and wrote a great description of at least our time together on her blog. I don't think I'd do as well, so read her perspective here.
You know what I just realized? I don't have any photos of me and Ray Still. How dumb was that? Well, I do have five DVDs worth of lesson at least!
Let's start at the very beginning. ("A very good place to start.") (Hmm--I think that's the second time in 48 hours I quoted something from The Sound of Music...right, Robin?)
I flew to Washington D.C. on Friday morning, arriving at about 10am. Did you know that as you fly into D.C. you can see many of the major sites? I had no idea everything was so close to the airport. It gave me a little rush! I made my way to the hotel--the Renaissance downtown (screaming deal on Priceline)--and was able to check in early. I organized myself and proceeded to practice for 2.5 hours straight. I didn't know I had it in me. I was a little paranoid about reeds--I wasn't quite able to do the subtle things required of Ray Still's flexibility exercises. When Robin arrived from New Jersey (taking longer than she'd anticipated--crazy Good Friday traffic), we grabbed a burger at one of the hotel restaurants and walked over to Ford's Theatre. (Note how it's spelled correctly--proving that even Americans once knew how to spell. ;)) The theatre proper was closed for a rehearsal :( but we were able to visit the museum below and learned about Lincoln and the whole assassination plot. (Read Robin's blog for more detail.)
That night we went to a great concert at the Kennedy Center (not spelled correctly--they lost their gumption). Huge building--three events could happen simultaneously. Beautiful hall. We had good seats up in the second tier. I like the view from up there, and generally the music carried well. It did seem a bit removed, probably because of the acoustic drop they have over the stage. The concert was great. Rebecca Henderson played principal for the Liszt concerto and the Prokofiev. She was wonderful--really sang out. (Read Robin's blog for more detail!)
We got the cabbie to drop us off at the Hard Rock Cafe afterwards, where we stayed until the wee hours of the morning, enjoying life and a few too many "hurricanes". They may cost $15, but you get to keep the glass. Guess how many we got to keep! OK, I'm kidding. We weren't that exciting. I think we both had water and a side salad. Living it up. The walk back to the hotel was a little chilly. I did check the weather report before leaving Iowa, but somehow "high 30s" didn't register as THAT cold to me (no, I wasn't thinking in Canadian temperatures), so I only brought a very thin raincoat (no hood, as I brought my umbrella). Neither helped in the snow the next day.
Speaking of the next day, the next day was my big lesson. I won't go into details, but before leaving, I'd heard various things about Ray Still as a teacher and person. Let me say for the record, all the good things were true. I thought he was a warm, funny, bright, and generous person. We had about 2.5 hours together, and Robin was kind enough to videotape our session. His advice was invaluable and he was so nice to both of us. I was so honoured to play for him, and even more honoured to have such kind praise from him about my playing. You can't believe how good it felt to hear someone of that caliber and reputation compliment you. (You know it: read more at Robin's blog!) It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I will never forget it. He gave me a lot to think about, and I'm looking forward to applying so much of what he said to my playing.
As if driving the 4 hours (really 5-5.5 hours with traffic) from New Jersey wasn't enough, Robin drove me to Annapolis on Saturday morning...and back to D.C. Saturday afternoon...before driving the 4+ hours back to Jersey. What a friend! Our time was so short together, but we had such great time catching up. Thanks for everything, Robin!
On Saturday afternoon, after a little rest period, I realized I had 24 hours left in this city, and I hadn't done much sight-seeing. I walked to the National Archives, which I had read closed at 9pm...nope--it was 7pm and I arrived behind a giant tour group, getting in to the rotunda (where the most-viewed documents are: Constitution, Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, The Magna Carta) at 6:50pm. It was all very rushed and forcibly touristy. (OK, I'm standing in front of another document; must not just look at it and enjoy it--must take picture and move on.) I was still glad to see them.
Afterwards I decided to walk to the US Capitol, only I didn't know the best way, and goodness knows it would be too smart of me to just follow the tourists. I followed my map, which got me there...on deserted side-streets. A little nerve-racking. The Capitol was pretty amazing (no tour for me--just views from outside), as was the view of the Washington Monument on the other side of the National Mall (otherwise known, to me, as "wind alley"). By the time I got part-way down wind alley, covering my ears with my hands (smartly, for once, I'd layered two shirts and two sweaters underneath my thin coat--and at least I had hand/wrist warmers--thanks, Katrina--they saved me), I was a frozen little ice cube needing some thawing at the nearest Starbucks. (Thank you, Margaret, I am now a big fan of the half-sweet hot chocolate--half the pumps--all the goodness.)
Still with me? Good for you.
I then walked to Chinatown (on the way back to my hotel) and found a restaurant (Italian--just kidding). There was a little incident at dinner--a homeless man walked in and starting asking everybody for money. He went table-to-table and the manager kept trying to get him to leave. He would touch his arm, and the man would freak out, "get off me, man" or "stay out of my business". I was expecting something even worse to happen. I was about 3/4 of the way down the restaurant, and he still made it to my table. I used the old "Je ne comprends pas" trick, and he moved along. After a few more squabbles, he left the restaurant.
I walked back to the hotel, noticing nobody else on the streets around me. There are always plenty of people at the destinations--how do they get there? Does nobody else walk alone at night downtown in a strange city?
The next day was my big sight-seeing day. I took the "Tourmobile"--for $20 you get on at any of their stops, have a tour of the city, and get on and off as much as you want all day. I highly recommend it. Great things: Cherry Blossom Festival--lots of trees in bloom. Museum of Natural History--so fun. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial--my favourite of the memorials. Not so great things: The line-ups for trams at the Arlington National Cemetary that made me doubt my timeline to getting back to the hotel on time. The decision I made to take a cab from Arlington to the hotel, deciding to miss the end of my tour (didn't see the White House). The lady that tapped on the window of the cab as soon as I got in, asking the cabbie for directions to [wherever] (I got out and got in different cab). Calling the airline on the way to the airport to find out that my flight was delayed 1 hr. & 50 min. (I called earlier on my tour, and it was on time.) Yes, I could've seen the White House afterall and saved the taxi fare from the cemetary. Last not-so-great thing: waiting at the airport for 4 hours total, as the flight was further delayed.
So it was a fabulous trip all in all, with a bit of a lousy end. I took lots of great pictures, so I'll do a Kodak gallery and post the link tomorrow. Here's a teaser:
If you made it through all this, thanks for reading!
You know what I just realized? I don't have any photos of me and Ray Still. How dumb was that? Well, I do have five DVDs worth of lesson at least!
Let's start at the very beginning. ("A very good place to start.") (Hmm--I think that's the second time in 48 hours I quoted something from The Sound of Music...right, Robin?)
I flew to Washington D.C. on Friday morning, arriving at about 10am. Did you know that as you fly into D.C. you can see many of the major sites? I had no idea everything was so close to the airport. It gave me a little rush! I made my way to the hotel--the Renaissance downtown (screaming deal on Priceline)--and was able to check in early. I organized myself and proceeded to practice for 2.5 hours straight. I didn't know I had it in me. I was a little paranoid about reeds--I wasn't quite able to do the subtle things required of Ray Still's flexibility exercises. When Robin arrived from New Jersey (taking longer than she'd anticipated--crazy Good Friday traffic), we grabbed a burger at one of the hotel restaurants and walked over to Ford's Theatre. (Note how it's spelled correctly--proving that even Americans once knew how to spell. ;)) The theatre proper was closed for a rehearsal :( but we were able to visit the museum below and learned about Lincoln and the whole assassination plot. (Read Robin's blog for more detail.)
That night we went to a great concert at the Kennedy Center (not spelled correctly--they lost their gumption). Huge building--three events could happen simultaneously. Beautiful hall. We had good seats up in the second tier. I like the view from up there, and generally the music carried well. It did seem a bit removed, probably because of the acoustic drop they have over the stage. The concert was great. Rebecca Henderson played principal for the Liszt concerto and the Prokofiev. She was wonderful--really sang out. (Read Robin's blog for more detail!)
We got the cabbie to drop us off at the Hard Rock Cafe afterwards, where we stayed until the wee hours of the morning, enjoying life and a few too many "hurricanes". They may cost $15, but you get to keep the glass. Guess how many we got to keep! OK, I'm kidding. We weren't that exciting. I think we both had water and a side salad. Living it up. The walk back to the hotel was a little chilly. I did check the weather report before leaving Iowa, but somehow "high 30s" didn't register as THAT cold to me (no, I wasn't thinking in Canadian temperatures), so I only brought a very thin raincoat (no hood, as I brought my umbrella). Neither helped in the snow the next day.
Speaking of the next day, the next day was my big lesson. I won't go into details, but before leaving, I'd heard various things about Ray Still as a teacher and person. Let me say for the record, all the good things were true. I thought he was a warm, funny, bright, and generous person. We had about 2.5 hours together, and Robin was kind enough to videotape our session. His advice was invaluable and he was so nice to both of us. I was so honoured to play for him, and even more honoured to have such kind praise from him about my playing. You can't believe how good it felt to hear someone of that caliber and reputation compliment you. (You know it: read more at Robin's blog!) It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I will never forget it. He gave me a lot to think about, and I'm looking forward to applying so much of what he said to my playing.
As if driving the 4 hours (really 5-5.5 hours with traffic) from New Jersey wasn't enough, Robin drove me to Annapolis on Saturday morning...and back to D.C. Saturday afternoon...before driving the 4+ hours back to Jersey. What a friend! Our time was so short together, but we had such great time catching up. Thanks for everything, Robin!
On Saturday afternoon, after a little rest period, I realized I had 24 hours left in this city, and I hadn't done much sight-seeing. I walked to the National Archives, which I had read closed at 9pm...nope--it was 7pm and I arrived behind a giant tour group, getting in to the rotunda (where the most-viewed documents are: Constitution, Declaration of Independence, The Bill of Rights, The Magna Carta) at 6:50pm. It was all very rushed and forcibly touristy. (OK, I'm standing in front of another document; must not just look at it and enjoy it--must take picture and move on.) I was still glad to see them.
Afterwards I decided to walk to the US Capitol, only I didn't know the best way, and goodness knows it would be too smart of me to just follow the tourists. I followed my map, which got me there...on deserted side-streets. A little nerve-racking. The Capitol was pretty amazing (no tour for me--just views from outside), as was the view of the Washington Monument on the other side of the National Mall (otherwise known, to me, as "wind alley"). By the time I got part-way down wind alley, covering my ears with my hands (smartly, for once, I'd layered two shirts and two sweaters underneath my thin coat--and at least I had hand/wrist warmers--thanks, Katrina--they saved me), I was a frozen little ice cube needing some thawing at the nearest Starbucks. (Thank you, Margaret, I am now a big fan of the half-sweet hot chocolate--half the pumps--all the goodness.)
Still with me? Good for you.
I then walked to Chinatown (on the way back to my hotel) and found a restaurant (Italian--just kidding). There was a little incident at dinner--a homeless man walked in and starting asking everybody for money. He went table-to-table and the manager kept trying to get him to leave. He would touch his arm, and the man would freak out, "get off me, man" or "stay out of my business". I was expecting something even worse to happen. I was about 3/4 of the way down the restaurant, and he still made it to my table. I used the old "Je ne comprends pas" trick, and he moved along. After a few more squabbles, he left the restaurant.
I walked back to the hotel, noticing nobody else on the streets around me. There are always plenty of people at the destinations--how do they get there? Does nobody else walk alone at night downtown in a strange city?
The next day was my big sight-seeing day. I took the "Tourmobile"--for $20 you get on at any of their stops, have a tour of the city, and get on and off as much as you want all day. I highly recommend it. Great things: Cherry Blossom Festival--lots of trees in bloom. Museum of Natural History--so fun. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial--my favourite of the memorials. Not so great things: The line-ups for trams at the Arlington National Cemetary that made me doubt my timeline to getting back to the hotel on time. The decision I made to take a cab from Arlington to the hotel, deciding to miss the end of my tour (didn't see the White House). The lady that tapped on the window of the cab as soon as I got in, asking the cabbie for directions to [wherever] (I got out and got in different cab). Calling the airline on the way to the airport to find out that my flight was delayed 1 hr. & 50 min. (I called earlier on my tour, and it was on time.) Yes, I could've seen the White House afterall and saved the taxi fare from the cemetary. Last not-so-great thing: waiting at the airport for 4 hours total, as the flight was further delayed.
So it was a fabulous trip all in all, with a bit of a lousy end. I took lots of great pictures, so I'll do a Kodak gallery and post the link tomorrow. Here's a teaser:
If you made it through all this, thanks for reading!
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Trip excitement!
I have a few pieces in particular that I'm "ready" (whoever is completely ready?) to play for Ray Still on Saturday. Mozart Oboe Concerto, first movement, Schumann Romance #2 (but I'd put this last, so we probably won't get to it), and a few excerpts including Bach Brandenburg #1 (mvts. 1 & 2), Tchaikovsky Symphony #4, Brahms Symphony #1, and Beethoven Symphonies 3/6. At least I'll have plenty for him to choose from. I wouldn't be surprised if we only got to one of all those pieces. That can be true of any lesson though.
Robin and I have tickets to see the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center on Friday night. Yeah! I'll spend the morning getting my reeds ready and practicing, do some sight-seeing in the afternoon, and go to a concert at night! I'm very excited. Here is their program.
Need to work on reeds! They are coming along, although they changed big time with this drop in temperature we've had. It went from 60F to 10F in a day. The weather here is almost as crazy as Calgary! It's been really windy too. We've lost one shutter and several shingles. The tornado siren went off today, but there was no weather alert on the radio. It was about this time last year when my parents were visiting (and we bought our house one year ago this Saturday!), they came to a concert of mine in Pella, IA, and the concert was interrupted because of a tornado warning. The audience, orchestra and choir all marched down to the basement. That was fun. Well, my parents didn't think so at the time.
OK, bye!
Robin and I have tickets to see the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center on Friday night. Yeah! I'll spend the morning getting my reeds ready and practicing, do some sight-seeing in the afternoon, and go to a concert at night! I'm very excited. Here is their program.
Need to work on reeds! They are coming along, although they changed big time with this drop in temperature we've had. It went from 60F to 10F in a day. The weather here is almost as crazy as Calgary! It's been really windy too. We've lost one shutter and several shingles. The tornado siren went off today, but there was no weather alert on the radio. It was about this time last year when my parents were visiting (and we bought our house one year ago this Saturday!), they came to a concert of mine in Pella, IA, and the concert was interrupted because of a tornado warning. The audience, orchestra and choir all marched down to the basement. That was fun. Well, my parents didn't think so at the time.
OK, bye!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Teaching joys and an upcoming trip!
I love teaching...most days! I enjoy all my students--I have nobody I'd fire. That's a good thing. Today when my five-year-old neighbour left her lesson, she looked at me from the porch, before going down the steps, and said, "I'm going to do a fourth." Then she jumped from the porch to the ground, skipping two steps of course. She did that last week with thirds and the week before with seconds. I do not encourage acrobatics from my front porch, but that just made my day!
I just booked my flight to Washington D.C. for Good Friday. I'll fly in on Friday morning, spend some time with my wonderful long-but-not-lost friend Robin in D.C., spending the night there, then drive to Annapolis on Saturday for my lesson with Ray Still. I'll take the train (or drive if I have a rental car--that's up in the air still) back to D.C. after my lesson and do some more sight-seeing Saturday night and Sunday before heading back in time for Easter dinner in Indianola.
Of course I'm excited about my lesson and interview with Ray Still (or "Mr. Still", as I call him--we are like "that"), but I'm REALLY excited about seeing Robin! She's such a dear friend to me. We went to grad school together in Colorado and share stories of Peter Cooper and memories of fun parties (she was a great hippy one Halloween). I'm so happy she'll be driving down from New Jersey to meet up with me. Thanks, Robin!
We had fun on the phone today; I tried my hand at Priceline.com, and we are sharing a room at a 4-star hotel downtown D.C. for $75. Nice... I may have to try Priceline again for upcoming trips!
Hungry...must eat! Good day!
I just booked my flight to Washington D.C. for Good Friday. I'll fly in on Friday morning, spend some time with my wonderful long-but-not-lost friend Robin in D.C., spending the night there, then drive to Annapolis on Saturday for my lesson with Ray Still. I'll take the train (or drive if I have a rental car--that's up in the air still) back to D.C. after my lesson and do some more sight-seeing Saturday night and Sunday before heading back in time for Easter dinner in Indianola.
Of course I'm excited about my lesson and interview with Ray Still (or "Mr. Still", as I call him--we are like "that"), but I'm REALLY excited about seeing Robin! She's such a dear friend to me. We went to grad school together in Colorado and share stories of Peter Cooper and memories of fun parties (she was a great hippy one Halloween). I'm so happy she'll be driving down from New Jersey to meet up with me. Thanks, Robin!
We had fun on the phone today; I tried my hand at Priceline.com, and we are sharing a room at a 4-star hotel downtown D.C. for $75. Nice... I may have to try Priceline again for upcoming trips!
Hungry...must eat! Good day!
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