The Elf Herself writes:
I was attending a two-week seminar in Easton, PA, at the college there. (It was the second week of July, so no regular classes.) First, I was surprised that there were nearby fireworks every night, until somebody explained that it was customary to celebrate Independence Day the entire month of July. We had classes in electronics and electrical engineering every regular school day. That was also the first time in my life I ever saw fireflies.
We were on our own for the Saturday and Sunday between weeks, so most of us explored the countryside. (I'd flown to PA from CA, so was without a car--no problem when you're one of two women among about 20 men!) Most of the guys went to Atlantic City, since they'd never been to a casino before. Though I grew up in California, I had many relatives in both Reno and Las Vegas, so wasn't awed by gambling houses. On Saturday, a carload of us went to "Pennsylvania Dutch" country, then ended up in Philadelphia. We had lunch near Independence Hall, where some guys complained about the "vanilla ice cream with some kinda black specks in it"--they'd never seen vanilla bean flavoring before. Yes, it was hot--thank goodness we were all allowed to swim in the college's indoor swimming pool!
All in all, it was "ve-r-r-y eenteresting," to quote the late, lamented "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In."
P. S. I was about 10-15 years older than any of the others.
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