William Holland School of Lapidary Arts	For information click here
click photo to enlarge	2020 will be our fifth year going to William Holland and I am not sure I ever posted any actual pictures of the place. It is located in the Mountains of northeast Georgia near a town called Young Harris.  We always say it is like going to an adult summer camp and because of posts about a middle school teacher who passed on I went looking for a summer camp I went to as a child. The building in the photo to the left is called Sparks Lodge and it was built by volunteers. The rooms are in the upstairs part of the building and the cafeteria and classrooms are on the bottom level. In any given week they can have up to 20 different classes going on.
click photo to enlarge	While it is mostly retirees there are some younger people that come and enjoy it. You get up in the morning and go downstairs for breakfast. Then your classrooms are also downstairs. Some wake up early and got for a walk or run in the area. The rooms are basic with no TV and no phones so you tend to sit on the rocking chairs on the veranda and talk with others.  The food is good, served buffet style and the instructors are all excellent volunteers. Many have been doing it for a long time because they love it. People in the classrooms are enjoying what they are doing. It is just a very enjoyable and fun week of learning something new. Now I understand why my mother always loved to go away to camps for painting. You get away from the world and just do something you enjoy doing for a week with others who are enjoying what they arte doing. The cost is $425 for 5 full days of class, 3 meals a day and room and board.
click photo to enlarge