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involved in extra-program
curriculums,
like the
Honors
Program
and Intellec-
tual Inquiry
courses.
This in-
volvement
exposes stu-
dents who
might not
otherwise take an economics
class to our program, and has
been a point of entry for some
of our new majors. We contin-
ue to attract business majors
who want a “feather in their
cap” at graduation, with an
economics minor.
We are hiring a new tenure
track position this year, giving
us four full-time, tenure track
faculty. If our current growth
rate continues, I expect need-
ing a fifth economist sometime
soon. We have momentum.
Let’s keep it going!
The economics program at
Roanoke College has seen
significant growth over the last
few years, even as some pro-
grams have receded in popu-
larity. It has been said that
interest in economics is coun-
ter-cyclical: when things are
going well, we pay less atten-
tion; but when times are tough,
we want to know why and
what can be done. As the econ-
omy has recently shown a
resistance to improve, student
interest in economics has blos-
somed. A quick look at the
numbers tells all. Comparing
the years 2001-2006 graduat-
ing classes to those from 2007-
2012, there has been a 67%
increase in the average number
of economics majors in the
latter group. This does not
include seniors who had eco-
nomics as their minor. Includ-
ing minors and majors togeth-
er, it puts growth at well above
100%. This is an amazing
statistic for such a short
amount of time. Of course, I
like to think that the program
will continue this growth rate
well into the future. Someday
economics may be one of the
most popular majors on cam-
pus.
Another way to measure popu-
larity is current enrollments
across all student classifica-
tions, rather than only graduat-
ing seniors. Here we see more
evidence of growth. At pre-
sent, we have 26 economics
majors and 12 minors, for a
total of 38 currently enrolled in
the program. This number
represents a more than dou-
bling over just a few years ago.
Quality is just as important as
quantity. We have more stu-
dents involved in student/
faculty research than ever
before. This includes programs
like Summer Scholars and
Honors in Major. The Fed
Challenge continues to be
popular. We consistently field
strong teams for this competi-
tion. The economics faculty is
From the Colonel’s Desk
Reaching out
This is our fourth release of
Roanomics and it continues
to grow in popularity. Sev-
eral alumni have sent
emails or posted on social
networking outlets that they
enjoy reading through the
newsletter.
We are thrilled that
Roanomics is catching on
in this way. Reconnecting
with alumni was one of the
purposes of the newsletter.
If there is something that
you would like to see in the
next issue, send an email to
Remember that you can
keep up to date on the Eco-
nomics Program between
issues of Roanomics by
following our blog, kas-
sensroanokeecon.blogspot.c
om, which is updated sever-
al times a month, including
items on current students.
Roanoke College Economics Program
Summer and Fall 2012
Volume 3, Issue 1
Roanomics
Advising tips:
The Economics Pro-
gram offers a major and
a minor
If you major in BUAD,
there are only five addi-
tional courses left to
complete the minor in
ECON (one of which
can count as the BUAD
elective)
Several of the ECON
200-level courses serve
as electives in BUAD
concentrations
ECON 121 can substi-
tute for an INQ 260
Inside this issue:
News and notes 2
Student Editor’s
note 3
Spring courses 3
Faculty updates 4
Presentations, Publi-
cations and Honors 5
Consumer Senti-
ment 6
Feature: Where is
the Class of 2012 7
Undergraduate Re-
search 8
Economics Club 9
Travels with Dr. Bob 12
Garry Fleming,
Shannon Chair
of Economics
The Economics Club at Roa-
noke College continues… and
with a budget! If you are inter-
ested, please fill out the interest
form http://
kassensroanokee-
con.blogspot.com/2012/01/
economics-club-at-roanoke-
college.html
Zach Birtch `13 will present
his research at the Virginia As-
sessment Group 2012 Annual
Conference later this month in
Richmond.
Sara Caudle `12 and Chris
Kwaramba `12 earned the
Honors in the Major distinction
for Economics in May 2012,
Chanho Song `12 is engaged to
Geeyoon Chun. Congrats
Chanho!
The Economics Program is
starting a new recruiting initia-
tive for prospective economics
students. If you would like to
help, contact Dr. Kassens
Dr. Deborah Spencer will of-
fer the first Economics course
in the new INQ curriculum next
semester. The course, Capital-
ism, is discussed in more detail
later in this issue.
The 2012 Fed Challenge Team
of Conner Dubois `13, Brunel-
la Salazar `13, Ian Kervick-
Jimenez `13, Kerry Murphy
`13, Tiffany Ingram `13, and
Elizabeth Morris `13 was de-
layed by Sandy, but will com-
pete later this month in Rich-
mond.
We are on the job market! A
tenure track Assistant Professor
will be added to our faculty for
AY 2013-14. Interviews will be
conducted at the ASSA/AEA
meetings in January.
Tyler Rinko `11 is a finalist for
the Teach for America Program.
Good luck to all students taking
the GREs this semester, includ-
ing Katie Thornton `13, Wai
Paing `12, and Yahia AbuHa-
shem `12.
The Virginia Consumer Senti-
ment and Price Expectations
Indexes will now be released
each quarter! The February 2012
report can be found here.
Please let us know what is new
with you at roanokee-
[email protected] or fill out our
form at kassensroanokee-
con.blogspot.com
News and notes
Where are our alumni now? research associate in Pediatric
Oncology. She and her husband
Michael are expecting their first
child next year.
Justin Tuma `11 completed a
graduate program at Durham
University and is now an Assis-
tant Lacrosse Coach at Ran-
dolph-Macon College
Fill out the alumni survey at
kassensroanokee-
con.blogspot.com
Have career advice or contacts
for our current Economics stu-
dents? Please send an email to
SJ Brusard `09 took a new job
with Wedbush Securities, In-
dustrial Equity Sales
Brode McCrady `07 is work-
ing at Vantiv as a Merchant
Data Analyst
Andrew Streaman `09 is an
analyst with JP Morgan Chase
John Pauler `07 is a manager
in Marketing Analytics at
Vistaprint
Danielle McCloskey `11
moved to Spokane, WA and is
working at Sacred Heart Chil-
dren’s Hospital as a clinical
Page 2 Roanomics
Chris Kwaramba
“My overall education at Roa-
noke College, and particularly
my economics education, pre-
pared me for dealing with the
extremely varied career and
educational experiences I have
had throughout my life”
-Roanoke College alumna `72
Give us your comments via
alumni survey on our blog and
they might be included in the
next issue of Roanomics!
Ian Kervick-Jimenez
Katie Thornton
Marko Krkeljas
My time at Roanoke College
has gone by so quickly it
amazes me that I am already a
senior. I never thought that I
would be graduating Roanoke
with a degree in Economics
and concentrating in Account-
ing.
This semester I have been
busy with both my Economet-
rics class and The Federal
Reserve Challenge. In both of
these classes I have focused
on unemployment. In Econo-
metrics I am doing research
into the effects of unemploy-
ment on marital and family
relations. For the Federal Re-
serve Challenge I am covering
unemployment in our presen-
tation. In this class, myself
and 5 other students will be
traveling to the Richmond
Federal Reserve in late Octo-
ber to present our recommen-
dations to their staff. In addi-
tion to unemployment, we will
be covering GDP, housing,
consumer confidence, interna-
tional trade, and monetary
policy. Both of these classes
have really put into perspec-
tive all the things I have
learned in the classroom.
My interest in researching
unemployment started through
my experience as a student
researcher for Dr. Alice Kas-
sens last year. Her project
explored the correlation be-
tween unemployment and
depression. Working for her
gave me the chance to develop
my research skills as well.
This opportunity was not only
very educational and academi-
cally focused, but it also gave
me excellent job experience.
As I look towards graduation,
I have been actively preparing
for life after graduation. I am
moving towards a career in
the fields of research, finance
or risk management. I am
excited to be a senior and I
anticipate all of the great
things that are to come.
Student Editor’s Note: Kerry Murphy `13
Page 3 Volume 3, Issue 1
Spring 2013 Courses
ECON 121 Principles of Micro-
economics
Nik-Khah, Spencer
ECON 122 Principles of Mac-
roeconomics
Fleming, Kassens
ECON 227 Health Economics
Kassens
ECON 232 Money & Banking
Fleming
ECON 322 Intermediate The-
ory: Macroeconomics
Fleming
ECON 461 Economic Seminar
Nik-Khah
INQ 260EC WA Capitalism in
Crisi
Spencer
Please check Web Advisor for
official information and times
(Blogging in
Dr. Kassens’
Principles
course)
“helped me
to become
more aware
of how
economics
affects so
many
different
areas”
“[enabled
me] to
understand
how what we
were learning
in class could
tie in to other
economic
events in our
country and
worldwide.”
Kerry Murphy `13
WHY MAJOR IN ECONOMICS?WHY MAJOR IN ECONOMICS?WHY MAJOR IN ECONOMICS?
"A lot of people talk about majoring in business ... actually, economics is even better, because
you learn a lot more quantitative analysis, a lot more statistics, and things that are applicable in
kind of this big data world," she says. "Similar to physics, it's really good for salary growth
overall." -Kelsey Sheehy, US News and World Report, “College Majors with the Best Rate of
Return on Investment”, September 12, 2012.
I enjoyed a productive sabbati-
cal over the spring. In addition
to using the APS Franklin Grant
to conduct research at the
CUNY-Baruch College RDC in
NYC and Rutgers University, I
made plans to begin a project
regarding obesity, diabetes, and
income in Latin America with
Dr. Yana Rodgers. We hatched
this idea running along the Rari-
tan River in NJ and hope to
present our progress in 2014.
Yana is a development econo-
mist. Our project will marry her
skills with my background in
health economics. I will be
looking for a student to help
with the project next semester.
My blog, “The Running Econo-
mist”, which details my journey
searching for the optimal bal-
ance between two of my pas-
sions, running and research, is
coming along. I have also be-
gun blogging for Women Talk
Sports. This is a fantastic site
for women’s sports issues and I
am proud to be a part of it. I
have interviewed several world
class athletes, including Kara
Goucher and Stephanie Brown-
Trafton. You can find all of my
interviews and contributions to
WTS here: http://
www.womentalksports.com/
profiles/view/3540. Consider
following me on Twitter
@RnningEconomist
My biggest excitement was the
publication of an article that I
coauthored with three of my for-
mer students: Sara Caudle, Tyler
Rinko, and Justin Tuma. We
detailed a process for effectively
supervising multiple independent
studies. You can find the elec-
tronic version of the article on
the journal’s webpage. LINK
I hope that this is the first of
many coauthored papers with
undergraduates.
My econometrics students are
working on a variety of exciting
projects which we will share
with you in the next issue of
Roanomics.
Faculty Update: Dr. Alice Louise Kassens
Faculty Update: Dr. Deborah Spencer ernment within a capitalist soci-
ety? Why do Economists disa-
gree? Why does Capitalism
dominate rival economic sys-
tems? Does our Capitalist sys-
tem promote freedom with pur-
pose?
Different economic perspectives
use different methodologies to
answer these important and dif-
ficult questions. Join us in this
fascinating journey to under-
stand and critically analyze the
economic perspectives that ulti-
mately compete for your alle-
giance.
What did Adam Smith, Karl
Marx, John Maynard Keynes,
and Thorsten Veblen say that
can inform our thoughts on the
The Economics program will
launch its first INQ 260 course
this Spring semester entitled,
Capitalism in Crisis. The fact
that we are in a state of crisis is
evident in the numbers: high
levels of public and personal
debt, rising medical costs along-
side a growing number of unin-
sured, high and prolonged un-
employment, pervasive under-
employment, large and persis-
tent trade deficits and an in-
come distribution picture that
takes us back to the 1920’s.
The questions raised by these
alarming trends are the focus of
inquiry for this course. Can
Capitalism survive? How does
it work? What are its require-
ments? What is the role of gov-
Page 4 Roanomics
Dr. Alice Louise
Kassens,
Associate Professor
of Economics
Dr. Deborah
Spencer,
Visiting Assistant
Professor of
Economics
current crisis and capitalism gen-
erally? How can we borrow from
and “modernize” these giants of
economics at a time when eco-
nomic change is inevitable? Take
“Capitalism in Crisis” and be a
participant in shaping your fu-
ture!
NOTE: Dr. Spencer’s class is
listed as an INQ 260 course. You
can register for it now and take
the inaugural offering in the
Spring 2013.
Dr. Alice Louise Kassens
North American Clinical Der-
matologic Society’s 53rd
Annual Meeting, Zurich
Virginia Society of Certified
Public Accountants, Roanoke
Dr. Edward Nik-Khah
History of Economics Society
Conference, Brock University
History of Political Economy
Conference, Duke
Society for the Social Studies
of Science Conference, Den-
mark
Utrecht School of Economics
Workshop, The Netherlands
Dr. Edward Nik-Khah
“Island Empire: Economics
Imperialism a an Inperative
of Chicago Neoliberal-
ism” (with Rob VanHorn).
Journal of Economic Meth-
odology 19(3): 259-282.
Nathan Castellano `12
2012 Senior Scholar
Marko Krkeljas `12
2012 Outstanding Senior
Sara Caudle `12
Dr. Alice Louise Kassens
“Do as I say and as I do: An
adaptation of McElroy’s
Mentor Demonstration Model
for Multiple Independent
Studies” (with Sara Caudle,
Tyler Rinko, and Justin Tu-
ma). Perspectives on Under-
graduate Research and Men-
toring, 2.1
Roanoke College Faculty
Summer Research Award for
“A study of the Patient Pro-
tection and Affordable Care
Act”
2012 ODE Award
James Bradshaw `13
Lowry Scholarship
Nomin Baasandavaa `13
Phi Beta Kappa
The Lowry Scholarship is
for rising seniors and is in
honor of the late Dr. Darryl
Lowry. If you would like to
donate to the Lowry Schol-
arship, please contact the
Roanoke College Resource
Development Office
Presentations
Publications, Awards and Honors
Page 5 Volume 3, Issue 1
Spring 2012 Academic Honors President’s List
Katie Thornton
Emma Webb
Dean’s List
Nomin Baasandavaa
Zach Birtch
James Bradshaw
Ted Ellis
Tiffany Ingram
Chris Kwaramba
Chanho Song
Amanda Stewart
Patrick McLaughlin
Spencer Lewin
Honors in the Major
Sara Caudle
Chris Kwaramba
Athletic Honor Roll
Christopher Migliarese
James Bradshaw
Edward Nik-Khah,
Associate Professor
James Bradshaw `13
Tiffany Ingram `13
Dr. Garry Fleming
Hawaii International Confer-
ence on Business
Tiffany Ingram `13
Family Weekend Showcase
of Research and Creativity,
Roanoke College
Consumer confidence in the econo-
my has a profound influence on the
current and future health of the
national economy. For example, if
individuals lose confidence they
might begin to save more and con-
sume less, thus reducing US GDP.
There are several measures of con-
sumer confidence:
1) Consumer Confidence Index
(CCI, produced by The Con-
ference Board): based on
5,000 household surveys,
conducted monthly, focus on
current and short term busi-
ness and labor market condi-
tions
2) Consumer Sentiment Index
(ICS, produced by the Univer-
sity of Michigan): based on
500 household surveys, con-
ducted monthly, focus on
current and short term person-
al financial situation, business
conditions, and climate for
purchasing durable goods
3) Consumer Comfort Index
(BCCI, produced by Bloom-
berg, LLC): based on 1,000
household surveys, conducted
weekly, focus on current
views of the economy, person-
al finances, and buying cli-
mate
There is the potential for the media
to influence households’ responses
to the surveys and thus the indexes
themselves. A non-scientific poll
was conducted of students, alumni,
and friends of the Roanoke College
Economics Program during the last
week of October 2012. The ques-
tion was “Do you think the media’s
coverage/reporting of the economy
plays a role in consumer confi-
dence?”
Twenty people responded to the
poll, which was posted on the RC
Economics Program blog and Dr.
Kassens’ Facebook page. The sam-
ple is small, but the results are still
interesting. The majority believed
that the media does have influence.
Consumer Sentiment and the Economy
Page 6 Roanomics
Want macroeco-
nomic data? Feder-
al Reserve Eco-
nomic Data
(FRED) is a great
secondary source
of government
data. FRED recent-
ly released an ex-
cel add-in to in-
crease the ease of
data manipulation.
It was used to gen-
erate the plot of the
ICS below. Over
64,000 data series
are available free
of charge.
What do you see in the above graph? Does there appear to be a relationship between US unemployment
and consumer sentiment? The consumer sentiment measure used is the ICS from the University of Mich-
igan. Give us your feedback here and we will include it in the March issue of Roanomics.
Page 7 Volume 3, Issue 1
FEATURE WHERE IS THE CLASS OF 2012?
Yahia AbuHashem
Millennium Insurance (DC)
Applying to graduate pro-
grams in economics and other
FT work
Nomin Baasandavaa
KPMG, Associate
Nathan Castellano
George Washington Universi-
ty Law School
Sara Caudle
Trent Capital Management,
Portfolio Administrator/
Relationship Manager
Dustin DeMaria
Smart Options
Phillip Gereaux
Pamplin College of Business
(Virginia Tech) - MBA Pro-
gram
Nikolay Karagyozov
National Securities Corpo-
ration (NY)
Marko Krkeljas
McIntire School of Com-
merce (UVA)—Master of
Science in Commerce Pro-
gram
“Overall the [McIntire]
community is great, the
academic resources are su-
perb, and the classes are
interesting.”
Chris Kwaramba
Pamplin College of Busi-
ness (Virginia Tech) - MBA
Program, Master Candidate
and Graduate Assistant
Serena Laughlin
Inverness Counsel LLC,,
Compliance Administrative
Assistant (NY)
Mike McGeough
Management Associate
(New Orleans)
Trevor McNally
Trading Associate
(Chicago)
Ray Owens
Cotton & Company LLP,
Staff Auditor
Wai Paing
Queens Library Foundation,
Donor Relations Coordina-
tor (volunteer)
Applying to graduate pro-
grams in economics
Max Stein
Insite Properties, LLC, In-
tern
Mahmoud Thaher
The Hope Fund (DC)
Nick White
Codebryx, LLC, Marketing
Analyst
NOTE: National numbers are from The John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development. (2012) “Chasing the
American Dream: Recent College Graduates and the Great Recession”.; Data for the RC Class of 2012 was collected
via survey, LinkedIn, and Facebook
Working with a faculty member
on a research project can give
you the experience and edge
that you need for graduate
school and the labor market.
All members of the economics
faculty are actively engaged in a
variety of research projects.
You should volunteer to help
one of them with a project. In
some cases there may be funds
available to pay you for your
efforts. A definite benefit is the
ability to add research experi-
ence to your resume.
Currently Dr. Alice Louise Kas-
sens has several students help-
ing her with projects.
Conor Fitzhenry `16
Conor is currently assisting
with a project concerning aging
female responses to adverse
health related shocks, particu-
larly a diagnosis of Type II dia-
betes. Response is measured as
a change in BMI or hip/waist
circumference. Data from the
National Institutes of Health
Women’s Health Initiative
(NIH WHI) is being used, the
first economics project to do so.
Conor is starting with learning
the basics of health economics
and the economics of obesity.
Additionally he is familiarizing
himself with the NIH WHI.
Emma Webb `14
Emma joined a project led by Dr.
Kassens and Dr. Julie Maina
(HHP). They are using data col-
lected by Sara Caudle `12 to as-
sess student wellness at Roanoke
College. Resources include sev-
eral sets of student survey data
and nutrition and exercise logs
from spring 2012 HHP 160 sec-
tions.
Emma is currently entering sur-
vey and log data so that it can be
analyzed and the next steps of
the project can be determined.
Undergraduate researchers: Update
Page 8 Roanomics
Undergraduate researchers: Student comment
My name is Conor Fitzhenry. I
was born in Miami but currently
reside in Buffalo along with my
four brothers, my dad, Mike,
and my mom, Colleen. Some
of my hobbies include running
and working out when I’m not
busy studying. At Roanoke
College, I intend on majoring in
economics with a minor in
Spanish.
My work with Dr. Kassens per-
tains to health economics and
the economics of obesity
amongst older women. We are
working with data from the
Women’s Health Initiative to
study the health issues of post-
menopausal women. I look
forward to continuing my re-
search with Dr. Kassens as the
year progresses.
Dr. Julie Maina, HHP
Conor Fitzhenry `16
How can I participate in undergraduate research?
1) Independent study
2) Honors in the Major
3) Research Assistant
4) Upper level courses
What can I do with my research?
1) Present at a conference (on or off-campus)
2) Submit to an awards competition
3) Submit to a journal for publication
4) Include in your application to graduate school or share
with a potential employer
This fall, the Economics Club
of Roanoke College is proud to
announce Dr. Alice Kassens as
it’s new advisor, and to see new
faces in our ranks.
Already Dr. Marvin Phaup
(’62), has joined us to speak
about the Congressional Budget
Constraint and budgetary treat-
ment.
This year, we plan to learn off
campus at the Federal Reserve
Bank in Richmond and to ex-
plore the history of the financial
crisis first hand in New York
and tour the NYSE.
On campus, we will continue to
bring exciting and relevant
speakers.
Relevant to the political season,
the Economics Club will mod-
erate a debate between the Col-
lege Republicans and College
Democrats.
The Economics Club hopes to
increase student involvement
with extracurricular activities
on campus, increase student
knowledge of economics out-
side of class, and provide mem-
bers the opportunity to apply
economics to the real world.
An Economics major or minor is
not required and all students are
welcome to join the Economics
Club.
I look forward to seeing you at
our next meeting!
Sincerely,
Conrad Classen ‘15
President, Economics Club of
Roanoke College
Economics Club: Message from the President
Economics Club: Comment
they pose.
In short, the system is flawed
due to misaligned incentives.
For example, traders in the fi-
nancial system present the
shareholder with the principal-
agent issue; they are incentiv-
ized to take enormous risks for
which they are often rewarded,
but never penalized. This issue
could be mitigated by changing
the structure of bonuses for
investors in financial firms:
instead of being giving bonuses
in the short term, traders’ gains
and losses could be evaluated
The Need for Reforms in the
U.S. Financial System
Both the United States and
global financial systems have
been long overdue for a series
of thorough reforms.
The recent financial crisis in the
United States should have been
a wake-up call, but policymak-
ers have been reluctant to re-
spond due to the surface stabil-
ity the markets have achieved.
The structural problems respon-
sible for the crisis remain both
largely unaddressed and dan-
gerous to citizens because of
the high level of systemic risk
Page 9
over a long span of time to more
fairly reward them for their ef-
forts. This would decrease in-
centives for traders to engage in
the high-risk betting that so pre-
cariously positioned our financial
system in the years leading up to
the crash.
Congress needs to become more
involved and take action to rea-
lign incentives. Of course there
will continue to be financial cri-
ses, but proper regulation and
free markets will work together
to prevent catastrophes like the
one we have just experienced.
Conrad Classen
`15
Ted Ellis `15
Would you like to be a part of one of the newest recognized clubs
on campus? If so contact President Conrad Classen or Dr. Alice
Louise Kassens. You can also fill out the interest form.
INTEREST FORM
Join the Economics Club
Volume 3, Issue 1
Page 10 Roanomics
Page 11 Volume 3, Issue 1
“...Because we view economics as solidly within the liberal arts, we are
committed to examining the relationship between economics and other are-
as of knowledge. Students will therefore find it to be an excellent comple-
ment to many other majors, including, but not limited to public policy, soci-
ology, history, environmental policy, mathematics, biology, and business
administration, as well as concentrations such as gender studies and peace
and justice studies.”
For information about the Economics Program contact Dr. Garry Fleming
For comments or suggestions about the newsletter email
Read our blog: kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com
Faculty Editor: Dr. Alice Louise Kassens
Student Editor: Kerry Murphy ‘13
221 College Lane
Salem, VA 24153
Phone: 540-375-2426
Fax: 540-375-2577
E-mail: [email protected]
Economics Program
Badlands of South Dakota; a
beautiful place in a desolate
sort of way. We took side
trips to Mount Rushmore and
the Crazy Horse Memorial. In
a mountain carving competi-
tion, I vote for Crazy
Horse: when finished, it will
be about ten times as large as
Rushmore. There is an inspi-
rational story behind it: it has
been a sixty-five year quest
by one man, Korczak Ziol-
kowski and his family to
transform a granite mountain
into a monument to a famous
American Indian
chief (without a cent of gov-
ernment funding). It is still a
work in progress and will not
be finished in my lifetime.
You should take a minute and
check out their website for
some great pictures.
Early October found us at
Virginia Beach’s annual Nep-
It has been a busy travel year,
so I will cover the high-
lights. In early June we trav-
elled to California-the land of
high taxes, oppressive gov-
ernment regulations, munici-
pal bankruptcies (e.g. Stock-
ton), and almost 11% unem-
ployment. They must like this
state of affairs because they
continue to back the politi-
cians responsible for it. Cali-
fornia is a great place to visit.
Yosemite National Park- one
of the most beautiful places
in America. We stayed a his-
toric hotel, the Wawonna,
meaning "bathrooms down
the hall". Our best activi-
ties were a tour of the sequoia
forests, a hike up the Mist
Trail to the top of Vernal
Falls, and a trip up to Glacier
Point.
Another off-season national
park adventure was to the
tune Festival. A highlight was
a sand sculpture competition
with artists from around the
world. We stayed at a friend's
timeshare condo one block off
the beach which he purchased
for $1.00 on E-Bay from
someone who did not want to
pay the annual maintenance
fee (about $600 for a week's
stay). The moral of the story:
don't buy a new timeshare
from a salesman-you basical-
ly will be giving them a $10K
-$15K commission for a
timeshare you can buy in the
resale market for a few hun-
dred dollars or less.
We headed to the NC moun-
tains to see the fall colors. I
highly recommend the Mount
Pisgah and the Little Switzer-
land Inns: both are on the
Blue Ridge Parkway, are
within an hour or so of Ashe-
ville, and have amazing
Travels with Dr. Bob
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mountain scenery. Asheville is
becoming the craft beer capitol
of the East Coast. They have
several good local breweries,
and Sierra Nevada and New
Belgium are moving in. Craft
brewing is a rapidly growing
industry that creates jobs right
here in America. They deserve
your support! Remember what
Ben Franklin said :"beer is
proof that God loves us and
wants us to be happy."
Happy Travels, Dr. Bob
Bob Stauffer,
Professor Emeritus