THE GREAT (SHORT) ESCAPE FROM THE ORDINARY—making YOUR WEEKEND A VACATION – Melanie and Rare Finds Travel will teach you how to turn your next weekend into a vacation. Melanie will share her unique three-day getaways —weekends at lighthouses and treehouses, drives down the Overseas Highway, escapes to Savannah and NOLA, an ashram in the Bahamas, a whale camp in Baja, glamping and escape vans, a cross island hike on Catalina and a food crawl thru Tidewater, plus unique spots like Havasupai Falls—and that’s just for starters. Some a short drive from New York, some a quick flight, and some just offshore—but all will show you how to Escape the Ordinary!

CHANGE YOUR HABITS, CHANGE YOUR LIFE – Everyone knows their bad habits. Have you ever thought about your good habits and what a positive difference they make in your life? Do you have a change you want to make in your life and unable to make no matter how many times you try? Working out, saving money, getting organized, meditating etc. Nearly 90% of personal improvement resolutions end in failure. How can you change that? This class will help you with answering that question. Whether we like it or not, habits shape our lives—for the positive or negative. This class will provide information on the power of habits and why you should want to focus on them. It will present different strategies to help you create a desired habit that can then be reapplied to other self-improvement areas. This class will provide a template and system to help you create a positive habit that is important to you.

THE SOUND OF YOUNG AMERICA: CULTURAL IMPACT OF THE MOTOWN SOUND  – The “Motown Sound” has left an indelible mark on the fabric of American culture. This course is a study of the musical style originated by Tamla/Motown Records, under the visionary leadership of founder/president Berry Gordy, and all the key writers, producers, and executives who gave birth to a cultural phenomenon. Gordy dubbed Motown as “the Sound of Young America” which attempted to musically bridge racial lines during the extremely tumultuous period of the Civil Rights Movement. Analysis and performance of music by such artists as Stevie Wonder, Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross and the Supremes, the Temptations, the Jackson 5, and Gladys Knight and the Pips and many more will be covered in class.