<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>Last weeks my wife, Jan, and I were in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, where I
<BR>replaced a pin block on a Steinway B. I had a great time, working with local
<BR>piano tech Ray LaMotta. On Sunday we toured the island, and one of our stops
<BR>was the Frenchman's Reef Marriott Hotel. It is a wonderful facility, complete
<BR>with meeting rooms. Having just completed the Central West Regional, I
<BR>thought about the possibility of having a seminar in St. Thomas.
<BR>
<BR>This is a letter of inquiry to see how many of you would be willing to travel
<BR>to St. Thomas for a weekend seminar, which would be tax deductible, and take
<BR>a little vacation at the same time? I am estimating the cost would be around
<BR>$1500 per person, including airfare, hotel, a day cruise on a sail boat, and
<BR>the seminar. To take advantage of lower rates, the seminar would have to be
<BR>between May 1st and November 1st. Of course, in the fall there is a risk of
<BR>hurricanes, but then that would be an adventure in itself.
<BR>
<BR>Respond on the list or privately. I have not planned anything, so there are
<BR>no dates, no instructors, no classes. I'm just seeing who would be willing to
<BR>shell out $1500 for a weekend in St. Thomas. The island is beautiful. The
<BR>temperature is between 70-80 year around, with a calm ocean breeze all the
<BR>time. I worked under Ray's car port, with the ocean breeze cooling me down
<BR>all day.
<BR>
<BR>Jan, by the way, also had is "rough." After sleeping all morning, I made her
<BR>eat lunch at a beach front restaurant, and then forced her to go swimming in
<BR>the ocean all afternoon. The hardest part of the day for her was around 5
<BR>o'clock when I made her get out of the ocean and have a daiquiri with me at
<BR>the beach front bar. It was a rough life, but someone had to do it.
<BR>
<BR>Willem </FONT></HTML>