Orientation begins before dinner. We'll have an overview of the program ahead and review the up-to-date schedule, responsibilities, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, any other administrative issues, and answer your questions. Please be aware that local circumstances may require adjusting program elements. In the event of changes, we will notify you as quickly as possible. We appreciate your understanding.

Dinner: Dinner in hotel

Menus are contracted for the program and are designed to offer balanced, healthy meals for the participants. In addition to the regular Road Scholar meal plan, this hotel offers a vegetarian meal option. Unfortunately, there are no other special meal options. Participants with special dietary needs should be prepared to avoid certain foods or supplement the regular meal plan as needed.

Evening: Participants introduce themselves to the rest of the group.

Enjoy the remainder of the evening getting to know your fellow participants and discovering what you share beyond a love of lifelong learning.

Lodging: Hilton SFO Bayfront

Meals Included: Dinner

The Dead Sea Scrolls have intrigued and challenged both scholars and the public since their discovery 60 years ago. We look at the people who wrote the texts at Qumran, and what they say about Jewish life and thought and Christian origins.

Lunch: Lunch in hotel

Afternoon: "The Dead Sea Scrolls: An Enduring Mystery"

Dinner: Dinner in hotel

Evening: Free time to socialize with your fellow participants.

Lodging: Hilton SFO Bayfront

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

There is art after French Impressionism. See how painters like van Gogh, Seurat, Cezanne reacted to the "crisis of Impressionism," applying new theories of color and space, and how Gauguin and the Symbolists built on old ideas.

Lunch: Lunch in hotel

Afternoon: "The Music of Bach"

Universally considered the finest composer of his time, Johan Sebastian Bach is one of the great music icons of world history. A master of every genre of the late-Baroque era with the exception of opera, Bach created some of the most enduring masterpieces of the classical music repertoire. Discussions will focus on the development of Bach’s music in relation to the chronology of his life.

Dinner: Dinner in hotel

Evening: "The Music of Beethoven"

The shadow of Ludwig van Beethoven was so intimidating to composers of the early 19th century that new genres of music were developed to avoid comparison to his symphonies, sonatas, and string quartets. No other composer in the history of western music has had this effect on the next generation, and the power and mastery of Beethoven’s music continues to enthrall us today. An examination of his music in relation to his life and time will enhance the understanding of Beethoven as a person and as an artist who changed the course of the history of his art form.

Lodging: Hilton SFO Bayfront

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Americans have two hometowns: their own and San Francisco. Enjoy an engaging look at the City by the Bay starting with its founding in 1776 through the Gold Rush, 1906 earthquake and 1967 Summer of Love as well as discover its charming neighborhoods.

Lunch: Lunch in hotel

Afternoon: Bus trip to experience highlights of San Francisco.

Dinner: Dinner in hotel

Evening: Free time to socialize with your fellow participants.

Lodging: Hilton SFO Bayfront

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Look back at the American presidents of the 20th century and their effect on history. These include Woodrow Wilson, FDR, John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon.

Lunch: Lunch in hotel

Afternoon: CLASS: Post Impressionism

Dinner: Dinner in hotel

Evening: Live entertainment.

Lodging: Hilton SFO Bayfront

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner