Columbia Departs

They were all instructed to arrive no later than 3:20 AM at El Cerrito High School to be processed for their trip to The Big Apple, Manhattan and Columbia University.  Because they were trekking to the airport with the Cornell cohort, the group was larger than any other departure group the ILC has ever sent.  And because there were two cohorts at the same time, the potential for a glitch was greater than normal.  To allow for the unexpected, the group was instructed to arrive earlier than we would normally ask them to arrive.  Better to wait for the airport shuttle rather than have the shuttle wait for them.

It was a relatively clear night, 54º, a slight breeze and a hint of moisture in the air from the lingering summer fog the Bay Area is famous for this time of year.

All of the Columbia cohort arrived well ahead of schedule which meant that much of their processing was taken care of even before they were supposed to be there.  The end result was a longer wait than normal.

Their chaperone, Cheryl Lilhanand, took them aside and spoke at length to the cohort and their parents letting them know what to expect.

Since we were ahead of schedule, and couldn’t start the presentation meant for both cohorts until the Cornell cohort was fully assembled, we took things out of order and too the requisite group photo in advance.

I’m not sure what the reason but it seemed that in just about every photo taken with Emily Cain in it, she had ‘red eye’.  We’ve known Emily for quite some time (she’s an ILC alum from last year) and we’ve always known her as a sweet young woman.  The only explanation I can come up with for the ‘red eye’ is that these must be ‘devil eyes’.  Her true spirit is showing through.  Here it is in the middle of the night--when the devil comes out--and the true Emily finally shows herself.  For fear of my own immortal soul I’m not posting any photos of Emily with those devil eyes but she knows they’re there.

When both cohorts were finally assembled we gathered together where I could give them all some final instructions and reminders.  More forms had to be signed as well as the luggage weighed.

 

Because this was the largest group the ILC had ever sent (14 souls) we were unsure how the livery service would handle things.  To our great pleasure, a full sized charter tourist bus drove up.  No one had to be crammed into an undersized van, no one had to sit on someone else’s lap and the luggage wasn’t crushed as it was stowed.

At 4:22 AM the bus pulled off and by the time the tail lights were but a memory the teary eyed parents were heading to their cars.  And now we start our own adventure of checking their blogs every day to see what kinds of adventure they’ve whipped up for themselves.