Brown-I Departs

With all of the military movies we see these days everyone seems to be familiar with the phrase “o-dark-thirty” meaning “in the middle of the night.  A few hours ago our intrepid young Brown-I cohort learned first hand what this phrase was all about--and I’m sure it was a first hand educational opportunity that they could have done without.

At a time when most civilized people are sawing logs enjoying the comfort of their own beds, our Brown-I cohort met at El Cerrito High School to prepare for their adventure in Providence, Rhode Island.

Along with their chaperone, Nate Enfield, they all arrived before the designated arrival time of 3:40 AM. It was a chilly 50º, no wind and plenty dark.

While waiting for our first arrival, Nate and I had to convince an El cerrito Police Officer that we weren't there to steal the high school.  We should all sleep better knowing that he could have just driven by but he stopped to check.

We went through the normal routine where I checked to be sure that they brought their med cards and government issued photos IDs (gotta satisfy those TSA people at the airports).  We weighed their luggage to be sure they weren’t hit with any unexpected fees when they arrived at the airport and then I reminded them all about some of the things we expect (blogging, more blogging and then a few more blogs).  We handed out itineraries so the parents might know where their sweet young children were going to be each day.  We also handed out cards with contact information.  As it turns out, the contact info for two of the seven people was incorrect.  One error had to be my fault while the other was the fault of the person who gave me bum info.

We concluded our little session with the obligatory group photos and waited for the airport shuttle--which arrived just when it was supposed to have.

At 4:30 sharp we lost sight of the tail lights on the shuttle and realized that if we hurried, we could be back in our own beds before the sheets got cold.  As soon as I hit the “Publish” button, that’s exactly where I’ll be headed.