Penn Departs

The Bay Area is not known for having rain in the middle of the summer and the ILC is certainly not used to sending their cohorts off in the rain.  Such was the case this morning, though.

Although warm (61º) at 3 AM, it was still wet.  Not the kind of rain where you see neighbors rowing down the middle of Main Street with barns in the background with cows perched on the roofs.  It was that light drizzle that forces you to turn on your windshield wipers.  It was the kind of rain that’s inconvenient when you run out to grab your morning newspaper.  It’s the kind of rain that gets you soaked to the bone when you stand out in it for very long.

And since our Penn cohort and their parents might have to stand out in that rain, the ILC erected a couple of canopies to shelter them from the precipitation.  Another first for the ILC.

Our five Penn cohort members, their chaperone and their brave parents gathered in front of El Cerrito High school at 3:40 AM with some arriving plenty early and some--the chaperone--arriving exactly on time.

Forms were signed, itineraries handed out, contact numbers exchanged and lots of words were said.  Finally, though, we came to the real reason for this gathering: the group photo.

With out business concluded the airport shuttle arrived and at 4:27 AM it was headed off to SFO and points east.

And being the great parents that they are, as a group they helped to demobilize the canopies.

Sadly, some of these parents looked like they might have to go to work in a couple of hours.  As much as I might want to head off to work, climbing back into my nice warm bed seems like a much better idea.