Field trip

Hi all. We went to Point Reyes this weekend. I want to tell you about it, but I have to be fast, because I haven't done my NaNoWriMo writing tonight.

Yesterday we hit the road with several fewer students than planned (they dropped out at the last minute and P-man, our lead teacher, thinks they probably used their fundraising money). One of the chaperones dropped out, too, because her dog died. We immediately lost our parent chaperone, then stopped for lunch and P-man got a flat tire. Auspicious start, right?

We finally make it to Point Reyes, go to the Bear Valley visitors center and enjoyed the earthquake walk (you can see evidence of where a fence split right on the San Andreas Fault, and half the fence is about 20 feet west of the other half!) We picked up a straggler -- a woman who thought P-man's science talk was interesting, so she ended up going on our whole walk with us.

From there, we drove to North Beach and looked at sedimentary rock and walked around in the sand.

Then we went to the lighthouse. We were at a high enough altitude that we were in the clouds, and the kids were attempting to suck clouds through straws. We walked 310 steps down to see the historic one, which was really cool. The foghorn was going off in our ears and it was a heck of a hike. There were little resting areas that were enclosed in chain link, and at one point I made some joke about locking the kids up in the little jail, and they all crowded in for a picture. But wait! We couldn't take it until they'd made a sign that said "Asians for sale." Sheesh. Then I got into a gray whale skull for a photo. Good times.

The last stop, at a little after 5, was an oyster farm. It was stinky, as it was next to a salt marsh. We learned some more stuff, I think. (Hey, the kids were responsible for an assignment -- I wasn't!)

Finally we went back to the hostel and made dinner. It was Gardenburgers and salad for me, and burgers and oysters for almost everyone else (the Hindu girls and parent chaperone ate veggieburgers too, so I didn't feel all alone). Then we cleaned up, and by we, I mean the adults. It's supposed to be the kids' job, but freshmen are... freshmen. They were "going to" clean up, but they had to run up to the bunkhouse where we were staying and change clothes and stuff first. Since we just worked continuously, we were done by the time they got back, ready to "help."

We then went on a night hike that P-man said was a mile each way, but I think he was wrong. We walked about 45 minutes to get there at a pace somewhere between moderate and leisurely. Then we ran around the beach under the just-past-full moon. We saw some bioluminescent stuff, which was really cool.

We told the kids it was lights out at ten, but admitted we would find it acceptable if they continued to talk quietly. Apparently, we needed to clarify that we meant "with the lights out, lying down in your bunks, in a whisper." I finally laid down the Mockula law at about 11, and thereafter there was only stifled whispering and giggling.

Today we got up and had breakfast, then thoroughly cleaned the bunkhouse. When we got the okay from Bob, we drove to a trailhead and took another long hike through a lot of scrub and grass and stuff. One of the kids had worn shorts, and there was all this needle-sharp grass in the trail, and the poor kid was suffering. Hey, we told her to wear long pants. Oh well. Then we crossed over the dunes to the beach side and walked the rest of the way back in the sand. It was pleasant, but my feet were so tired from all our walking that I really started to get sore. Walking on the beach is nice, but it's kind of hard on the arches when you do it for like a mile.

We then headed for lunch on the way home, stopping at the same place we'd stopped yesterday. Upon leaving, I immediately got lost and we took the scenic route home through the wine country. Whoops! Ah well, we weren't really far behind the rest of the group. I then returned the van, took light rail home, and got to see my sweetie. I could probably still use a foot soak.

Some observations -- the Freshmen do need a little more structure: we needed to assign them chores and times, not hope they would volunteer. Also, these guys are TOTALLY camera-happy! P-man couldn't stop to explain something about how a conifer found new life after a forest fire without having three of the kids jump in front of the tree, throw up peace signs, and have six of their friends take pictures. It was funny, but got a little old.

I'm sure there's some good stuff I'm leaving out, but in 6 minutes I'll be getting darn close to too-late-to-successfully-NaNoWriMo. And there's still cocoa to be had this evening.

Take care, everyone!

P.S. -- Don't you think a car company like Scion could make a killing with funky seatbelts? Like, my guitar strap for my bass is purple and has a lightning bolt. Wouldn't that make a RAD seatbelt? Just thinking...