I'm liking this reverse jet lag. Went to bed around 8 and woke up around 7! I think I needed this sleep. All I've been thinking about is how to see as many alumni as possible in 3 weeks, in "foreign" territory (i.e. territory I have never navigated), and how to do it being a good steward of the College, and, with one carry on suitcase. In addition, I left 4 dogs and one child back in NC for 3 weeks - not the easiest thing for this reluctantly middle aged lady to do. Anyway, I'm here, and happily. How could I be otherwise after the phone calls and emails I've gotten in response to this trip. For example, take today: I was riding through the beautiful Point Loma College of the Nazarene (thanks to the recommendation of Jonathan Strohl '91), gazing out into the vibrantly blue Pacific (and wondering, how can these students stand all this beauty and access to this coastline???), when the phone rings. It is Patrick Holder '87! He is calling ME back after emails from me ( a virtual stranger, except, not in the "we are Guilfordians" way). We had the most delightful phone conversation. He was so kind and engaging. In the first 10 minutes we covered the value of a liberal arts education, vocational discernment, and ways to give back to the place we both value. I felt like I won the lottery, and we haven't even met in person yet!
So, on the high of a great phone introduction and promise of a face to face meeting, we drove down the scenic byway along the coast to Ocean Beach for lunch. Great tacos, and a great walk down to the wildy hippie-ish beachfront where beach walkers, sunbathers, and surfers of all ages were doing the So Cal thing. It was all good until we got back to discover our car was....gulp...missing. Who knew there was a street fair every afternoon? There wasn't a sign on our parking place. My stomach flipped. Should I pull the "we are innocent North Carolinians act?" The poor pitiful female routine? (I actually tried both, to no avail.) We took a taxi to the towing yard - far away back in San Diego proper - and got the car back. The men at the towing yard were pretty initmidating, and we couldn't get out of there fast enough. Hope I'm not on the most wanted list around here now. Geeez...
After fighting back the tears, and feeling like my middle aged brain just must be a couple of beats off right now, we re-grouped in the safe confines of our hotel room. We headed out to meet John and Caroline for dinner downtown. How delightful to meet this cute and entertaining couple. John started Guilford in '87 and finished in '94. He and Caroline celebrated their wedding anniversary this week. They told cute stories about their lives before and since their marriage. We had a great time. John would be a great resource for current physics students, and we really must convince him to present at an upcoming Physics reunion.
So many good responses today from folks in LA and beyond. Now...tomorrow it'll be all about mapping routes and figuring out the traffic navigation from getting to one visit to the next. For today, as good as it's been overall, I'll be sort of glad to hit the hay and hopefully have happy dreams about keeping the rental car very close by.
before I knew car was...Y I K E S..missing!!!
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