Graduation, Round 2

June 24, 2007
Broad Brook, CT

Friday and Saturday, June 22-23, were fun days with family and friends.

Friday evening was Alicia’s graduation at the East Windsor High School. The graduating class of ~100 students was hoping for fair weather, but the rains came midday. Showers on and off all afternoon meant that the ceremony had to be moved inside to the auditorium as opposed to the football field. This meant that each family was limited to 5 attendees in the audience. Since we were 7 total (Mike and Susan returned from Hampton Beach for the occasion), this was a little tricky. As it turned out, Mike was able to sweet talk his way into the back of the hall just as things got under way, so we were all able to be there.

Logistics were a bit of an issue, with the halls filled with more people than capacity, problems getting graduates to their entry point, delays in getting the auditorium doors open for the audience to be seated, several rednecks without tickets trying to crash the door, and generally tight quarters all the way around. I wanted to get some close-up shots of Alicia walking in and getting her diploma, but there just wasn’t room. Here are a few shots from the day:

http://picasaweb.google.com/GeorgeandGeri/AliciaSGraduation

Saturday brought fabulous weather and the after-graduation party. Pat had been planning this all week, and everything went off without a hitch. Al and I helped a little, getting the wine and beer (what else?) and picking up the catered food and ice on Saturday morning. Geri worked on the food, helping turn out a couple of trays of macaroni (tuna and chicken), loads of kebobs and marinated chicken from the grill, and her special sauerkraut (yum). Al borrowed a couple of extra picnic tables from the town park near their house, and a 10’ x 15’ tent from a friend. We had quite a good time putting the tent up (no instructions and limited help from the owner – “the cover goes on top”), but managed to get it right.

By Saturday afternoon, everything was ready and guests started to arrive. As you’d expect, the “kids” stayed to themselves for the most part and the “adults” tended to find their spots and stuck with them. The party continued on well into the evening, with fires in both the backyard pit and the chiminea on the deck as it cooled off quite a bit after dark. Quite a few people wanted to tour the coach, and we dubbed it the “VIP Lounge” after a while. A lot of folks would like to try the traveling life, and we’re more than happy to be supportive.

We had just the right amount of beer and wine (I have no idea who drank 1½ magnums of White Zin, which I recommended against buying, but there you go), and made a dent in the food with enough leftovers to fit in the ‘fridge. The Bowers broke out a bottle of special 20 Year Old Tawny Port, which was excellent. I’ll have to get the name!

Some pictures from the party:

http://picasaweb.google.com/GeorgeandGeri/AlbumAliciaGradParty