With the three hour time difference and my early rising habit to begin with, I started out early today at 4:00 am. Galen joined me around 5:30 and we had our usual early morning visit over coffee. It is always one of the highlights of my trips to visit the kids and this one is no exception. We didn't get to physics but I still have three mornings to go. Once everyone was up or after Galen got everyone up, we went through the regular morning routine of getting everyone off to school.
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| Galen at the first meeting of McNair summer program. |
Galen and I then went to the CSULB campus where he had his first formal meeting with the McNair Scholars. This is a programs funded by the U. S. Department of Education to identify and support minority students to enter doctorate programs. the program is named for Ronald McNair, an African American astronaut who was killed in Challenger. While Galen is a professor of physics, the participants are in a variety of fields. His role in this summer program is to help them understand the nature of graduate study and the process of selecting and then applying to appropriate programs. I have experienced him teaching a physics class but had never seen him in this role. For those of you that know him, it will come as no surprise that he is exceptional in both the content and the methodology. He genuinely cares about these students and the challenges they face. His method of interacting with them is wonderful to see. I was very proud of him.
As he spent the final two hours meeting with individual students, I went off to the Japanese Garden on campus to see what pictures might be there. The hydrangea were in full bloom and I couldn't resist trying some macro shots. For once I used a tripod and was able to get some nice depth of field in some of the shots. During my time there, we were visited by a blue heron who was so used to humans that it was possible to get some close shots. I returned to the McNair program area and visited with some of the students and then we left to grab some lunch in an Irish Pub in Seal Beach. Our trip home diverted to Target to pick up some birthday gifts for Maggie and Thomas whose ninth birthday is Saturday. Also I needed to get a swim suit since Galen and I are taking Thomas and two friends to Soak City - a water park - on Saturday.
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| Girls just want to have fun! |
We picked up Robert and Henry from school and then returned home to find the girls beginning to gather for the birthday sleepover. Eventually five of them showed up along with two friends of Thomas. After a dinner of pizza and ice cream, they were just getting started as I went off to bed around 9:00. When I got up at 5:00, I was told by Maggie that they hadn't been to sleep all night! I am not sure how they intend to make it through today without crashing.
Take a look at the updated photo album.
As he spent the final two hours meeting with individual students, I went off to the Japanese Garden on campus to see what pictures might be there. The hydrangea were in full bloom and I couldn't resist trying some macro shots. For once I used a tripod and was able to get some nice depth of field in some of the shots. During my time there, we were visited by a blue heron who was so used to humans that it was possible to get some close shots. I returned to the McNair program area and visited with some of the students and then we left to grab some lunch in an Irish Pub in Seal Beach. Our trip home diverted to Target to pick up some birthday gifts for Maggie and Thomas whose ninth birthday is Saturday. Also I needed to get a swim suit since Galen and I are taking Thomas and two friends to Soak City - a water park - on Saturday.
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