We successfully navigated the return to the hotel (thank heavens for Stef's GPS), then headed off on our mad adventure ... the old song "Convoy" comes to mind ....
Not sure why we decided that having three vans attempt to follow each other heading into San Francisco during the morning rush hour was a good idea ... perhaps with a little more coffee, we might have come up with a better plan! We had our walkie-talkies with us, and the excellent navigation skills of Ray, Dustin and Liane, so it all turned out OK. Stef was in the lead, Cathy in the middle, Deidre bringing up the rear!
So our route took us over the Golden Gate Bridge (just so we could say we'd done it), then we turned around on the other side, and came right back over! Headed into town, and had to go up a hill, then back down, just to say we had done that too! We then headed over to Pier 45 (after Ryan had to jump out of the van for an emergency stop at Denny's) for the remainder of the morning.
The students had a great time wandering around, and particularly enjoyed the sea lions at Pier 39. Another "highlight" was the lady singing loudly, and holding up the sign "Need Money for Weed". At least she was honest about it! Everyone had lunch on their own, the chaperones all wound up at Boudins for Seafood Chowder in a bowl. Boudin's is really cool .. they make sourdough bread in all different kinds of shapes .. including turtles, alligators, and crabs.
We made our way back to San Jose in time for the students to go see the Nobel Laureate presentation. An IISEF tradition, a number of Nobel Laureates come each year and have a panel discussion. Students have the opportunity to pose questions to them. Teneille and Dheevesh were chosen to ask their questions, and, as a result, also received an invitation to lunch with all the Laureates!
Everyone was tired, so spent the rest of the afternoon practicing their projects, hanging out, reading or playing cards. The chaperones head to Safeway Market to buy breakfast provisions for tomorrow morning. We don't have a refrigerator, so decide to use ice in Cathy & Liane's bathtub. The students spend some time coming up with a creative title for this Science Fair project. "Thermal reduction in a controlled environment".
We're not sure whether or not dinner is going to be served at our evening function. So we head over to a promenade that isn't too far away. The group divides into 2, some going to Johnny Rocket's (a diner featuring burgers, fries and shakes), the other group heads next door to a Mexican restaurant.
This was followed by an evening at the world-famous Tech Museum of Innovation and Parkside Hall that is within a block of our hotel. The Museum features some truly amazing interactive science and technology exhibits, and an IMAX theatre. There were indeed food stations set up all over the museum. Hard to believe that any of us could eat anything, but we did!
Back to the hotel for a 10 pm curfew .. tomorrow is judging day, and we want everyone well rested.
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