And They Are Off

A Group Bon Voyage

Waiting to board the bus for JFK

Sara and her Mom saying goodbye

Today was a very exciting day.  The group assembled in the Bruce Hall parking lot at 9:30 a.m. just as the rain began to fall.  We all took shelter in the lobby and the excitement made the building shake.  The travelers were eager to get going and the parents and significant others made sure to give their last words of advice before the group boarded the bus.  Everything appeared to be going smoothly until we received a call from Professor Greenberg at about 2:30 p.m. that Christie was not allowed through security because of a discrepancy in the spelling of her name on her passport and her airline tickets.  Believe or not, this seemingly simple problem took about 2 hours to resolve. Throughout the ordeal, Christie kept a stiff upper lip, even when it seemed as though she would not be able to depart with the group.  Kudos to Professor Greenberg, the hero of the day!!  She took on both the TSA and China Airlines and finally got the problem ironed out.  At 3:25 p.m. Professor Greenberg called to advise that she and Christie were proceeding to the gate to join the rest of the group and they would be boarding soon.  I just checked the flight status and saw that the plane departed at 6:17 p.m., pretty much on time.  They are on their way!!!!