<p>Thought I’d try to set up a table here in the cafe for the various hijacks ;)occurring in the other threads re partying w jamimom in soCal, coffeeklatch w carolyn in SD and megagathering in BayArea w mootmom.</p>
<p>Pull up a chair and discuss here if that works better than in the “serious” threads.</p>
<p>However, first I’d like to take a moment to commend soozievt and all the other “upper right coasters” for maintaining their composure as all the focus on fun rushes to the land of fruit and nuts. Clearly, Ca. has become the HYPS of the Parents Forum where “everyone” wants to get in. What are we in northern NE, “fourth tier?” I, for one, wouldn’t be surprised if the Ca. crowd isn’t PMing everyone with wild promises of setting up private meetings with the Governator so that they can then make the Ultimate Post on the Famous People thread. </p>
<p>Good try, jmmom, but you have to have lots of dough for a private meeting with our Governator, and parents about to pay for (or already paying for) college tuition don’t fall into that category.</p>
<p>JMMom, while the CA trip sounds enticing, who the hell can afford it after all these college trips this year??? A trip for MOI? Never gonna happen, I am afraid. </p>
<p>That said, it has been fun for me to meet other CC parents from the Musical Theater Forum at various college auditions. Other parents in attendance thought us CC parents were a bit nutty cause at first we only knew each others’ posting names. But it has been fun. Actually last year I met several Parent Forum regulars at the Smith open house too.</p>
<p>Maybe when the kiddos are all in college and though broke, we can all go on vacation somewhere and meet up as we don’t even have to worry about leaving the kids behind and all those damn logistics.
Susan</p>
<p>PS…you and I must live somewhat close (closer than CA) and so should meet up some time!</p>
<p>Ahem! Come to think of it you guys could come down here, we have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, see below. We also have the Redneck Riviera, but we don’t want to discuss that.</p>
<p>There are also some interesting photos on the Grayton Beach website before, immediately after, and 1 month after Ivan. Keep in mind that the damage in these areas was fairly minimal by hurricane standards - mostly beach erosion and stairs washed away. The big dunes planted with sea oats that you see in the Seaside pictures are quite effective in protecting the property behind them.</p>
<p>My brother, who lives in the Birmingham area, built a house at Seaside. I have been there often. Very nice, but the beach comes and goes. The movie, The Truman Show was shot there.</p>
<p>Carolyn had picked up on my mention that I will be in SD next week (2/22-2/27) and we have been talking about coffeeklatch or “spot of tea”. Anyone going to be in the neighborhood and want to join?</p>
<p>Wish I could. I’m planning on traveling to LA the third week of March on business. Then, we’ll all be there mid-June for UCLA’s graduation and again in August for D’s orientation at Pomona. Can’t believe that I’ll be in CA three times in one year! Just returned from a three-day business trip to Palm Beach, FL, and got my sunshine fix that should carry me for a while.</p>
<p>Little Mother, We are off to Pomona this weekend for our first Family Weekend. I am looking forward to it. Orientation was very nice as well, a great reception for parents and chance to mingle with professors. This is our 4th trip to CA this year, not a hard thing to get used to.</p>
<p>Have fun, arizonamom! I’ve already got Family Weekend 2006 noted in my calendar.</p>
<p>We’ll probably end up going to California more frequently than in the past because both kids will be there now and we won’t have to worry about coordinating travel plans with (high) school vacations. Yay!!!</p>
<p>I did my little Cali trip last weekend, and it was raining cats and dogs. Where was the sun?</p>
<p>Seriously, I grew up in Southern Cali, lived a year in Northern Cali and have to say that while Cali has its charms it’s hardly a necessity of daily life. I grew out of the “need” many years ago. My wife is East Coast oriented (NY, Maine) and my kids are Heartland and East Coast oriented (Chicago, NY). Some day we’re going to retire, and it will be to a place with all the seasons.</p>
<p>I was dragged kicking and screaming and crying (pretty much literally) to northern California in 1997, having spent the first 43 years of my life happily ensconced at various points in the Middle Atlantic states (between DC and the northern NYC suburbs, within visit distance of everything on the east coast). I now know it was one of the better moves I could have made. I certainly am nostalgic for some things about the NE (autumn comes to mind, and the Jersey Shore), but otherwise this is just fine, and I expect to retire in this part of the continent. Being within visual distance of mountains yet not having to shovel snow is a nice touch.</p>
<p>So, about that summer gathering in San Jose: we <em>will</em> make it happen! Is June or July better? (I want to avoid Aug. as many of us will be bundling up first-borns (or later-borns) to ship them off to college, and there might be a strain of trauma afoot…)</p>
<p>(PS: mackinaw, c’mon: you’ve lived here, you know how it goes. It’s winter, that means it’s raining. Now THAT’S the kind of winter I can deal with. We are, however, taking off this morning to visit the snow, which we keep in the mountains nearby for visiting purposes. And for sliding down on pieces of wood, or whatever they make skis out of these days…)</p>
<p>Jumper cables? I did use them once, but that was sometime in the late 1960’s up in WI. These days we use something called AAA, and I don’t know from cables.</p>
<p>jmmom: big muscles won’t help; he’s got them already. You have to have big moola (he’s got that too, but could always use more). [hope moola still means what it used to]</p>
<p>Hey daofsam, they’re supposed to edit out bad words like moola. Looks like you snuck one through the censors. I used to know what moola is. Then I put two kids through college, and I haven’t seen any moola since.</p>
I, for one, wouldn’t be surprised if the Ca. crowd isn’t PMing everyone with wild promises of setting up private meetings with the Governator so that they can then make the Ultimate Post on the Famous People thread. 
</p>
Now THAT’S the kind of winter I can deal with. We are, however, taking off this morning to visit the snow, which we keep in the mountains nearby for visiting purposes. And for sliding down on pieces of wood, or whatever they make skis out of these days…)</p>