Move to Saint Mary's

After 19 years the day had finally come for Rachel to move to College. Though wanting to attend a local college she eventually chose St. Mary's College near the Bay Area in California. She was drawn to the small size of the college along with the opportunity to be a coxswain on their crew team. We packed up Jamie's van and drove 800+ miles down to the campus. Over the next few days we helped her get unpacked, meet her roommate and toured the small campus. The visit ended with a freshman barbecue and final goodbyes. In a last bit of emotional manipulation the school rang a bell indicating the parents must leave immediately. After some hugs and tears we said goodbye to Rachel and departed. The college president and priest waved up goodbye as we left along with offering a tissue for our (Jamie's) tears. To help comfort Jamie we did wine tasting in Sonoma the next day. Perhaps it helped too much as we had to nap in the car before finally driving home.