We're here! Kids, luggage and projects ....

Well .. we made it! We actually got here quite a while ago, but it took us a while to get settled, get our rooms, and then get the right stuff in the right rooms ... but we're finally organized!

So we arrived at Toronto airport this morning at 5:20 am. Stef is getting smart, and brought an empty suitcase .. so that when we had to re-arrange all the suitcases to get them under 50 pounds, we had a place to put the stuff. Lots of re-organizing, but we finally got all the suitcases under weight, and were ready to go. The one thing that held us up was having to check in one person at a time and pay for the luggage one person at a time. We held our breath going through customs and immigration .. but no issues at all. Andrew got the golf bag full of light bulbs, switches and leads pulled out for extra screening, but was able to explain it all, and so off we went.

First order of very important business was breakfast .. so we split up into various groups and went for muffins, fruit, egg sandwiches, yogourt ... took up a large chunk of the departure gate area .. but everyone started chatting and getting to know each other. Juno led everyone in a large game of Mafia .. which the kids all enjoyed playing (or most of them anyway) and the chaperones didn't understand!! It looked like a combination of duck-duck-goose, charades and Second City stand up .....

Flight from Toronto to Chicago was uneventful .. except it felt more like a day at Canada's Wonderland .. several roller coaster versions that is ... Once we arrived in Chicago, we again got very lucky as our gate to Reno was very close by. Everyone was hungry by then, and we found a food court. Cathy was in heaven as we had three Starbucks between the two gates. What a great airport! The Montreal gang arrived, and joined us at the gate. More introductions, more pictures, more hugs.

So we're apparently not the only convention in town this week .. the women's National Bowling Championships are here too! There were a lot of them on the plane as well. It was an absolutely full flight. As always, we hold our breath as we approach the baggage carousel. All of a sudden we hear a yell and look over to see a very large Welcome Team Canada sign being held by one of our YSC student's parents.

It takes a few minutes, but everything arrived. The next challenge was getting it all onto the bus .. it took a little reorganizing, but we figured it out. It's a beautiful day.. the sun is shining, the mountains are gorgeous .. everyone is snapping pictures.

Finally arrived at the hotel .. it's pretty amazing! The whole first floor is a casino. The second we walked into the door, we were overwhelmed by neon lights, the clanging of slot machines, and all the people holding drinks 10 feet inside the front door! Stef, Gus and I decide to get in line to check everyone in while the rest of the chaperones unload the bus.

Well .. as per usual, they had our 20 rooms spread over 8 different floors. We had the most amazing and patient front desk clerk, who spent almost an hour checking us all in .. but we managed to get on two different floors in the hotel .. much better than 8! By this time though, everyone was hungry .. OK .. really hungry. Most of the rooms weren't ready .. so we moved all the BASEF stuff into one room, all the Montreal stuff into one room and all the YSC stuff into yet another. Gus "negotiated" a table for 32 at the coffee shop in the hotel, and we all headed off through the casino. The kids weren't sure which way to look first .. particularly as we passed some of the cocktail waitresses in their "outfits" (or lack thereof).

So, for a coffee shop, it was pretty amazing. For $9.95, we got a salad, perfectly cooked prime rib with potatoes and veggies. Lots of orders of "chicken fried steak" and various other combos. Cathy asked for a cranberry and soda .. and was confused when she got a large 32 oz. glass of soda water. Until about a minute later when the waiter arrived with a second 32 oz glass of cranberry juice!

Stef, Cathy and Gus then went to officially register at the Fair. In the meantime, the rest of the chaperones went back with the kids to see if their rooms were ready, and distribute keys, luggage and kids! Over the course of the afternoon, a few went shopping, a few went swimming, a few hung out ..

There was only one SRC (Scientific Review Committee) violation posted, for Claire with YSC.

We all re-convened at 7 in Stef and Spencer's room .. and, for the first time today, have internet access. (My laptop up until now, had still been in someone else's room). A "reminder" of the rules, and our next few meeting times. Everyone decides they don't really need dinner (since we had "lunch" at 3:30 pm Reno time .. but a big group run over to 7-11 for drinks and snacks seems to excite everyone.

So I'm here in Stef and Spencers's room, with 10 of the kids, 5 chaperones, and we're all just hanging out and chatting. Curfew tonight is 10 am (which sounds unreasonable, except that translates to 1 am our time .. and we've all been up since 4 am this morning.) You can probably figure that the rooms are huge! In the few minutes it's taken me to take the picture and upload, we've been joined by four more students!