Graduate!

Virginia Beach. Except for the hotels on the beach and not having amusement park rides, it looks like Santa Cruz.


Colonial Williamsburg.


Graduates, tent where graduation ceremony was held, Sandra Day O'Connor giving speech, lovely brick building on main campus.


We got back Monday night, exhausted from a full day of traveling. Yuck.

My boy is a law school graduate and will be a lawyer (after passing the bar and getting a job)! Wow. How'd that happen? He even looked like a grown-up in his black suit, white shirt, shiny black shoes, and tie! (Since he's 27 years old, I suppose he should look like a grown-up in a suit and tie!)

The flights to Virginia and back weren't bad, but my legs ached and I just really needed to put them up. On the way back, I was very hot and uncomfortable. Bill and I didn't sleep well any of the 4 nights at the motel. I would probably travel more I could recline or lay down or stretch out.

It was a lovely Mother's Day where I got to see my son graduate from law school! A bit of rain, but it cleared up before the ceremony. When Greg walked out of his bedroom with his suit pants, shirt and tie on, I was so surprised! That's my boy! My son! All grown up. I was speechless for a few minutes. And very proud.

Mom, Bill and I sat in the front row on the left side of the stage. Perfect for picture taking! Greg asked me years ago to not put his photo on any website, so I won't post pictures of him (unless he's blurred out). A few photos from our trip to Virginia are posted above, however.

Sandra Day O'Connor was the commencement speaker. She was relaxed and funny, then got down to serious talk about the three branches of government and the importance of the judicial system and contributions of attorneys. It was a pleasant speech.

Since my digital camera can record video with sound, I have four short videos: part of Sandra Day O'Connor's speech, Greg and Lauren receiving their law school diplomas (the real one, not just a temporary fake!), and the graduates' cheering "06! 06! 06!" at the end of the ceremony. There are also photos of Greg and Lauren in their graduation robes, as well as photos of family.

Afterward, we briefly attended the reception at the law school, then headed to Greg and Lauren's apartment to celebrate their graduation. They had spent days preparing special dishes for all of us to eat - most of it was pretty good! Greg enjoys cooking and usually fancies up whatever it is he's making. I imagine he got that from his father! I certainly don't enjoy standing in the kitchen fiddling around with food that disappears in 10 minutes or less!

I imagine that Greg and Lauren may have had the largest number of guests at the graduation! Greg: Me, Bill, Grandma, his father, his stepmother. Lauren: Her mom, dad, grandmother, sister, and 2-month old nephew.

It was good that Bill and I rented a car since there wasn't enough room in Greg and Lauren's two cars for all of us! Budget Rent-A-Car was $16.49 a day (plus tax) - cheap! The woman behind the counter asked me if a Mustang was OK, and I said "Sure" not knowing it was a brand new V6 2006 Ford Mustang in silver with a black "MUSTANG" stripe on each side with only 108 miles on it. When we returned the car, it had 372 miles. I was the designated driver since both Mom and I get car sick if we sit in the backseat - so, we didn't have to deal with the difficulty of getting into and out of the backseat like Bill and Greg did! The car was a pleasure to drive! (Darn it, I didn't get a photo of the car, although Greg may have a few on his digital camera.)

Greg and Lauren left Virginia in their nearly identical Chevy Cavaliers (his gold, hers forest green) to head toward Portland, Oregon where they'll be settling down. They decided to move there because it's a growing area and housing costs aren't as ridiculously high as they are in California. Their Oregon bar review classes start Monday.

At dinner time on Wednesday, I heard from Greg. They were in Wyoming where the sky had been a "beautiful blue with fluffy white clouds" all day (his comment) and were planning to get to Odgen, Utah before stopping for the night. He estimated they would be in Portland by Saturday - which is today!

The Web is a wonderful tool! Greg and Lauren used Craigslist in Portland to apartment hunt from Virginia, and Google Earth to locate apartment buildings on a map to see the surrounding area. One apartment had a brown field behind it and Greg was able to see construction vehicles. He questioned the landlord about the quietness of the area since construction was being done. They decided to take a different apartment that is a little cheaper, has a washer and dryer in the unit, and doesn't have a construction site behind it.

Hmmm, Portland is much closer to the Bay Area than Virginia so travelling to see them won't be so awful next time!