ESTIAMTED ETA AT AE WRIGHT:
5:20 PM
3:30 PM
We just arrived on land and have loaded the buses. Our ETA is currently 5:20 PM.
2:00 PM
We are almost ashore and I have a couple bars to update the blog! Once we have loaded the bus I will update the blog with our estimated ETA at AE Wright. Please do not call the office to check our ETA. If traffic changes our situation I will update this page.
9:00 AM
Good morning Spartan families! We have already done so much this morning! We hav e moved out and cleaned our dorm rooms, eaten breakfast, and our groups just got into the ocean for their last snorkel session. After our snorkel we will change and get ready for our ferry ride back to Long Beach. The boat is anticipated to arrive around 11:30 today.
9:15 PM
Our afternoon was filled with the last of our classes:
Some students rotated through Fish, Shark, and Algae labs while learning about and interacting directly with related marine organisms. Highlights include getting up close to fish in our aquariums, petting sharks and rays, and searching for small critters in a collected algae sample.
Some students rotated through Oceanography, Plankton, and Invertebrate labs while learning about and interacting directly with related marine organisms. Highlights include performing oceanography experiments from our float, investigating a live plankton sample through microscopes, and exploring our invertebrate touch tanks.
After dinner we had our store time and you will see lots of sweatshirts, t-shirts, and hats coming home tomorrow.
Our evening ended with our squid dissection! It's always one of the highlights of the trip. We took a lot of pictures and will upload them once we have better wifi or cell service on the mainland.
Off to bed so that we can get some good sleep for one last snorkel adventure. Good night Spartan families!
2:00 PM
It was a beautiful morning for our orientation snorkel! The students did such a great job of putting on the wetsuits, and they were so quick about it! They were able to be in the water for almost an hour! That is such a lot of time for their first time. I'm excited for tomorrow to see how fast they can get ready to maximize their time in the ocean.
This afternoon they are going to the last of their lab classes. Then we have some free time, dinner, and our time to go to the CIMI store to get that coveted CIMI merch! Tonight our evening program will be learning about the life cycle of a squid and getting a chance to dissect it.
We have been trying all day to upload some pictures but we have been loosing the wifi connection. Don't worry, we will add the photos we take as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience.
8:30 AM
Good morning Spartan families!! We sure did have a busy evening last night, and we were up very early for our sunrise hike today! Last night after our afternoon of labs/classes (and dinner) we had our astronomy hike. There were some high clouds and we couldn't see that many stars, but the CIMI staff planned a great interavtive lecture. They students learned about the moon, tides, and the legends of the constellations. When we finally got back to camp the students passed out because they were so tired and had to be up by 5:30 this morning to begin the sunrise Shrine Hike.
We had a great turn out for the sunrise Shrine Hike. It was a bit disappointing that there were some high clouds things morning and we could not see the sunrise, but the students started the day off with a physical challenge and some beautiful views.
We just finished breakfast and our fire drill. The students are currently with their groups in their orientation snorkel.
Because this morning I received many emails from parents and from the office staff at AEW, please remember that their is very spotty wifi. Uploading pictures is very difficult, especially when we have CIMI staff and three schools where adults are using the wifi. (A majority of the photos will be uploaded when we are back on the mainland.) Technology takes much longer in Toyon Bay. Even this post takes very long to upload. REMEMBER, NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS!
11:50 AM
We made it to camp all in one piece! It was a smooth ride and seems to be that no one got sick! YAY!
8:20 AM
We have made it to Catalina Classics Crusie terminal! Students are in line waiting for the okay to board the ferry!
6:30 AM
Good morning Spartans! We have left AEW and our on the way to Long Beach to catch our ferry to CIMI Toyon Bay!