lifeinflux

The Awesome Sounds of Science

// October 17th, 2011 // Featured Post

So after stressing myself out in August to complete Drue’s curriculum, write lesson plans, manage a difficult client and have fun, I realized that having fun under stress was no fun at all.  So after six days of stressful, guilt-filled fun (you know, along the lines of “this is fun but I should be doing the 153 things on my to-do list”), I gave up on an entire thirty days of fun until the new year.   Upon considering my calendar a few weeks ago, I realized that fun happens to find me thanks to an increase in social activity which will have to be enough for right now.  October is a pretty fun month anyway.  My birthday aside, there is apple picking, local fairs, long hikes in cool weather and the biggest holiday of the year for the Gloege family, Halloween!  This weekend, however, our fun focused around the Marine Science Institute‘s Big Blue Benefit.   As you may know – or not depending on how much you read this blog and/or pay attention to my posts on Drue – Drue loves marine life.  She adores sharks, finds them beautiful and amazing and wants to save them.  Part of MSI’s benefit was a chance to meet Alexandra Cousteau and Drue was over the moon with the idea of it.  She was so excited, in fact, she wouldn’t really talk about it just in case she did not get the chance to actively discourse with one of her role models, so we didn’t make a big deal of it either.    We also had the opportunity to attend the California Academy of Sciences’ Penguins and Pajamas sleepover and I thought that would be a nice two day celebration of science and the animals we love and are passionate about.   California Academy of Science has a lot of information on my favorite animals, birds, as well as a fantastic aquarium so it felt like a nice cap on an exciting day and a nice lead-in into day 2 of our fun.

We arrived at MSI early on Saturday so I could attend my first board meeting.   It is very exciting being a part of such an amazing organization and the entire day was a learning experience in seeing how MSI started, what it’s been doing over the last 40 years and what it has the potential to continue doing for the next 40.   What an honor and privilege to be invited to serve on its board!   Drue skipped volleyball to volunteer with setting up for the benefit.  Usually we don’t allow Drue to shirk her responsibilities that way (I confess I skipped her volleyball as well even though I serve as Site Director); however, we spoke to the Clinician who runs things and he assured us that we were fine to miss a single game given the circumstances.    At 12:30, I was left waiting for the photographer I hired – who never showed but that’s a subject for an online review about their lack of professionalism and not something to muddy this recap of our fantastic weekend – and at 12:50, finally gave up and boarded the boat.  MSI’s boat, the R/V Robert G. Brownlee is a 90-foot research vessel and floating classroom and we enjoyed a 2-hour eco-tour of the bay.  MSI’s founder, Bob Rutherford, was on the boat with his family and it was a pleasure to hear the history as well as meet the family who is responsible for bringing hands-on science education that focuses specifically on the environmental conservation of our own local bay to local children.

After a lively discussion led by one of MSI’s amazing staff that engaged the kids and got them excited about the day’s activities, we stepped out into the bow and watched the kids help the staff drop the seine into the water.   Drue was tracking Ms. Cousteau with her eyes but was struggling to find the nerve to go say hello and ask for her autograph. After 10 minutes of brow-wrinkling anxiety, I decided to step in and do what I do best – embarrass myself and potentially Drue – in the hopes that it would create a conversational moment and provide Drue the opportunity to say hi and get the autograph she so desperately wanted.   I did my thing (and became the “woman who embarrassed her child” to anyone who witness or heard about the exchange for the rest of the day), and even went so far as to use the wrong word when discussing shark fin legislature – what?  she’s Alexandra Cousteau!  I was completely tongue-tied! – but Drue was a champ and immediately began discussing what she knows best, sharks.  And it seems that Ms. Cousteau also loves sharks and has a similar deep and profound respect for them and quickly they engaged in conversation.   After taking a few pictures, I backed off and just enjoyed the day and the quiet joy on my child’s face as she talked about the marine animals she loves most with a woman we all admire and respect.   I can totally take the label of woman who embarrassed her child square on the forehead to ensure Drue did not miss this amazing opportunity.   Once on land we had a chance to meet her husband and daughter and we really enjoyed our time with this very kind and gracious family who not only spent their time to come to MSI and talk about conservation and urge people to become explorers of our own planet (and our own backyard), but took the time to engage in delightful conversation with us. It was definitely one of those “life moment” experiences we won’t forget.

After indulging in some very blue, very sugary food and bidding (and winning!) the Tidepool backpack and the opportunity to go explore tidepools and collect animals with MSI, Drue and I drove north to the California Academy of Sciences where we had a delightful dinner at The Moss Room and then changed into our daily uniform of yoga pants and pull overs and went exploring.  We saw the famous Lemondrop, a lavender albino python, and Claude, the albino American Alligator.  We stretched out on the walkway, something we could never do during normal museum hours, and hovered  mere feet from black tip reef sharks, cow nose rays, and horseshoe rays and talked about how amazing it would be to swim with them.    We watched a show, Cosmic Collisions, in the planetarium, walked along the skywalk looking at amazing pictures of turkey vultures, goshawks and other birds of prey, and checked out the science exhibits on the Galapagos Islands, global warming and ocean acidification.   At 11, we rolled out our sleeping bags in a prime spot, next to the reef exhibit, and fell asleep watching fish swim overhead and next to us.   Wake up was much too early at 6:15 the next morning but managed to stumble out of our sleeping bags, get packed up and get to breakfast in short order.   Once my obligatory cup of coffee was consumed, we walked over to the gift shop, greeting Lemondrop and Claude on the way as they were both active and moving.  Once there in the gift shop, we bought a few kits (yay! lab time!), a book on ocean conservation, a t-shirt for Drue and the rest of my Mom’s birthday present.  We left the museum as the sun was rising over the eastern foothills and quietly watched the fog roll back over the Santa Cruz mountains towards the ocean as we drove south on 280 to home.

After all the excitement of the past 24 hours, Drue and I decided a quiet Sunday was better than fighting traffic to attend the Half Moon Bay Pumpkin Festival.   Jays and I took the puppies for an hour long romp at the dog park, brunch was consumed and around 1:00 everyone collapsed and took long naps.   We completed day two of fun with back to back horror films (what? it is leading up to Halloween after all!), an early dinner and then an evening of laundry and puppy clean-up.  It may be day two of thirty days of fun but life’s chores don’t go away while all the fun is being had!  *grin*   After meeting Ms. Cousteau, Drue is even more on fire to make a difference, to clean up the oceans, to teach people about water conservation and to dominate in her school work so she has time to spend on and in the water with the animals she loves.    The amazing gift of her time really meant so much to Drue and to all of us and that is, hopefully what Drue will take away from her experience on Saturday.  You know, as opposed to her bumbling Mom embarrassing her by forcing an introduction with this amazing woman whom Drue so admires and looks up to.    And I know I’ll take away two amazing days filled with science and time with my amazing kid watching her become even more impassioned about her life’s mission.    How much more fun could a person have, I ask you?   Guess we’ll find out in the next 28 days!

P.S. For those of you who didn’t get the musical reference in the title, I’mma help you out!