Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Graduation...

Graduation was amazing! I am going to start at the very beginning of the trip. And well, I haven't unpacked yet and my camera cord is in my bag so no pictures just yet.
On Thursday I finished packing and finally fell asleep at 12am. I was just a little excited(:
Friday I got up at 2am to head to the airport. We got there at 3, checked in, went through security, and boarded the plane at 5:30. I slept the entire flight! We flew into Arizona where we had a layover that consisted of getting off the plane walking to the other terminal and getting on a plane. Then I slept on the flight to San Francisco. We were off the plane and out of airport by 10. The very first thing we did was head to GDB campus. We got lost a few times, but we got there! I was amazed at how many people there are everywhere! We stopped at an In and Out Burger on the way to campus and I swear there were like 100 people in there! It was crazy and no one seemed to notice that there were tons of people. In Colorado at the busiest time of day there are like 20 people, tops! Anyways, we got to campus and it was raining! We went on a tour anyways and I loved it! There were only two other people on the tour so I got to ask all the questions I wanted! :) After the tour we drove around San Francisco and San Rafael. We went over lots of bridges and I saw some sea lions! The last time I was at the ocean I was 4 so it was really exciting for me! Then we went out for dinner and headed to the hotel for bed!
On Saturday I got up nice and early and got ready to go. We got to campus at 10, went to the gift shop, took some pictures, and finally headed in to check in. At 11:45 they brought Gabrina and her partner, L, out. Gabrina pulled L all the way down the hallway and climbed into my lap even though I was sitting in a chair. I guess you could say she remembered me :). She was so excited and wigglely, just like I remembered!
We never found out how old her partner is, but we guessed around 70. She has children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She has RP and started losing her sight around 50 years ago. L lives in San Diego in an apartment alone. Despite her age she is very active and happy to have Gabrina as her 3rd guide dog. They seemed perfect for each other! Finally it was time for graduation to start. I was the 3rd to last one to present. When L walked away to go on stage, Gabrina looked really concerned. She didn't understand why L was leaving her! That's when I knew they were the perfect match. Gabrina was excited to see me, but she knew that she belonged with L. When I went to hand over Gabrina and give my speech I realized that I still had no idea what I was going to say. I had been so busy I didn't really think about it. So when L handed over the microphone I said what came to mind. I was going to talk longer than I did, but I was on the verge of crying and when I cry I can't talk anymore, so I wrapped it up real fast before I lost it. I know there were many blogger friends there. I didn't get the chance to meet anyone and I know most of you were there for other reasons, but thank for coming anyways!
After graduation L had to catch a flight right away so we said goodbye and headed to the beach. It was amazing and I played in the sand and in the cold water for 4 hours! I really liked it :)We went out for dinner and then went on a night hike and looked at San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge at night! It was beautiful.
On Sunday we went to the beach again and hung out. We went to a lighthouse and I saw a whale! More animal excitement! Then we drove through the mountains and redwood forest. It was beautiful! Then we went to dinner and headed to the airport. Our flight left at 6:30 and we were on our way to Arizona. We had a two hour layover this time so we walked around and at ice cream and had fun! I love traveling and airports so I love flights with layovers! Then we flew to Denver and got home around 2 am.
It was a very busy but fun weekend! And the best part was that I didn't cry the whole time! I got close to it while giving my speech, but I didn't! Saying goodbye to Gabrina and L was really easy because Gabrina was so happy. Her tail wagged the entire day and I knew she was where she belonged.

That's the end of my puppyraising adventure with Gabrina. L promised to keep in touch, but my work with her is done. It couldn't have been a more perfect ending :)

7 comments:

Shelly :) said...

Congrats to you and Gabrina! :)

Lauren said...

What a wonderful ending to your puppyraising adventures with Gabrina. It must have been great to see Gabrina so happy with her new partner. Don and I decided to go to graduation to see all our blogger friends up on stage graduating. I thought your speech was great- it seemed like it had been well rehearsed! I loved how you talked about Gabrina going to speech class at school and how this would be your last speech together. Very touching.

It's good to hear that you enjoyed yourself in San Francisco/Marin County. There's lots of beautiful destinations around here and it sounds like you saw the best of them.

Congratulations!

L^2 said...

Sounds like you had a great trip. Congratulations to you, Gabrina and her new partner!

Beth and Alfie said...

Oh...what a touching story! So great to hear about Gabrina. She sounds so happy with her new person. You've gotta be really proud!

Congratulations!!!

Addie, Llarson, and Ava said...

I saw your comment on Waffle's blog about the different color of dogs in your club. I noticed you were in the Fort Collins club. I am possibly going to attend Colorado State in the fall and I was curious if there were/are any CSU students in your club. Thanks!

Maddie, Betsy, Jorinda, and Petuina said...

Hey Addie! There are a lot of CSU students in my club. We even meet in the CSU vet center. We have 5 or 6 puppies that are with college raisers and lots of student puppyraisers. From what I understand the only trouble there is with puppyraising/sitting is which dorms you stay in, assuming you stay in the dorms. Some of the older dorms are allowed to have PITs but the newer ones usually aren't allowed any kind of animals. But I don't go to CSU so I don't know for sure.
Let me know if you end up going to CSU and I will give you all the information. Even if you don't want to puppyraise or sit in college you are still more than welcome to come to a meeting and get a puppy fix!

Addie, Llarson, and Ava said...

Thanks so much for the information. I am definitely considering CSU and would love to go to a meeting to check out what GDB meetings are all about. I am glad to here that there are students who volunteer with GDB. I know I would love too. Thanks again! If I end up going there I will definitely write you for more info. Thanks!