Autumn Term at Eckerd

Once the marina hop was finished we returned to campus to join Lainey in meeting her Autumn term professor who will also serve as her mentor for the year.  Steve and I were so engrossed in the discussion led by Norm Smith that we wanted to sign up for the class with Lainey.  Imagine the look on Lainey's face when we told her that little truth.  

Autumn term is a unique type of orientation in which the students are introduced to academic expectations and social responsibilities of students at Eckerd.  The students have the whole campus to themselves except for student leaders called Activators and the faculty can devote themselves entirely to the new students.  

Five books for a 3 week course--yikes!

Wishing Lainey a great year at Eckerd.

joy

Eckerd College Move in Day

Sweet Lainey decided to transfer to Eckerd College on Father's Day.  She got everything together, called for an interview, drove down to St. Pete, interviewed with the admissions counselor and found out she was accepted a few days before July 4th. Since that time, we have been getting packed.  After loading up Mr. Adventure's truck and Lainey's little car, we headed to St. Petersburg, Florida.


We pulled into the Manguson Hotel and Marina Cove--you know we have to stay near a marina even when we are not aboard Meandering Joy.  We looked like "country come to town" with boxes and bags stuffed so high that we couldn't see out of the windows.

View of the Beach Restaurant from our room

Friday morning we drove to Eckerd and began the check in process which went very smoothly.  Lainey commented that she was never doing this again--she doesn't stand in lines very well--neither do her parents.
Finally, her check list was complete and she was given the key to her room and permission to move all her worldly belongings into her new home.

I managed to get one picture of the dorm.

Eckerd College was founded as Florida Presbyterian College which opened in 1960.  But in 1971, Jack Eckerd donated $12.5 million to the school and the name was changed to reflect his generous donation and support.  The campus has 188 acres on Frenchman's Creek and Boca Ciega Bay.  Lainey was drawn to Eckerd because of its waterfront facility. She wants to pursue a career in the boating industry.  Florida is the boating capital of the world.   Her dorm is the closest dorm to both the waterfront and the cafeteria.  She won the jackpot.  Waterfront activities include sailing, kayaking, windsurfing and fishing and my personal favorite--soaking up the sun on the beach.  Lainey plans to join an award-winning student group, Eckerd College Search and Rescue (EC-SAR) which assists the the U.S. Coast Guard in rescue operations throughout the Tampa Bay area. There is an intensive training program for this community service.

 

After checking out the waterfront activities we were ready to eat.  We headed down to the beach for some lunch.  We found a great place--Hurricane in Pass-a-Grille on St. Pete Beach. 

Grouper Sandwich for me--I didn't eat the bread.

Burger for Steve

Burger for Lainey

 After lunch we headed back to Wal-Mart and Bed Bath & Beyond for some more supplies.  Mr. Adventure practiced his assembly skills by putting together a bed side table.

OOPS--put the legs on backwards

Got it right this time!!!

joy