Not really, but you know what I mean. The weather was balmy, the ocean was calm, the food was terrific, and the company was delightful. Seriously, we lucked out on many counts – the temperature dropped a bit after our recent heat wave, the afternoon winds died away, and the water was wonderfully warm.
But as for the company and the food, it was pretty much the same – anything but boring! As always, Geography’s fall barbecue provided a warm welcome for our latest cohort of grad students, as well as a golden opportunity for faculty, grads, alumni, and staff to interact with each other in an informal way. And, as always, the food was great. The Department provided tri-tip, sausages, Portobello mushrooms, and French bread; participants brought pot luck offerings; and, as always, there were plenty of drinks, including a surfeit of beer and wine, to wash things down with.
Picture the venue, if you will: Goleta Beach Park with palm trees swaying overhead in blue skies, a white sand beach stretching along the blue Pacific, children laughing and playing, seagulls sneaking up to steal morsels of food, and our illustrious Chair, Dan Montello, presiding over the tri-tip with his usual culinary flair (and infamous apron). But you don’t need to stretch your imagination –
Editor’s note: Many thanks to Guylene Gadal for taking many of the photos. Article and other photos by Bill Norrington.
