Day 1: Saturday May 8, 2015 ...Travel Day

The day has finally arrived ... for me, it just sneaked up on me as I hurried my day job's last minute tasks. But for Catherine, Samuel and Adree, I am sure it was a mix of emotions of can't wait and needing a little more time to finish off last minute details on their project boards or incorporating finishing touches on their presentations.

Cathy as usual was waiting for us at 10:00 am at the Burlington GO parking lot.  Not shortly after, the Franklin Bus carrying the YSC contingent of Team Canada had arrived.  Unlike 3 years ago, this bus did not experience any flat tire; consequently, we departed in time at 10:30 am.  We met up with Dustin and Ratna who are returning as YSC chaperones from last year; however, this year, Shannon who happens to be Dustin's sister is also joining us.  All three are IISEF alunmi giving back.

It did't take long for Team BASEF to mingle with Team YSC; it helped that Catherine got reacquainted with some old Team 2014 friends (Ann, Nicole, Duncan from BC, Amit from Ottawa, Avinash from Waterloo and Ben from Grimsby).  Newcomers included Emily from Windsor, Daniel and Aditya from Ottawa, Janice and Raymond from BC, Emily from Thunder Bay and Candace from Windsor.  Included in Team YSC is Isabel, a Broadcomm Observer who also happens to be a BASEF alumni.














Interrupted briefly by a short food break at a roadside Subways and McDonald's, we arrived at our destination, the Westin Convention Hotel  by 4:00 pm.



Thank you to whoever booked this hotel; it is actually attached to the Pittsburg David Lawrence Convention Centre, home to the 2015 IISEF Fair.  Unlike past years where the connecting walk between hotel and fair was a minimum 15 minute walk, the walk this year is but a short jog.


This is especially appreciated since we arrived to a very warm 29'C; it is expected that the next few days will be hovering 32'C.

Got a kick with this modern hotel ... love the touch screen floor selector for the elevators.

After settling in our rooms, the whole crew headed over to the Convention Centre to register.

While there, some of our students located their names on the massive wall that listed all of the 1600 plus Finalists' names.

Project registrations proceeded smoothly and then it was back to the hotel by 6:30 pm to prepare for dinner.  Unfortunately, having the local Pirates baseball crowd around downtown on a Saturday evening did not help in locating a restaurant that was willing to give up seatings to a bunch of underage students who are unable to drink. 

The day ended by 9:30 pm and everyone was in bed by 11 pm (I think).
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