One Farewell, To a Cool, Cool Bus

I write today with a tear in my eye and a catch in my throat. My time on the bus – altogether too short – has come to a close. I find myself nostalgic, sentimental, and pained to be leaving my ten compadres, our big green bus, and the little blue chase car. Tomorrow morning will find me in a car at daybreak, setting out against the horizon for a family vacation. Going from 11 people on a bus in big cities to 7 people on an island without electricity and running water, culture shock is the understatement of the year. I don’t want to wax too poetic, so I’ll sum up my bus time in a sentence – great friends, beautiful scenery, and a summer to remember.

My last full day on the bus was a good one. We started the morning at another awesome company, one of our sponsors, Clif Bar. Their headquarters were reminiscent of Google’s, and we had a great time learning about their five pillars (business, brand, planet, people, and community), their environmental initiatives, and a bus project similar to ours that they have run in the past. We stocked up again on delicious Clif Bars, making sure to grab Luna Bars for the girls and Builder Bars for the boys.

Our second stop was at the Chrissy Field Center in Golden Gate Park, where we talked to an awesome group of campers from elementary and middle schools. We promised to name some names in the blog, but since we can’t fit them all, we’ll just say that from Alex to Quinn they were all fantastic, and that we know Jacky is spelled with a “y” and one of the kids named Chris spells it Cris. We had a really fun time and loved their enthusiasm!

The night ended at the apartment of Bus alums Crank, Aekta, and Hoff, where we watched School of Rock, walked around the Haight, and played a spirited game of Celebrity. A great way to cap off my summer with the bus. I’ll miss you all dearly, and can’t wait to reconvene in the fall!

- chris

The group kicks back for some games with bus alums Crank and Aekta!

Fact-o-the-day: Clif Bar as a company has recently taken huge strides to reduce their waste by eliminating shrink wrap from their packaging, and minimizing non-recycled materials. They even make handbags out of unused wrappers!