Ryand Sandy at the National Braille Challenge, Los Angeles 6-23-2012

Yikes! This Ambassadorial designation is a lot of  work. Last week, as you know, yours truly accompanied Bob and Elaine to Los Angeles to cheer on our MIRA student, Ryan Uhle, while he competed in the National Braille Challenge. Ryan was a star. Just getting to the finals was great. 900 students applied and only 60 were selected from around the country. Way to go, Ryan.

And what about his dog, Sandy? He was there, and as you can see from the pic, he was the only dog there aside from me. His presence created a lot of  buzz, believe me. I was so proud of him. Even in the midst of all those kids he stayed calm, cool, and collected (isn’t that an ad for deodorant? I remember the strangest things when it comes to words…)

Anyway, we all had a great time. We had dinner with the Uhles one night and attended a birthday party with some Hollywood celebrities. I would tell you who they were, but I promised to zip my lips. It’s a privacy thing, and I don’t need to be getting into any trouble. Let’s just say one of the guests played a love doctor on a boat. Or something like that, I’m not sure exactly how that goes.

And as for the First Class seats. Well, let me just say that those Delta people have it all figured out. I wasn’t eating my own food (it’s a travel thing) so Bob and I shared eggs and sausage on the way home. No mimosas, though….

So, it’s a brief rest and then off to Montreal and MIRA Canada next week. This is one of my favorite trips each year as we get the chance to observe the kids with their new dogs. I can’t wait!

I’ll try to take some pictures and post them for you. Stay tuned.

Love,

Devon (  Frequent Flyer) Baillie