We walked in and it was "Oh hey Hi Willie! Back to school huh? How was your summer? " The red carpet was rolled out and we were given a prime seat in a corner booth where his orange juice was brought to him without a word spoken. We placed our orders with his favorite waitress Hope, his being "3 scrambled eggs, bacon-you know how I like it, sausages-an extra one for my dad 'cause he never orders it but always tries to eat one of mine, and a side of pancakes". Bill ordered a bowl of fresh fruit (it arrived as canned mandarian oranges and a whole apple) and I something similar (well sorta...)"Hope" Willie says, "Do people ever order milk shakes or ice cream cones for breakfast?" and she says "Why yes Willie they do... all the time!!"
Next on the agenda was a scheduled visit to a new "life after Riverview" program called Palaemon, that had just gotten off the ground in nearby Barnstable (pronounced Baaaaaaannnstable). This is the year where we must focus our attention on where Willie will move onto after graduation from Riverview next June. A lot of programs have sprung up on the Cape in the past few years, as the young adults who have spent 5 years as Willie will have living on the Cape often want to stay on the Cape as it feels like home to them.
Personally, I would like Willie to move back closer to us- not next door (even though, as you have heard, that house is for sale good God!!) but closer than a 5 hour airplane flight away, as I miss him!!! However Willie, right now anyway, seems determined to stay on the Cape.
We met the young married couple who run Palaemon, and their 2 big chocolate labs. The couple met as dorm counselors at Riverview 5 years ago, and have now married and gone out on their own. The house, which is set up for 7 young adults ,is quite charming and they are enjoying fixing it all up. There is ONE room left!!!!
It is a short walking distance from the beach as well as the village which has all kinds of little shops and a diner. At the same time we were chatting it up, the community was gathering on the front lawn of the nearby library for a 911 memorial service complete with bag pipes and local musicians.
Feeling like we could check Palaemon off our list as a "definate possibility", we continued up the road to Riverview where Willie registered for his final year in the Bridgeview Program, and re-connected with his friends.
When we first visited Riverview many years ago, we loved everything about it but acknowledged how some of the buildings were a bit tired (for example, you may remember the roof of Willie's first dorm flew off in a winter storm). This past year, the school was able to raise the money (even in these tough economical times) to break ground on a brand new center which is now 99% complete. It houses not only the administration offices where a prospective parent and student will enter for their first interview, but a huge performing arts auditorium, student center, 4 art studios, a music studio, and a library. It has a bell tower and a large cafeteria. The transformation from what was there before to now is nothing short of amazing. Thank God Willie has a year to enjoy this new building!We spent less than an hour at his dorm setting up his room, where this year he has his own TV and internet connection (every year a little more independence!). Lucky for us we were able to leave a lot of his bedding and stuff after the Riverview summer program was over being as he is in the same dorm as last year.
After a gathering of all the parents for the usual "This is going to be a great year, don't worry we will take wonderful care of your spectacular children..." we skipped the Cranberry Social and headed over to Hyannis to have dinner at the place where Willie worked last summer, Palios Pizzeria. Honestly it was delicious pizza, which Willie confirmed and he knows his pizza! Praise God he will no longer be singing the blues about the very traumatic event of Pizza Hut shutting down in Harwich last winter.
Feeling a tad stuffed, we headed back to the Holiday Inn and called it a night.
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