Spring break would be only ten days long and some driving would be involved. Hopefully I would see friends and have a memorable time.
As March approached, I poked around and began to realize we needed to sign up for tours, hotels and coordinate it. Houlder had planned to see a friend perform at Carnegie Hall so we had so time restraints. Admissions folks burned out from reading applicants for next year's class did not haave Saturday tours. We were limited to weekdays.
At some point, I realized the state of Maine had to go. Will said that he would be able to take him up should he still want to later. Bummed as I love Maine, I found it impossible to justify that much extra time for self-tours and a 17 hour drive home.
And, in the spirit of bang for your buck, we bring Dell.
We left home at 6pm, March 7th and headed to Philly.
3/8 Swarthmore. Meet swim coaches. See pool. Likeable even in the rain.
3/9 Houlder takes SATs at Easton High School while Dell and I listen to the information session. Dell decided to add his name to the registered and got his own private tour while I ran and picked Houlder up from Easton High School, #2 in PA for football wins and #7 in country for football wins.
After a quick lunch from the cooler and leftovers from Wegman's, we head to New York City to stay with our dear friends Elizabeth and Phineas and Matthew. Elizabeth and Finn live in a bustling neighborhood in financial district in which there were tons of kids riding a scooter.
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| Skyline outside e and f's apartment |
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| Walking along Battery Park |
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| Statute of Liberty |
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| Finn riding his scooter. |
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| In front of the surivivng Pear tree |
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| Pear Tree again |
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| Houlder with his VGF tee shirt |
After the information session and tour, we headed to the bookstore for some bling. AND WE RUN INTO A CLASSMATE OF HOULDER'S. Cue "It's a Small World After All."
With a delicious stop for some true New York pizza, we grab a cab and head to the The American History Museum. Our friend Matthew works there and the boys were excited to visit the place made famous by The NIght at the Museum.
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| With Teddy Roosevelt |
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| How x-rays can help trouble shoot artifacts. |
Afterwards we rush back, grab Dell and head to Norwalk, CT to just rest.
3/12 -- Up and at them and onto Amherst. They had a wonderful gallery Beneski with archaeological finds.info on Beneski
After lunch at Whole Foods, we hit the roads to head to Boston and a Kenyon Alumni event to honor outgoing president Georgia Nugent. My wonderful friend Cindy took us for drinks and snacks in The Oak Room at the Fairmont Copley before the Kenyon event. Oak I got to connect with former classmates and meet some of the wonderful staff I have gotten to know. And, groovy enough, Houlder got to meet people. Dell met President Nugent as she came over and introduced herself because he was dancing and singing to himself in the mirror.
I let Houlder drive us out of town and to Providence where we crashed.
3/13 -- Up College Hill to Brown. My grandmother went to Pembroke and had attended may reunions. Both my parents were born in Providence and both my grandmothers were raised there. The campus was goregous and the tour guides here and admissions' person were fun and comedic which was such a change up and a pleasure. It was also a gorgeous day.
After a visit to the bookstore and BBC (Better Burger Company), we walked back to our room. Dell crashed and Houlder and I boogied to Franklin W. Olin College adjacent to the Babson College campus in Needham, MA. Olin is an new college in which students come in doing engineering immediately. There are 384 students on the entire campus and there are four buildings. The students can take classes at Babson and Wellsley. Seniors get 50K from corporations to solve a problem which becaomes their capstone project.
Houlder and I scoot back to possibly meet up with some friends from Richmond but they are running late and we are running tired. We have a nice meal out and crash.
3/14 A quick return to Brown to look around and then onto Tufts University right outside Boston. A lovely tour guide form California whose older sister attends Kenyon. Hey, we are everywhere! We took the time to dine and were met by a recent Collegiate grad (2012) who met Houlder for an hour.
After a full day with the Jumbs, we headed to Middlebury, VT. We landed late, late, late and crashed.
3/15 -- Middlebury. The info session started with a quick video which ended up featuring Dell and Houlder's Biology teacher who has spoken so highly of Middlebury. Both boys were engaged form that moment forward. This same teacher contacted his former advisor and Houlder snagged an invite to molecular genetics class and a talk with professor. Dell took tour, after a visit to bookstore, meeting up with Houlder, we headed to the dining hall.
Quickly we book through the snow to Williams in which we miss the tour but are met by friends of Houlder's history teacher. These 3-4 guys toured Houlder and Dell and filled them in on the low-down as I read all the waiting room stuff. It's Williams.
Late and snow still falling, we drive 3.5 hours to Exeter, NH to my brother's house and his five sons. After catching up, we crash and have spent the day hanging up, playing football and basically vegging. Getting ready for the big St. Paddy's Day drive home tomorrow.
