An Odd Stay, But Some Fantastic News

Doug and I had a great visit with Paula on our way down to Bloomington last night.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to see her on this trip, but Cameron was busy tonight, so it worked out perfectly.  We met at Daniel's Vineyard which was within walking distance of her home.  I enjoyed hearing what she and the girls were up to recently.  Alex's wedding is in February and Gabrielle was in Miami this weekend for the bachelorette party.  I was sad to leave, but we made plans to get together for lunch or dinner during my trip in November.

Our stay last night at the IMU was different from any that we had experienced recently.  As soon as we opened the door to the first room that we were given, we saw guest luggage unpacked on the bed.  It took a while for the front desk to find us another room, and the one that we ended up with was definitely subpar.  The bed felt like we were sleeping on a stone slab.  The television picture mirrored those from the 1990s and the thermostat predated any that I had seen since we were in college.  Thankfully, the room was clean, and we enjoyed being on campus once again.  Cameron was able to meet us at The Vault in the basement of the Union after his intern social event.  We loved the bison three quarter zip that they had given him and enjoyed listening to his week.   

Today, Doug and I met Cameron and Brett on Kirkwood for lunch.  Cameron suggested Uptown Cafe which we all loved.  The food was a lot spicier than advertised, but we enjoyed it just the same.  Afterward, we walked to the record store and then to Kirkwood where I finally found a clear stadium crossover bag that I liked and was reasonably priced.  It would be perfect to take into the games.  Cameron had to work this afternoon, and Brett had a doctor's appointment.  Doug and I didn't mind as the day was gorgeous and it gave us a chance to walk around campus, visit the Game Preserve and complete the shopping for the tailgate tomorrow.

Before we left for Columbus, we met Cameron and Cora at Upland Brewing Company.  We weren't very hungry, so Doug just tried a few beers while the two of them split a few appetizers.  Cora had finished a challenging bio-chemistry test last night and was thankful to put aside studying for the afternoon.  I was glad that I never had to take that class as it sounded brutal.  Most of the rest of the discussion revolved around Cameron's acceptance of a summer internship at Owens Corning in Toledo.  The internship was one of the elite ones offered at Kelley, so we were all very excited for him.  Cameron would be working in their operations department which was exactly the type of position that he had hoped to find.  The hourly pay was fantastic especially knowing that his lodging would be paid for as well.  Personally, I was incredibly happy that Cameron could put aside the interviewing process until next fall as that had added a lot of stress to his already busy schedule.  He and Doug reread all of the emails to make sure that Cameron's acceptance letter had gone through and were already talking about where we would go in Toledo when we visited him this summer.

Once Cameron and Cora headed to the men's soccer game, Doug and I left for Columbus and arrived just as Karen was getting off of work.  It took a little while to unpack the car, start the brats and make plans for tomorrow's tailgate.  Once we finished, everyone was ready for dinner.  Our original plan to eat at The Garage Pub in downtown Columbus quickly changed when we realized that they had a band playing tonight with a very large crowd in attendance.  We found a Mexican restaurant nearby that we decided to try instead and were not disappointed.  The food was authentic and cooked to order.  Their margaritas were fantastic as well and everyone enjoyed their dinner very much.  Even though no one stayed up very late this evening as we knew that the 5:30 a.m. wakeup call would be challenging if we did, we all had a fantastic evening together.