Since we are world travelers and glamorous vacations hold no allure for us, we decided to spend Spring Break enjoying the relaxing sun and sand of Southern Ohio and Northern Indiana. (For my friends unfamiliar with U.S. geography, this sentence is pure irony.) Actually, a combination of a need to start SOMEWHERE with college hunting, coupled with a desire to see people we had known for longer than a few months, spurred us to embark upon the Admiraal Family Spring Break College Visit Friends and Family Extravaganza (AFSBCVFFE). Portions of the schedule are included (is there some kind of career where I can receive a paycheck for being bossy and typing up snarky schedules for people?).
Saturday, April 12 Leave at 8 a.m.
Drive to Cincinnati. We will stay with Uncle Jeff and Aunt Nancy,
except for those children who wish to work out their own sleeping
arrangements with friends or local homeless shelters. Let me know if
you need assistance in this endeavor.
Of course, being pathologically early, we left at about 7:50 a.m. This drives Johanna crazy, but she should know what to expect by now. The decisions about what colleges to visit was made by the scientific process of looking for schools close to Cincinnati or Indianapolis that both Drew and the parents could live with. The 8-hour drive from Towson to Cincinnati went surprisingly quickly, helped along by an extra driver (Drew), Hercule Poirot on CD, some preemptive homework, and several naps. Upon arrival in town, we depositing Kid 2 at her home away from home on Weavers Lane, and the rest of us enjoyed dinner with Eric’s cousin’s family, whom we affectionately call “the other Admiraals,” and whom we have known long enough and well enough to use kind of like a hotel. As guilty as I felt about this imposition, I do have to say that there is nothing like a hotel staffed by some of your favorite people, who are family members, no less.
Sunday, April 13 10:30 a.m. Primitive Baptist Church. Again, if you want to work out your
own transportation to another church, knock yourself out. Just remember
that you also need someone to feed you, as you will miss the best lunch in
town. You will also miss the West Cincinnati Foursquare Playoffs.
that you also need someone to feed you, as you will miss the best lunch in
town. You will also miss the West Cincinnati Foursquare Playoffs.
2:30 p.m. return to Aunt Nancy’s; meet Jacob. Karin will drop Eric and Drew
at Nisbet Park and then drop Jacob and Lucas at the Chumleys. Because she
is a nice wife/mom, she will also return to Nisbet Park to pick up the boys.
is a nice wife/mom, she will also return to Nisbet Park to pick up the boys.
6:30 p.m. Eric and Karin -- Dinner with Journeys
Drew -- If you don’t find something better to do, the grownups would
love to have you join us! We’re not boring at all. Not even a little bit.
love to have you join us! We’re not boring at all. Not even a little bit.
I had the chance to walk on the bike trail at Nisbet Park while I waited for Eric and Drew to finish their 8-mile run. It’s a place laden with memories for us -- bike rides to the Hawaiian Ice shack, dinner at the Works restaurant, SMAC cross country practices, picnics listening to bands (and once watching a belly dancing troupe perform). The PLC started to set in with a vengeance (see earlier post “Moi Quand Je Pleure”).
In case you are curious, Drew found something more interesting to do than eat with the grownups. I think it involved basketball.
Monday, April 14 7 a.m. Karin runs with Tricia
10 a.m. Visit Xavier University (Schott Hall, 1496 Dana Ave,
Cincinnati). This is a 45-minute informational presentation and a
1-hour walking tour of the campus.
I was not surprised that Drew liked Xavier, which feels like a big-city campus, and where he received a free t-shirt and we all got cookies as part of the campus tour given by a bouncy sophomore who seemed to know everyone on campus. I was, however, surprised how much I liked the school. They are very serious about being Jesuit, which as far as I could tell, involves education and service. I also liked the cookies.
3:30 p.m. (ish) leave for Cedarville. Drew and Johanna will spend the
night on uncomfortable floors in drafty, or possibly overheated, dorm
rooms where loud music will keep them awake until the wee hours.
The rest of us will enjoy the luxury accommodations Chez Admiraal
and return in the morning for the tour.
Leaving for Cedarville was delayed by the untimely escape of the Patricks’ dog when we picked Johanna up at their house. Fortunately, a family member with the electric zapper to the dog’s collar arrived, and we merely benefitted from a little extra exercise chasing the dog all over the neighborhood.
Cedarville is definitely not a big city college. It has cornfields on three sides and a cemetery on the fourth. Eric and I ended up staying in town as well, at the Hearthstone Inn, the only overnight accommodations available. Fortunately, the Inn is very nice, with large, clean rooms and Bible verses on the walls. I think we scandalized the proprietress by asking where we could get a glass of wine. Cedarville, as it turns out, is a dry town. She sent us to Yellow Springs, a nearby town home to Antioch College of Vietnam protest fame. Our waitress was so tattooed that she reminded me of Mystique from X-men. She was very sweet, though, and the food was outstanding.
Tuesday, April 15 9 - 4 p.m. Visit Cedarville.
Drew and Johanna indeed had not slept much (welcome to dorm life), and the weather had turned bitterly cold. We had to scrape the snow off the car to drive the mile or so to campus from the Inn. These were not the most auspicious conditions for a campus visit. Nevertheless, Cedarville did by far the best job of making us feel welcome, with a personal admissions counsellor, free meal tickets for all, and the opportunity to meet professors. The running coach met with the kids and Eric while I watched the de rigeur informational presentation (45-minute commercial). Cedarville, as a friend said, feels like a four-year youth group meeting with some good academics thrown in. I liked it a lot. It looks like a place where student could combine a good education with very clear aids to spiritual growth, and meet some fine friends into the bargain. Drew was less excited (I think it was the cornfields). Johanna said that if her friends went there, she would, too. This is her college search plan, and she’s sticking to it.
Wed., April 16 Relax at the Stepping Stones
We were very ready for this day of rest at my parents’ farm in Indiana. They fed us, took us on a walk by the creek to see the spring flowers, and let us sleep a lot.
Thursday, April 17 Noonish, leave for Butler. Tour and information session is 2 - 4 p.m.
Spend the night with Hodges.
Butler, in Indianapolis, is another smallish school in a largish city. It has a very different feel from Xavier though, with a campus of close to 300 acres and a Greek system. Since the school’s 2010 trip to basketball’s NCAA finals, applications have trebled, and the informational presentation was much more about how to get into Butler than about why one might want to go there (doesn’t everyone want to come here?). The campus was lovely, but I did get a whiff of college party atmosphere that set my maternal nerves pinging. Drew loved it (of course), despite the lack of t-shirts, cookies, or commemorative mugs. I’m telling myself it was his Indiana roots calling to him.
We spent the night with my cousin and his family, and stayed up way too late playing games and laughing with my cousin, his wife, and their four children. In the morning, they introduced us to Big Dave’s, a local deli where we ate breakfast sandwiches of eggs, bacon, ham, and hash browns (anyone want a carrot?). Luc and Jo got to climb with Hayden, their oldest cousin, who conveniently works in a rock gym in Indianapolis.
Friday, April 18 Return to Stepping Stones to do laundry.
We also took another walk in the woods and watched Hoosiers (of course).
Saturday, April 19 Back to Baltimore!
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