Princeton reunions

A slightly belated, heavily illustrated tale of a weekend in Princeton. Suzanne's class was celebrating their 20th class reunion. We went down with both the boys as it is a pretty wonderful family event.

We arrived on Thursday and settled into our room at Blair Hall. I did not live in the dorms at my undergrad, but doubt that they had fireplaces in the rooms (and can attest that the grad-dorm at Case Western did not (though it did have other redeeming features).

The boys had a great time. In addition to climbing on a variety of tigers, there were *many events aimed for the younger set. Movies, a magician, a science show, face painting, etc., etc.

The boys went with me to Special Collections for a very interesting (even to them) presentation on their current exhibit, To the Mountains of the Moon: Mapping African Expeditions.

The reward for their exceptional behavior was to spend a couple of hours or so in the Cotsen Children's Library. If you have a child under 45, this library (adjacent to/part of the main library building) is worth a trip to Princeton alone. It is simply spectacular. The antiquarian collection is a gem of the finest order...but equally importantly, they have built a truly wonderful children's library around it...colorful, climbable, tons of reading spaces for large and small. I can not recommend it highly enough.

A highpoint of the weekend is the "P-rade". This is a *wickedly* long parade wherein every class marches through campus in the costume of their class's theme. The parade starts with the class celebrating its 25th reunion and then with the oldest class with members on campus (Class of 1930, this year). The Class of 1987's theme was "Paws in Spaces". As a result, I had the pleasure of wearing a very orange flight suit for many hours...it was hot...I am quite grateful to Princeton for being so thoughtful of my weight loss efforts...urgh. Truly, it was great fun and the boys loved it. There were bands (mardi gras, drum line, etc.), dogs dressed as tigers, Elvis and and any number of other entertaining bits. A group of drummers and brass (and dancers) from a Trenton, NJ high school lead the Class of '87. They were absolutely amazing. It has been a long time since I was in HS, but I am reasonably certain that none of my classmates could play like that...or dance like that. Yikes.

After the P-rade, we wandered over to Suzanne's eating club, Charter. They held a very nice reception...best food of the weekend (on campus, see below ). It is an amazing building...definitely a nice place to have one's meals (and parties) for a couple of years. It has a long and interesting history...which is of little surprise given the location. I have to admit, I think the hardest part of graduating from Princeton would be leaving the campus and environment. I am certain it is why so many return for events like this. Hell, spending a weekend made *me* want to move my shop there. We shall see .

To top it off, one of Suzanne's classmates undertook contributed a very special gift such that in addition to a local band one night and the reunion of a class rock band (of unusually strong talent), on Saturday night Blues Traveler played. It is always fun to see a really good performance band in a very small location. They played under a tent in the courtyard of Blair.

It was loud, there were a lot of very young (we have grown very old) kids...er, adults...there, as all the events are open to Princeton seniors (who graduate the following Tuesday). It was extremely fun.

Finally, but in no way least importantly, we had two "meals" at Hoagie Haven. This near-legendary eatery has been keeping Princeton students fed (and cardiologists happy) for many, many years. There was a line *way* out the door as we were finishing up our order (we just beat the rush). They specialized in exceptionally good, reasonably unhealthy food. Cheesesteaks, gyros, chicken drenched in hot sauce, etc., etc., all inexpensive, dripping grease and other liquids and generally delicious. We started and ended the weekend there (lunch on Thursday and Sunday).

The final picture is of the two boys on one of the benches in front of the Haven. Eli opted for a simple grilled cheese ("perfect") and Aidan got a cheesesteak with all the fixings (even the hot peppers...I'm so proud). Please note the dark stain in the pavement in front of the bench. This is *not* boot grime or the like, it is accumulated Hoagie Drippings. Yum, yum, yum.

It was a great weekend. Suz caught up with many old friends, the boys made fast friends with two boys their ages who happen to live here in Portland and fun was had by all. Viva le Orange and Black.