“So enter that daily though mayest grow in knowledge, wisdom and love.”
This is the entrance to College Green at my alma mater, Ohio University. I stop to read it every single visit and I’ve walked through countless times.
It never gets old.
Darlene Love started her career as a backup singer and consequently treats her singers with the utmost respect.
Veggie Quesadilla at Casa Nueva. Try it with the barbecue salsa- you can thank me later!
The beautiful thing about living so close to a college town like Athens is that there’s never a shortage of good food and things to do, even on a cold Tuesday night.
Last night I spent the evening wandering around town after work. I was there specifically to have dinner at Casa Nueva and to see Darlene Love perform at Ohio University.
In case you don’t know, Casa has the best food in Athens and Darlene Love was a powerhouse in Phil Spector’s infamous Wall of Sound. You may remember her for songs like “He’s a Rebel” and “Today I Met the Boy I’m Gonna Marry.” Her song “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” is a staple on most holiday soundtracks.
You wouldn’t guess that she’s 77 or that she’s been performing some of these songs for the better part of sixty years. She’s energetic and her voice is strong. The songs sound fresh and a few of them pretty much brought down the house.
It was impressive.
I say it often and I’ll say it again: if you have a chance to witness live music, do it. There’s an energy surrounding live music that you simply can’t find listening to a tune at home. I always better appreciate an artist after hearing their music live. Last night was no different and I would absolutely recommend seeing Darlene Love if you ever have a chance!
Back to school time always makes me want to run out and buy notebooks and crayons. I’m not clear on why because I really hated school when I was there. College was great though. I’m a proud alum of Ohio University, a Bobcat, and I’m so pleased that life allowed me to study there. It was a great experience that taught me so much both in and out of the classroom. I especially love the quote on this gate – “So enter that daily thou mayest grow in knowledge, wisdom and love.”
This is great advice for everyone, every day. You don’t need to attend college to be curious and to learn or grow. Try to learn something new every day, be curious, be adventurous and you will never be bored.
Some people qualify adventure as something daring, grand and maybe even dangerous. Ziplining, rock climbing and traveling the reaches of the earth come to mind. But I think adventure can be a lot of things to different people. For me the best adventures are born from spotenaity and can be very close to home. Finding that unique piece in an antique mall or stumbling into a beautiful scene are just as adventerous to me as anything.
In fact, last week I posted a cool tv commercial that drives home the belief that adventure is as close as your own back yard.
This weekend Mr. Wonderful and I hopped into the car and headed out to Athens, home to our alma mater and to some of our favorite haunts. We spent well over an hour browsing Haffa’s Records – we’re like kids in a candy store there. I did find some bargains there including season 4 of The Big Bang Theory on dvd for just $5. Love it!
And we dined at Casa Nueva because that’s what we do in Athens. There are tons of restraurants to choose from but we’ve never been to most of them because Casa is just too great to miss.
Since I declared this “Say Yes Saturday” we went wherever the wind blew us, taking in thrift stores and unusual sights along the way.
A nice walk uptown before school starts next week was just what the doctor ordered. I miss being a pedestrian and Athens is a great walking town, especially when most of the students are gone. Living in the country I tend to drive a lot so it’s fun to park the car and do everything on foot. We even relived some fun memories walking campus, taking pictures and admiring the beautiful old buildings on the College Green.
Here are a few shots from the day.
The picture of the steps leading down to Ellis Hall isn’t so great but it’s significant. As an English major I can’t tell you how many times I ran up and down those steps between Ellis and Alden Library. Good times. Especially on snowy, icy days.
We ended the evening with a little movie viewing with a pizza and oreos on the couch. This day was the perfect balance of fun and rest and I can’t help but wonder why we don’t do this more often. As an aside, I have found that you are with the right person when you forget to look at the clock, when it doesn’t matter you don’t have a lot of money to play with, and when you can think of no place else you would rather be.
Maybe that’s the best adventure of all.