Far Above Cayuga's Waters

Last weekend, I left the city for greener pastures, quite literally. I hopped on a bus and made the 4 1/2 hour trip to Ithaca, NY, for my five-year reunion at my alma mater, Cornell University.  It's so hard to believe that it's been five years since I left this place, and seeing campus again brought back all sorts of memories and nostalgia about hilarious moments, ridiculous college antics, and good times spent there amongst amazing friends.
I met up with my core group of girlfriends on Friday afternoon (all except S, who sadly couldn't make the trip due to work) and that night, we headed to one of our favorite old haunts, Collegetown Bagels (CTB).  Perched right on the edge of campus, this part-coffee-and-bagel-shop/part-bar was both the cure to and source of many a college hangover and thus held a special place in all of our hearts.  We ordered a carafe of red sangria, and sat outside on the patio as we used to do, updating each other on the happening of our lives.

We filled each other in about jobs, recent and upcoming moves, boys, and wedding plans (J is getting married at Cornell next summer!) and of course got to reminiscing about our crazy and silly college days.  We all met during freshman year so there have been a lot of memories!

We called it a relatively early night and Saturday dawned sunny, warm, and absolutely gorgeous.  After a quick breakfast, we decided to walk around campus and visit some of our old stomping grounds.  We started at Balch Hall, the beautiful old dorm where we all lived during freshman year.

We had to go inside and see our old floor and the lounge where we used to "study."

After one last photo op outside, 

A.O. headed off to meet some other friends and M, J, A.S., and I continued on to explore more of the campus and the surrounding areas to see what had changed since we'd been there.  We started by taking in the view of the waterfall at Beebe Lake.

We then made our way to central campus and walked through the arts quad towards McGraw Tower, the clock tower that always managed to stand tall through daily winter (and sometimes spring) snowstorms and whose bells provided much of the soundtrack to our lives during our four years at Cornell.

  

Isn't she photogenic?

Uris Library stands in the shadow of the tower, and we ducked inside since M and I used to work there while in school.  We posed for a photo by the security desk that we used to man, much to the confusion of the student working there.  Give it five years, kid, and then you'll understand.

We went up the stairs to the A.D. White library, affectionately referred to as the "Harry Potter Library" by many for obvious reasons.  

 

  Can't you just picture a pack of Gryffindors barging in at any moment?

I tried to study in here whenever I could find a free seat, but I have one especially vivid memory of sitting at a desk on one of the upper levels, writing a paper for a class that I was taking on Ancient Ships and Seafaring.  Yes, you read that correctly.  Ancient Ships and Seafaring.  I took it because I wanted to learn about pirates, obviously.  But I digress.

 

After a good look around, we went back outside into the sunshine and walked toward the neighborhood of Collegetown, where we all lived and hung out during junior and senior year.

We crossed the bridge leading away from campus and I snapped a few shots of the waterfalls running down the gorge beneath us.

We stopped at CTB for a much needed pick-me-up, where we discovered bliss in the form of iced coffee.  Behold the Short Shorts:

Doesn't look all that special, I know, but trust me, it was crack in a cup.  Caramel-infused vanilla iced coffee with soy milk.  It's so nice to know that CTB still doesn't disappoint, and as if to prove it, it was just as bustling as it used to be when we were regulars there.

We did some shopping and walked around Collegetown a bit more, seeing which college bars and favorite restaurants were still there and which ones had closed their doors sometime in the five years since we've been gone.  The sun was scorching, though, and before long, we decided that a trip to the Dairy Bar for some Cornell-made ice cream was in order.

I think that the giant milk bottle is a new addition to the newly renovated Dairy Bar.  There used to be a giant cow outside instead.  Rumor has is that some enterprising students stole it.  That thing was massive.  I don't know if I should be sad or impressed.

Everyone else on campus must have had ice cream on the brain too, because the line for scoops and sundaes was huge, so we decided to jump in the much shorter line for pints and just grab some spoons and pass them around on the patio.

The rest of the day was spent catching up with more old friends, invading the Class of 1984's reunion headquarters to watch the Belmont Stakes on their t.v., and attending our class dinner and tent party on the arts quad.  We didn't take many photos, which is probably a good thing since buckets of beer and wine were stationed at nearly every turn.  We did manage one good one before things got too messy, though.

The next morning we woke up with strange headaches, staggered out of bed, had breakfast, and said our goodbyes.  I know that I'll see my girlfriends again soon, but I hope to see you again, Cornell, before another five years go by.  I don't think that I realized what you meant to me until I walked the paths over your green lawns once again.  You made me who I am today, introduced me to new ideas and friends, and brought truly wonderful people into my life.  For that, I'll be forever grateful, and your perch on the hill overlooking Cayuga's waters will always seem like home.

*Thanks to A.S. for sharing some of her photos with me for use in this post.

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