College Tour

While Wyatt is happily ensconced in the College of Charleston, Francis Pop (aka FPG), a rising senior in high school, is just beginning to think about college.  So we decided to tour  a few colleges--there are so very many so we can only offer the tip of the ice berg here on the east coast.

He arrived on 14 July in Charlotte. We drove back and a big surprise awaited. Wyatt was at 1432 Medway Road. Wyatt was surprised, also, as neither one knew the other would be here for a nice birthday party for Hockey Ga! And it was a great birthday party!

Francis had his first and only formal college tour at the University of South Carolina. I went with him and learned so much about college. I think he did, too; although he looks a little bored!

We had a nice Sunday lunch with my cousin, Kate Reeves, and former student, Emily Bryan.

And we went to Miyos for a nice dinner with Mary and Phil. I love it when Francis lights up the room with his big smile!

He pumped gas for me.

We had an easy flight to Boston from Charlotte and then an Uber to  Cambridge.

We stayed in a lovely small hotel, the Veritas.

 It was so nice to be in Cambridge. I really like this town! You can see turkeys in the street.

And rabbits in the grass!

We had delicious breakfasts at the Tatte Bakery, especially good was the Shakshuka. (for some reason, blogger does not always want me to put the photos in the center--not sure whassup)

Jake was a good Harvard guide, showing us around landmarks, like Winthrop House, where Jake and Paul spent their freshman years.

Adams House where Helen and Paul lived!

Paul's favorite theatre

A highlight for FPG was meeting Haden Guest, Director of the Harvard Film Archive and in charge of the HH archive, for a tour around the Carpenter Center and a description of Harvard's film studies program. He and Francis had a good discussion of film noir.

We enjoyed good meals together!

Francis loved shopping in the big record stores!

And Cambridge is a lovely town.

We traveled on the T to see MIT.

We shopped at the Coop, and speaking of elephants,

We looked at Tufts whose mascot is an Elephant! And, that is because Mr Ringling of Ringling and Barham Circus was a big contributor.

Another beautiful campus

Jake and Kevin drove to Manchester for Abigail Lewis's wedding. FPG and I had a delicious dinner at a Thai Restaurant.

Then the next morning we traveled via train to NYC!

We  met Charles aka Poppy by his family!

He took us to The Little Beet!

Where we had a wonderful meal--for me it was one of the best on our trip. Charles counsels hs students and knows a lot about college admissions so he was full of good advice for FPG! We had a great evening with him.

Meanwhile FPG had caught a cold and was feeling pretty bad. So to be on the safe side, he took a covid test right on the street near our hotel.

It turned out to be negative.

But he stayed in bed most of the next day. We were at the Kimpton Muse and had a comfortable room

We did go out for a lovely dinner!

Francis took this photo of me on the way back to our hotel!

And I took this photo of him!

Before our train back to Boston, Francis enjoyed this music store.

Back to Boston. 


And, a nice dinner with Jake and Kevin, sharing our stories.


Then back to Columbia the next day--alas, it took us 12 hours as we could not land in Charlotte because of a storm and ended up in Raleigh for a layover until the storm cleared. Then we drove to Columbia--a long day.

We rested for a day, then drove to Charleston, where Francis had a wonderful tour of the lovely College of Charleston. Wyatt was his excellent tour guide.

It is a gorgeous campus and so much fun for me and Kevin to hang out with such handsome boys!

The Cistern at CoC.

We all returned to Columbia (Jake had gone early to Asheville for Susie's memorial service) and after a rest day in Columbia, Wyatt and I drove to Asheville. He is a very good driver. I hope he gets a car soon.

Francis proved himself to be a very good Pickle Ball player at the Farm!

We looked at Warren Wilson and UNC in Asheville, both had impressive campuses.

A highlight was our lunch at Chai Pani, just a wonderful Indian Restaurant. I love the marigolds in the front. They are important in Indian culture and symbolize brightness and light.

And then drove to Charlotte where we had a lovely hotel room in the Kimpton there.

Fun with red glasses and iPhone!

And then goodbye to Poppy for awhile. Hoping he comes back soon. We love him so much.

On August 9, we had a small birthday party for Jacobi!

And we had a visitor. Karen Redrobe, Professor at UPenn came to look through Helen's papers, helping to get them ready for Harvard. She is also writing about Helen. We went out to eat with Susan Courtney who is head of Film Studies at USC. They had a lot to talk about and it was a nice evening!

And Wyatt got a car!

Wyatt toured us around the lovely College of Charleston!