We rented 3 vans and plopped 18 people in them for the ~7 hour drive down. We made it in time for a late dinner, where we went to a pub type place and sat out on the patio. Dr. Clay Sneller, our host for the trip, joined us there and we had our dinner with drinks and talked. The TVs were playing highlights of the semi-final game earlier that occurred in the day, so we got our fill of soccer that way. After that, a few of us made the way down to the pool at the hotel and splashed around until about midnight. With an early morning start ahead of us, it was already quite late.
A full day's events at the university campus in Wooster surely did tire a few of us out. From 8 straight until 430, with the afternoon being spent in the 92F boiling heat and sun, we sure made a dent in the cooler in the back of the van.
We had some time in between that and dinner, so there was another gathering at the hotel pool. More people this time, and copious more amounts of beer. Thanks to Amy, I learned to dive and do handstands in the pool. Properly. W00t w00t!
Dinner was a catered event that should have happened at their arboretum, but because of the intense heat, it was moved into the main building instead. Afterward, we headed to Clay's house where he graciously hosted us in his backyard. There was homebrewed beer from one of the professors (too hop-py for my tastes).
Clay's house is a bit of a way's from campus, but was a stunning house. The backyard was huge, and I saw a ton of fireflies! Having never really seen them up close like that before, I was in awe at the number. A bunch of them even landed on my legs and arms while I was swinging away leisurely on the tree-swing. You can maybe make out the fireflies all lit up in the photo.The trip was a ton of fun, and I learned a lot. About agriculture and how things operate in the MidWest, about my fellow grad student colleagues and professors, and about swimming!
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