A Walk to Remember

Our recent trip south for the Thanksgiving holidays included a side trip. The Princess wanted to take an official college visit to my alma mater- The University of Arkansas. This thrilled her father and I and elevated her among her older siblings to the status of "the favored one". My husband graduated from another school in the same state but it's one of those places that even if you didn't officially "go" to school there--you are still a fan. The youngest of children in the state are dressed in red and are taught to "call the hogs" which has nothing to do with pig farming.

It was a beautiful day on The Hill as our entertaining student guide showed us through the campus complex. Maybe it was just me but it seemed that the buildings had gotten further apart and the inclines steeper than I remembered them being. It was fun tracing steps to some familiar places and seeing them new through my daughter's eyes. She showed a respectable amount of interest in the tour, loved the made to order pasta bar in the dining hall (that has definately changed since my days there), and made a significant dent in our bank account at the campus bookstore stocking up on hog wear (which also has nothing to do with Harleys). If the pasta bar, new red wardrobe, and campus cute boy count wasn't enough, her dad tried to seal the deal with tickets to the annual day after Thanksgiving football game against LSU. They tailgated with the cheerleaders, sat in the rain and called the hogs on to victory.
I braved the Black Friday crowds which were not as scary as the prospect of out of state tuition and sending my baby 432 miles from home.