This is Cougar Country!

Today, was the first day of my three week fall road trip vacation.  Yesterday, I drove to my parents' house and spent the night there.  It's always nice to visit Mom and Dad...and the kitties, too!  Here's a pic of one of them.  His name is Sammy...after baseball player Sammy Sosa.  Hey, my mom is a baseball fan!

I left early and spent the morning driving to Pullman, WA to visit my alma mater... Washington State University.  It had been about ten years since I ast been to WSU, and I was interested to see what had changed since then.  After getting a parking permit and finding a convenient lot on campus, I had lunch at Wilmer-Davis Hall.  I got there right before the lunch rush, and as I settled down to my meal, watched as students slowly filled up the dining hall.  So many young people...it made me feel a bit old.  But, I still fit in because once a Cougar, always a Cougar!

Afterward, I walked around the campus, taking photos of the buildings.  Here are a couple of Thompson Hall and Bryan Hall with its landmark clock tower.  Washington State University was established in 1890 (then Washington State College), just one year after Washington became a state.  Those two buildings have been around a LONG time!  I found a photo that was taken back in 1910, and you can see they haven't changed one bit!

Of course, I couldn't leave my beloved university without getting some Coug gear.  I went to the campus bookstore...more familiarly known as The Bookie...and bought FOUR alumni T-shirts!  Before I left WSU, I had one last place to go... Ferdinand's!  This is THE PLACE to get ice cream on campus.  I got a chocolate waffle cone for only $2.10!  That's a full-sized waffle cone!  Can't beat that!  Having our own dairy cows has its advantages.

Tomorrow, I take another trip down memory lane.  I graduated from WSU in 1983, and before I finally got a full-time job, I worked at this place for four summers...and one winter.  Stay tuned....