We’re finally home, after a few hours waiting in JFK followed by a way too long flight with a set of 18 month old twins in the seat behind me. Poor kids. Poor parents! Alice and I found JFK to be a pretty miserable airport experience. I think we’re spoiled by PDX.
There was an iPad at every table, which seems nice, except that it wasn’t very conducive for Alice and I to have Thanksgiving dinner together. So we didn’t, really. I ordered some chicken wings and she got a stromboli from the fast food counter next to this restaurant. Pretty miserable.
But, the day didn’t start out too shabby. This was the view out our New Haven Hotel window when I got up around sunrise.
Early mornings are my favorite now that the kids are teenagers. Alice didn’t wake up until 9:30, so I got a good 2 1/2 hours to myself.
Once she was up and we were all packed, we took some time to walk around Yale. It was another day of dreaming of the Ivy League.
It was one of those crisp, cold mornings that I just love.
This building appears to be a dorm.
I just love the history that is so present at all of these schools. The carving above this gate refers to Cotton Mather and his role in Yale’s formation.
As we walked through the quad, there was a little girl there with her parents and as she toddled along she unsettled the birds who then flew around as a flock, flying and swooping before settling on a new spot. It was quite picturesque, though I’m afraid my iPhone didn’t do it justice.
And apparently this is the dorm of Nathan Hale.
After walking a bit, we went back to the hotel, got the car and started driving towards New York. We weren’t sure where we were going to go. Our flight left at 6:40 and our car had to be out of the garage by noon. The map said it was an hour and a half drive, but I wasn’t sure what Thanksgiving would do to that estimate.
We briefly thought about going into Manhattan and finding something to do, but neither of us were too excited about driving in the city and we weren’t sure what we would do. We ended up setting the map for Brooklyn, where neither of us had ever been.
We did drive along FDR Drive, though, so we got a good glimpse of Manhattan. I gave Alice my camera and told her to snap away. The bright sun and dirty car windows didn’t help, but she got a few cool shots as I zoomed along.
We then crossed the Brooklyn Bridge.
It ended up being just as much of a headache to find a place to park in Brooklyn. But we enjoyed driving around a bit and seeing some of the sweet little neighborhoods. This shot is of City Hall.
The wait at JFK was pretty mediocre. Bad restaurants, terrible service — not a great ending to our trip.
We got into PDX at 10pm, which was 1am eastern, so we were pretty wiped out. But we got our bags, called an Uber and headed home. We were glad to see Leo and the dogs when we got here. And I was particularly excited to see that my kitchen was clean, even though Leo and Mike had cooked Thanksgiving dinner in it that night. Alice and I both treated ourselves with before bed snack of pumpkin pie.
So, now that we’re home, and have had a few hours to reflect on the trip?
1. We love Boston.
What a great city! We kept looking through the college lists hoping to find a back-up, safety school in Boston, knowing that if Alice didn’t get into any of her top choices, she would feel excited about going to any school that was in Boston. Unfortunately, there just isn’t one of those middle-of-the-road schools. There are a couple that aren’t great, that she wouldn’t really consider, and quite a few very good schools — but nothing inbetween. In the end, I think she’s going to apply to either Northeastern or Boston University (or maybe both) and see what happens.
2. We love Maine.
Maine felt just like the Pacific Northwest to us, and we imagine that Alice would feel very much at home there. There is just as much emphasis on enjoying the outdoors and people ruggedly enjoy four seasons, just like we do in Portland. It does get dark significant earlier (and I thought it was bad in Bellingham!). The sun was setting at 4:30 and it was dark by 5:00 — and this was mid-November. I can’t imagine what it’s like at the end of December.
3. It was good to visit different types of schools.
Alice thought she loved only large, public, well-known universities, but after our visit, she realized that she would actually do really well in a smaller environment where her teachers would know her and be able to meet her needs. Turns out, she’s most drawn to schools that are known and recognized, which happen to usually be large universities, but the smaller schools might better suit her learning style.
4. Different schools, yes, but she’s pretty sure she doesn’t want a women’s college.
As much as I thought a women’s college would be a good place for her, she’s not sure about them. She is going to apply to a couple of them, just so her options are open in case she changes her mind, but she does like a diverse environment.
5. Visiting colleges is a great way to spend time with your teenage daughter.
I can’t remember the last time Alice and I had so much one-on-one time together. I don’t think we drove each other too crazy, and we gave each other plenty of space for solitude, but it was a fun trip and well-worth the expense.
Alice and I talked a little bit about her favorites and where she stands with them. This list is not at all considering financial aid, which is definitely something we’ll consider in the end. But if everything else were equal, it seems that her order of preference is as follows. (Big disclaimer here: Things change quickly when it comes to this stuff, and this is just my best approximation based on conversations she and I have had.)
- Bowdoin College (a longshot dream school, but definitely her top choice)
- Wesleyan University (a very close second)
- Bates College (We didn’t have much time there, and it was closed, but she loved everything she saw and has read about it.)
- Boston University (She loves Boston and is ready for a change, which puts it just above UW.)
- University of Washington
- Colby College (I’m actually not sure where this one stands. We didn’t go visit it, but found out later that they don’t have an application fee, so she’s going to apply. Given her love for Maine, I wouldn’t be surprised if she got in, went for a visit in the spring, and ended up loving it.)
- Western Washington University (This is the one safety school she’s got on her list. We keep looking to add another one, but she hasn’t found one yet.)
- Smith College (Mount Holyoke might get swapped out here, given that she has questions about connecting with the student body at Smith, but Smith doesn’t have an application fee and Mount Holyoke does.)
Other schools that are still in the consideration process:
Northeastern University — We’re thinking she’ll apply at one of the Boston schools, either here or Boston University, she’s drawn to BU at the moment, but maybe she’ll end up applying at both.
Whitman College — She liked many things about Whitman when she visited and it seems likely that she would get in. It’s a good, safe, somewhat local school, and her boyfriend lives in eastern Oregon, so that’s one more reason to consider it.
Also, people have been talking to me lately about Willamette University and University of Puget Sound, which seem like they might be good places for us to visit. Unfortunately, it seems that Alice’s one major requirement is that her school of choice is NOT in Oregon, which would rule out Willamette.
So, for now, we’re glad to be home and she’s got her work cut out for her when it comes to those applications!