Where it All Began....
On Monday, my DH and I celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. How crazy is that - time seems to be speeding up! To celebrate, we left our children with their grandparents at the family cabin on Palomar Mt. while we stayed in downtown La Jolla for 2 nights. For old times' sake we decided to visit our Alma Matter: The University of California, San Diego (UCSD). We both graduated from UCSD's Revelle College (designed for science nerds) in 1993 - DH in the traditional 4 years, me - 4+. After graduation, he and I loaded up his 1978 green VW pop-top and drove (with lots of push-starting/popping the clutch - think "Little Miss Sunshine") to Alaska. The rest, as it is said, is history (and hopefully a very long future).
Here's my dorm - one of Revelle college's "mud-huts" called Galathea. My room my freshman year is the corner room on the 3rd floor. My friends and I thought it was a great idea to live in the same dorm again during our sophomore year (the year DH and I met) - an idea that quickly got old. We moved to the 4th floor on the opposite side. DH lived in an adjacent mud-hut called "Discovery" - often shorted to "Disco" by some practical jokesters. I wonder how many times UCSD had to replace the -very letters.
This is the Revelle anchor - outside the cafeteria which at the time was named "Anchorview". DH and I both worked there during school. Say what you will about working for the dining services - not very glamorous, I know. However, when it comes to cutting your grocery bill as a poor college student, working at the 'caf' was just the ticket. The anchor is constantly getting make-overs. In the dead of night, groups of students will come and re-paint and decorate the anchor. One contribution while we were at school was the anchor covered in cotton balls.
This is Urey Hall - home of the physics department. However, most Revelle college students know this building for the annual Watermelon drop. According to Revelle history, a physics professor asked his students one year how large a splat a watermelon would make if it were dropped from the top (7th floor) of Urey Hall. Good science is based on experimental results, so of course students took a watermelon and chucked it from the top of Urey. It is now an annual tradition - complete with a watermelon talent show to determine the watermelon king/queen. After the drop, students enjoy watermelon chilled in the Revelle fountain.
This is what we knew as Central Library, now known as Geisel library. It was renamed in honor of Theodore Geisel - better known as Dr. Seuss. His widow has made countless, generous contributions to UCSD, so in 1995 the library was renamed in their honor. It's a fantastic library, one of 9 on the campus and one I wish I could say I took great advantage of. However..... I think I only used it maybe twice. Primarily as it was far from my dorm & 2nd, being in the library was more of a distraction for me. I'd always find something else to do - doodling, counting calories to maintain racing weight as the varsity coxswain, (the link takes you to a great LA Times article about being a female coxswain for Men's crew. I was on the women's crew - but one of my teammates, Meghan and a former suite-mate in my dorm, Annette, and my former coach, Jack, are all quoted) or just people watching.
This is the Sun God - a piece of art in the Stuart collection and icon of the UCSD campus. I remember when I first arrived on campus, my dad thought this was the San Diego chicken. :0) This is where the Sun God festival used to take place while we were at school. I think I only got to attend the music festival once, as the timing always seemed to coincide when I was up in Sacramento for the Pacific Coast Rowing Championships. 
The trip down memory lane was fun - it's amazing how much the campus has changed since we were there. I'm glad that not only did UCSD provide me with a fantastic education but also the opportunity to meet my fabulous DH. UCSD was just the beginning of many, wonderful adventures.
Happy Anniversary DH!!
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