A visit to Kate's school, Oct. 1-4, 2004
(Click on any of the smaller images below to see a larger version)

This year is Kate's second year at the University of Missouri and we decided rather than taking her to college we would plan a visit for later in the year. This allowed us to take Jeff along as well and meet Kate's friends without all the hassles and rush of starting a school year. We flew from Spokane to Kansas City, MO and then had a 2.5 hour drive to Columbia. We stayed at The Gathering Place Bed and Breakfast near the university. If you plan on visiting Kate, we would recommend this place. Very friendly people, comfortable rooms, and breakfast is included.

This trip was fun in part because we got to meet several of Kate's friends that we've heard a great deal about. Claire is Kate's roommate and the two of them are in their first apartment ever. Last year they shared a room second semester in the dorm and now are sharing an apartment together. The apartment is small, but a big improvement over their dorm room.

After checking in, we met up with Kate and Claire and joined Cy and Brian for dinner at one of the local restaurants. A traditional type of place for a university campus because the food is good, it's not too expensive, and you get a lot of it. After dinner we joined a band of roving musicians whose sole purpose in life is to rile up already excited Missouri football fans by crowding into businesses a playing numerous Missouri type songs at a very high volume. Everybody enjoyed having this group around and it brought back happy memories from when I played in the San Jose State Marching Band. There is nothing that being in the middle of a band and 'feeling' the music.

The next day was game day, so we shopped for a tail gate party. I found some inexpensive folding chairs that we left behind as apartment furniture. We got some cold cuts, cheese, and drinks and headed for the stadium. It turns out that this was a new experience for our students since they can go just about anywhere by walking. Having to find a place we could park turned out to be more difficult than expected, but we were able to find a spot and enjoy ourselves before game time. Here you see the M. At the beginning of each year students from the freshman class come out and give the M a new coat of white paint.

The Game was great, very exciting and Missouri won. Beat the Colorado Buffalos 17-9 and the was still on the line with a minute left in the 4th quarter. Here are some pictures from the game.

Sunday was our day to walk around campus and see the sights of Columbia.
We met on the porch of our B&B and started our walk around campus.

One of the prettiest buildings on campus is Jesse Hall which houses the administration offices. From many vantage points around campus you can see the dome of Jesse Hall rising above the rest of the structures. I'm sure it helps many students orient themselves on campus, but it also serves as an anchor to the rest of the surrounding buildings. I captured a few of the views of Jesse Hall as we toured the campus.

One of the greatest things I like about the University of Missouri is the cool traditions that exist on campus. Here you can see both Kate and Cy rubbing the nose of the bust of David R Francis. The tradition is that if you rub his nose you will get an A on your next exam. (His nose is very shiny and I understand it has been replaced several times.)

 

The quad in front of Jesse Hall is named after Mr. Francis. Here stands 6 pillars from Academic Hall the original building on campus which burned down in 1986. New students to MU pass through the pillars in a ceremony known as Tiger Walk and graduating seniors go back through in the other direction in the concluding ceremony known as the Tiger Prowl. Around the perimeter of the quad are the University President's residence (not currently being used by the president), Jefferson's original tombstone (given as a gift to the university when a monument to the country's second President was placed over his grave, and a statue of Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence.

Kate and Cy wanted Jeff to get in the picture but Jeff is shy. He finally agrees to join them: and everybody is happy.

A walk downtown showed us that the city of Columbia also has some columns. Looking down the Avenue of the Columns from Francis Quad are 4 columns near the courthouse. The story of these columns is a little unclear. Originally we thought that the columns were built to honor the University and what it does for the town, but upon closer inspection we found out that these columns were part of the original Columbia Courthouse. Ironically, the classes normally conducted in Academic Hall were held in this building while new facilities were being built for the school. Then it too burned to the ground. I don't think it had anything to do with final exams.

Not visit to a school university is complete unless you view the unofficial shoe of college students in the USA today. The Flip Flop appears to be standard attire amonst college females and here is a perfect example.

We finished the day going to one of Kate's favorite places, Sparky's Ice Cream Parlor. Sparky the dog statue sits out in front waiting to greet people to come to his shop. At one time there was a live Sparky who also sat outside, but it is unclear if that Sparky is still around or not.