Last weekend Wonder Boy and I went on a short getaway to celebrate what I think is our only free weekend for a 3 months stretch. When selecting our getaway locale, we had some specific criteria:
- We wanted to go somewhere we knew no one
- We had to go somewhere only a short drive away
- We didn’t want to spend a lot of cash
At the suggestion of Wonder Boy, and I need to stress that he was the one to bring it up even though it sounds like a very Me idea, we went to Athens. It was perfect! It even had a Holiday Inn where we could redeem some points and get a free night’s stay.
Now I know I have discussed the infinite fabulousness of Athens and Ohio University on multiple occasions (here, here and here). You could say I’m obsessed. But I can’t help it. When I go there I just feel happy, accepted and comfortable.
We were lucky enough to have our weekend getaway on the same weekend as a nice snowstorm. And Wonder Boy was recovering from a wicked cold. So, our outings were even more limited. We walked around town, explored the old sanitarium, walked through the Kennedy Museum of Art and drove down back country roads. We also enjoyed some of the best things Athens has to offer, in my opinion: great places to eat (Mmmm Casa!) and many, many great places to drink.
Prior to going I had a little checklist in my head of the bars we had to visit, the specialty drinks I had to have, etc. On our second night, a Sunday evening, we went to my absolute favorite Athens bar, the Cat’s Eye. As soon as we walked in I went to the jukebox and played the tow requisite songs: Hurricane by Bob Dylan and Crazy Game of Poker by OAR. I can’t describe how many times I listened to those songs in that bar at college.
So here’s the thing about going back to your old college. Now you’re old. But the students aren’t. So I was very self-conscience about my song selections and how they would go over with the 10 or so bar patrons. A guy walked into the bar and the first words out of his mouth were, “Who picked this song?” I sort of held my breath and waved. He came over and gave me a high five! Turns out I might be old, but that 21-year-old boy (as of Friday night) and all of the other folks at the bar loved my music tastes. Wonder Boy’s, too. I can’t stress this enough. We got lots of high fives and requests to pick more music. At one point everyone in the bar (all 10 of them) was dancing!
I went to OU wanting to go back to my old haunts and remember all the great times I had in college. Instead, I made memories there. Fabulous memories. And I think Wonder Boy (not an OU grad) made some of his own. If he can get past how he felt the next day…
I’ve already posted this but here is another link to a song I couldn’t get out of my head all weekend: Tilt Ya Head Back OU.
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