In October I attended and photographed the OACHE Conference in Marietta, Ohio.  There was a great turn out, lots of people and amazing sites to see.  We were at the historic Lafayette Hotel along the Ohio River and Washington State Community College and of course I took a few pictures.  These were taken right after the ride on the sternwheeler, the Valley Gem, on the Ohio River. 

The view from our kitchen window.

Trinity liked the snow until it was up to her chest when she tried to walk, now she is not so crazy about the cold or snow.

This is the scene in our back yard.

This is Trinity, our newest family member.

And I just loved the way the bridge looked when we headed home.

Most of you don’t know that I am not originally from Kentucky.  I was born in North Carolina and graduated from Western Carolina University in 19…. with a B.S. degree in Psychology and a minor in Guidance and Counseling.  WCU is located in Cullowhee, NC and it has been years since I was on campus or even in that area and I didn’t realize how much I actually missed it until this past weekend.  April 24-26 was WCU’s African-American Alumni and Friends Reunion.  I attended and took my family.  I wanted our kids to see where I went to college.  I had a great time and of course I took my camera.  I saw so many of my girl friends from back in the day in Scott Hall and we relived so many memories.  I promise to keep in touch with them now that we have all found each other again.  We stayed at the Best Western River Escape Inn & Suites in Dillsboro, NC.  I did not remember Dillsboro or Sylva (this was the closest town to Cullowhee and the place we would go to shop) being quite so quaint and full of character.  It’s funny how one’s perspective changes with time and age.  Anyways, back to my post.  The hotel was right on the banks of the Tuckasegee river so that first morning I got up and went out to the back patio and took a few pictures of the sunrise and some fishermen.

Then it was time to get everyone up and drive to campus.  I literally held my breath as we rounded Catamount Gap.  This was the view that I saw every fall for 4+ years.  It looks a little different as the trees have grown up more and there is now a track there with lights and Scott and Walker Halls don’t dominate the skyline as much but it still a beautiful sight.

Campus is noticeably different and bigger.  There were so many buildings and roadways that were not there when I was student.  The biggest change, or most obvious, was you can’t drive in front of Scott Hall.  Here are a few other differences.

A track stadium

The whole front exterior of the University Center is changed.  I can not even begin to explain how the interior of the UC has changed. I would get lost now.

Alumni Tower.  There was no such structure when I attended. The trees leading up to the Alumni Tower did not exist then either.

There is a softball stadium/facility and a new residence hall behind it as well as a Greek Village. 

The reunion was great as I said before.  Here are few images.

The Inspirational Choir rehearsing

Dr. Lavern Hamlin Allen, the first African-American to ever attend WCU in 1957.

There were so many alumni who couldn’t make it to the reunion for whatever reason and they were missed.  We did a big group picture after the luncheon on Saturday of everyone one who came and while we represent every decade since the 1950’s of WCU graduates this picture is not complete.  If you are wondering how I was able to get in the picture, I set up the shot and then handed my camera off to a student worker.

Finally, as we were leaving campus to head back to Kentucky I got a few pictures of my kids in front of the Administration building with the Catamount. Check out their WCU gear. 

If you hung in there this long and read my entire post, thanks for indulging me and letting me reminisce for a little bit.

It’s that time of the year again.  My birthday was yesterday and did my annual self portrait.  Here are two of my favs.