<p>My wife and I dropped our son off at Barnard yesterday. The university did a great job of organizing the move in and everyone (I mean everyone) was exceptionally nice and helpful. </p>
<p>My wife and I are spending the weekend in Chicago and I have a sangria in my hands at this moment. So, here's a toast to my son and to all the new freshman at UW. May the wind be at their backs.</p>
<p>“May the wind be at their backs” – especially as they hike up Bascom Hill!</p>
<p>Moved our son into Chad, right next door, on Friday. The move-in was very efficient and easy, even with construction still tangling a few nearby roads. The weather was magnificent too. What an opportunity these kids have in front of them! We already talked to him by video conference (Skype) yesterday and he looked and sounded happy and excited.</p>
<p>Our older son came with us to help. He’ll be a senior at his LAC this year, and will be applying to grad school next year. We asked where he was interested in going and his answer was “Mostly the Public Ivies – Wisconsin, Michigan, Toronto…” So it’s even possible we’ll have two Badgers next year.</p>
<p>In fact, our only disappointment of the day was that our older son didn’t find a “Dags” shirt. (The Wisconsin Hodags are the University’s multiple national title winning Ultimate team, My son plays for his small college team.)</p>
<p>Good luck to all the kids (and their parents) starting college this year, wherever they’re going.</p>
<p>Try this:</p>
<p>Link for Hodag merchandise - </p>
<p>[Wisconsin</a> Hodags - Merchandise](<a href=“http://www.hodags.org/docs/merchandise.html]Wisconsin”>http://www.hodags.org/docs/merchandise.html)</p>
<p>Dropped our daughter off at Witte on Friday as well. I agree. Everything went much more smoothly than we expected. There was some time spent waiting for the elevator - which can’t be helped - but nothing too bad (except for some parents sneaking into the elevator line from a side door). There were lots of Badger Buddies pointing students and parents in the right direction. We could have used more help on the floors lofting the beds (no one in sight while we were there) but we figured it out and then helped others. </p>
<p>The kids sure have a lot of time to figure out the campus and get comfortable with classes not starting until Thursday. I’m sure they’re enjoying their non-air conditioned rooms with the current heat and humidity. </p>
<p>It was interesting to see the variations of dorm furnishings/decor. One room looked like they had an interior decorator come in - everything new, everything matching, everything fitting perfectly. And the size of some of the TV’s. Wow.</p>
<p>I worked the resource fair last evening on Library Mall. Because Union South has been taken down (and is now being rebuilt) there was no place to hold the fairs associated with SOAR. So they just had the one. It was hot and humid. </p>
<p>And if you are wondering when the freshman 15 starts; it started last night. Target, as part of some promotion they’re doing, was giving away boxes of M and Ms. Not individual packages, but boxes of the stuff.</p>
<p>Saturday I experienced–albeit transferred down a generation–the sophomore parental 15. Before dropping D off for a few weeks, we did the Dane County Farmers’ Market (Stella’s hot cheese bread!) with a strategic stop at The Old Fashioned to try out some fresh ale from New Glarus Brewing, and a brat & Bell’s Oberon lunch on the Union Terrace, which was pretty much heaven on a picture-perfect day. Tried walking it off by hoofing it to Picnic Point & back, but I think I needed to do it four or five more times. </p>
<p>FYI…no…D doesn’t partake at all–she’s a teetotaler with a great bunch of friends just like her.</p>
<p>Yes, we too managed to get a head start on the parental freshman 15. Breakfast at Mickey’s Dairy Bar, lunch at State Street Brats (along with a beer or two) and dinner at The Old Fashioned. I have to admit that Wisconsin has some phenomenal beers!</p>
<p>Then, on to Chicago. Dinners at Il Mulino and Gibson’s. So many calories, so little time.</p>
<p>We dropped off D at Sellery Friday, and can I say I was amazed how clean everything was? She’ll fix that of course. It was great, and we have not been able to catch her but for 2 minutes here and there, she’s having a blast. Free ice cream tonight we were told. So, as I guess she has already had 2 gallons of the stuff. I love the school wide book they picked to read and have them today, an amazing choice. She’s happy but so are we, even driving 16 hours to get there.</p>