<p>Okay, I started at the Shepherd School of Music (since that's where the big parking lot is) and walked around campus and back there for my viola lesson. My picture taking abilities aren't the greatest, but my camera mostly makes up for that. It was about 75 degrees outside and a big breezy; not very many people were outside, but it was Easter weekend, so that may be part of it. There were lots of squirrels, hence the pictures of them. I like squirrels, but apparently some of them bite...</p>
<p>Yay, good pics. You got to a lot of the colleges, which is cool, and to some weird engineering buildings.</p>
<p>Those photos are beautiful.</p>
<p>I will be at Rice this Friday, so I will try to take and post some pictures on my webserver.</p>
<p>Yes, beautiful, but where is everyone?? My s mentioned something about "Willie week". (Actually, I read it on his "away" message) Jen, what is that????</p>
<p>Willy Week is the week leading up to beer bike. There are loads of campus events going on this week, including a picnic, easter egg hunt, alumni events, parties, and a campus wide water balloon fight. On saturday is Beer bike, which is a bike/chug relay race. (Students drink water, alums drink beer).</p>
<p>Probably a lot of people were inside working/sleeping on a Saturday. Some people did go home for easter. There will be A LOT of people hanging out on friday though.</p>
<p>Ahhh, thanks Jen. Sounds like "busy" week. No wonder s. was not happy that he has a mech eng. exam this week. S. has been "training" for beer bike. And I mean exercising, not drinking! He actually had a minor injury skiing during spring break, and was concerned about it's possible effect on his biking stamina. Gee, this reminds me of what my uncle said to me when I went to college.. He said "don't let your classes interfere with yor college education!"</p>
<p>Enjoy the week!</p>
<p>Thanks. :) Easy to take pretty pictures on a pretty campus.
So I take it that's why I saw a bunch of people riding bikes in circles behind the stadium?</p>
<p>Krazy, thanks for giving us the link to the pictures. It's good to see what my son sees every day. In fact, I believe a few of the pics were of Will Rice College where he lives...and you just missed taking a shot of his windows. Do you remember seeing a sign for "Red Sox Parking?"</p>
<p>We just got off the phone with him...he's going to miss Beer Bike as he's working at a track meet that day. He did say something about helping to hide easter eggs today. Since he has two exams this week, he wasn't sure how much of Willy Week he'd be able to participate in. Jen, don't the professors realize that this is a big week and not to schedule exams?</p>
<p>I don't remember that, just the "children crossing" sign near one of the dorms. There was a trampoline around the corner that you can't see in the picture. I took the Kerry pic b/c everyone was trying to decide how conservative Rice is :)</p>
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I took the Kerry pic b/c everyone was trying to decide how conservative Rice is
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<p>How circumspect of you:D</p>
<p>Krazy-
I just chatted with my s. He was probably one of the kids riding bikes on the track behind the stadium Saturday! His college hasn't done so well in the competition in past years, and they are trying to reverse that trend.
Looks like you got a lot of shots of the south colleges. Did you get to see the north colleges too?? Very different architecture, as they are relatively new.</p>
<p>I'm not really sure, see, I have a Rice map from a math competition I went to there, but I took it out of my car and didn't have it. I think I may have missed whatever is towards one side of campus... I didn't really have a plan. One of the dorms (the one with the children at play sign) did look pretty new, though.</p>
<p>jym626 - No matter what the Masters said, that lovely weather during freshman move-in last August was freakish. I remember talking to my D (a native Texan) by phone a few days later, and I asked her what her room-mates thought now that they were experiencing the real August weather. She said, "Yeah, it's pretty sad. They're just lying there." It can be a shock to people from cold climates, but things start to cool down in September, and in the spring you're heading home before summer heat really sets in. Mild weather in November-March more than makes up for it!</p>
<p>The weather in Houston is unpredictable at best, and schizophrenic at worst. I'm a student at Rice, and during 2003 I worked and lived here over the summer, so I only ever spent 6 weeks away from Houston the whole year. In the summer and fall it is hot and HUMID. It also rains every day at noon from June to August. When people talk about the crummy weather, they generally mean the rain. My O-week it was above 100 degrees for the entire week, but halfway through September, the monsoons hit. It rained, for a month. Houston is pretty flat, so the campus turns into a giant puddle at times. Bring boots. Fortunately, that Texas clay soaks it up and when the rain does stop it drys out pretty fast. So fall is the wet and warm season. Winters can become cold, but are gnerally cool and wet. This is an important packing consideration because I come from CT and no one told me that it gets cold in Texas, so I didn't bring a coat. Now, to look at the Texans, you'd think it was Siberia in November, but that is because when it drops below 65 degrees the southern folk tend to break out the hats, scarves, and gloves. No joke, at a powderpuff game when I was wearing a thin jacket and the kid from Seattle was wearing a sweatshirt, the kid from SoCal was wearing three layers and was wrapped in a giant blanket. The temp could not have been below 55. The weather will change drastically ( I once went into class and it was 80 degrees, when I came out 90 minutes later it was 55), but it always evens out to a pleasant temperature, until you get into April when it gets real hot. All in all, it gets wet, but we deal (during a freakish few hours of downpour there was so much water above the ground that the inner loop turned into a moat and students went out and were swimming in the ditches near the athletic fields. I, of course, had class, and had to carry dry clothes in my backpack, wear shorts, and wade across campus). I would rather have those few freakish moments and know that eventually it is going to be sunny and warm again than sit through four months of winter.</p>
<p>Nope. This Willy Week I have four exams. It's a pain, but scheduling an exam BEFORE Beern bike is not as great a sin as scheduling one on the Monday AFTER Beer Bike. :)</p>
<p>Weather = Nice spring, extremely hot summer (but AC fixes all that), hurricane season (the bad part), and THE BEST WINTER WEATHER EVER. I think Houston winters make up for all bad weather we ever have, because honestly, there are just those perfect PERFECT days when you can't even decide if it's warm or cool cuz it's sunny with a light breeze and all. I grew up playing on Rice campus, and it really is pretty =D Lots of squirrels!</p>
<p>Best part is the way the trees are so big that the branches overlap so the streets around Rice are nice, cool, and shady =) Very picturesque, it doesn't feel "Houston" at all.</p>