Hark Upon the Gale (William & Mary, Part I)

Two weeks ago I headed down to Williamsburg, Virginia for an extended weekend to watch my best friend Dana graduate from the College of William & Mary.  This was exciting for many reasons - a long weekend away with my best friend, the fact that she was graduating with her masters (and has an awesome job, woot woot), gorgeous weather and beautiful Virginia but even more so is the fact that I graduated from W&M and was determined to go back and enjoy the campus and the area as much as possible. This trip might as well have been called - Abby's Nostalgia Tour - because that's pretty much what it was! 

 

I have always felt like I never truely appreciated W&M and the area while I was there. When you are a student there you often scoff at the tourists and (in my opinion) don't fully appreciation of where you are and how historic the area truely is. During my four years there I was completely focused on track & field and often times I wonder how my college experience (and post college life) would have been different if I had focused more on school (not just academics but also social life, extra-curriculars, etc...) and less on athletics - but that is neither here nor there. This was also my first visit back where I found myself really embracing my alma matre; I wanted to walk around campus and Colonial Williamsburg, take pictures and remember what it was like when I was there (hello nostalgia!).

 

I was there Friday - Monday, however the majority of the bookended days were spent on the train (12 hours each way), so I ended up having 2 full days in Williamsburg. Each mornings I got up early, took Dana's car and headed down to campus/Colonial Williamsburg to go for a run. The first day I ran 'Old Campus' and Colonial Williamsburg and the second day I ran 'New Campus'. Both mornings were rainy and one of my runs had to be cut short because of a downpour but overall I had a great time running and snapping pictures!

 

So here we go - Abby's tour of William & Mary!

We start off with the dorm I lived in senior year - I had a single and the building had a prime location!

 

'Old Dominon Hall' also referred to as 'OD'.

 

The Tyler Family Gardens!  President John Tyler attended W&M (as did Presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe - we have some pretty famous alumni), his father was president of the College of William & Mary and his son was the Governor of Virginia!

 

This picture may seem a bit odd but it is really cool!  In this picture I am facing the Tyler statues (see above).  If you stand at the exact intersection of the + everything echoes!  It's something about the way the garden was designed.

 

Class of 2009 - my class' stone on the walkway.  '09 - so fine!

 

The Wren Building.  The oldest academic building still in use in the United States.  Thomas Jefferson took classes there and so did I!  It is such a beautiful building and many events at W&M take place surrounding it.  When you first begin at W&M (convocation) you walk through building and right before you graduate you walk through the opposite way.  A pretty awesome tradition!

 

Standing on the steps of the Wren Building looking down toward Colonial Williamsburg.

 

Wren Building and statue!

 

Entering the campus from Colonial Williamsburg.

'College of William & Mary in Virginia - February 8th 1693'

 

'Hey TJ!'  Statue of Thomas Jefferson on Duck of Gloucester (DOG) Street.  Always a good statue to take pictures with!

 

Old armory in Colonial Williamsburg.

 

'The Capitol'.  This building was the capitol of Virginia until it was relocated to Richmond.

 

Richmond Road is one of the main roads in Williamsburg that runs along side campus - you can see the Wren Building in the backgound.

 

Oh the memories - Tribe Throwers!

 

Throwing circles - so much of my college life was spent on this field!

 

Discus circle (front) and hammer circle (back).

 

My freshmen dorm!  I lived in Nicholson in the Botetourt Complex.

 

Swem Library and the sun dial in the middle of 'New Campus'.

 

The bridge over the Crim Dell.  This is one of the crown jewels of campus!  On graduation day after you have walked through the Wren Building you also cross over the Crim Dell bridge.  Many graudtes get engaged on this bridge and it is rumored that if you walk across the bridge with your signifcant other you are destined to be married.

 

William & Mary Intercollegiate Athletics!  Go Tirbe!

 

So those were some of the highlights of campus!  I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed running through campus and colonial Williamsburg every morning.  Next up will be all about the actual graduation and graduation festivities!