Nomad Life - Day 162

My first day in the Eastern Time Zone required an alarm clock to wake me up at 0600.  After getting out of bed, I drowsily started teleworking immediately.  I took one break for breakfast in the lobby of the Baymont (South Bend) at 0730 and then returned to work.  Without further interruptions, I worked until noon and made lunch in my room.  After my meal. I did some reading until 1300 before resuming my work day.  I finished up my hours by the end of my last meeting (1600).  After that, I left the hotel and drove a short distance (south on US-31 Business) to the west end of the Notre Dame Campus.  In the Dorr Parking Lot I had trouble driving around the mostly-unplowed lot but eventually found an open spot (no charge after 1600).  Starting at 1615, I started walking around familiar haunts of the campus; even though I'd been here last Spring, there were still several things I'd neglected to do and see.  First, I walked completely around St. Mary's Lake (it was hard going because of the roughly 8 inches of snow on the ground), visited the Grotto (saw students praying there) and went inside (for the first time), Remick Family Hall, which I learned was a post-graduate teacher college.  Next, I looked around inside the Main Building.  As I had in May, I visited the Hall of Honor Wall.  This time, I noticed some new plaques (posted there in memory of some of my professors); before departing, I sent a photo of Dr. Craig's plaque to Eileen. Exiting the Main Building on the south end, I headed over to La Fortune Student Center (closed last Spring) and found some familiar things (barber shop, flower shop, bank, etc.).  There were also some improvements: they had a nice display of all the editions of "The Shirt", a wonderful Game Room, a Multicultural area, etc.  The best part, though, was that there were lots of students in the building - it reminded me of my time on Campus.  Departing the "Union", I explored the area near the Hesburgh Library (found Robert Moran Engineering Chair etching) and the Jordan Science Hall (returned to Dominic's family bench in front and sent him a photo).  While looking for the Loftus Sports Center, I found myself inside (only because someone let me in when they were exiting) the Guglielmino Athletics Complex.  In the lobby, I found the 1988 National Championship Trophy, Heisman Trophies for all of ND's winners and a huge statue of the Four Horsemen.  Just as I was finished marveling, some nice people started shooing me out...  Continuing to the north and west, I found new parking lots, watched the Army ROTC students wrapping up their classes and then made my way to the southeast corner of Grace Hall.  On the way, I got to see the (lit!) "#1" sign on the roof and then took a look at my dorm room window from sophomore year (1988-1989).  High above that room (way up on the 11th floor), I could see my dorm room from freshman year dorm (1987-1988). From there, I made a full loop around St. Joseph Lake and was impressed by the huge number of birds I saw on the (unfrozen) surface of the water.  I even met some birders (Engineering students but also volunteers with eBird).  I stayed for a while with them, watching the activity through some wonderfully capable "long scopes".  At one point, every bird lifted off the lake and covered the sky with their wings.  As the sun finished setting, I got some more nostalgic sights (e.g., Golden Dome lit up) and sounds (chimes ringing in Sacred Heart).  I was done with my walk at 1900 and departed (by car) from the Dorr Road Lot.  At that point, I started looking for a place to get some dinner.  Driving north on Business US-31 until passing the Indiana Toll Road, I found myself on IN-923 and experienced lots more Deja Vu with several old businesses in that area.  I ended up traveling into Michigan (road became MI-51) and briefly considered stopping for dinner at a restaurant I found in Niles (near the junction with US-12).  In the end, though, I wasn't "feeling it", so I backtracked to my hotel again.  After arriving at 1930, I ate "dinner" (snacks) in my room and then spent the rest of the evening reading and watching movies.  Bedtime was at 2215.  Happy I took the trip down memory lane today!