Lucas's birthday visit at Middlebury

The Beers and Harris-Brauns visited Lucas at Middlebury College on Sunday to celebrate his 19th birthday. We had an easy drive there and a nice tour of campus, and we took Lucas out to dinner before we headed back.

Lucas near his dorm.

We brought a birthday lamb-cake kit! Lucas found us a nice picnic table at which to do the decorating and eating. Hmm, it was kind of out of the way of everything....a private spot.

It was a very brightly decorated little lamb in the end.

After we lit candles, sang, and ate a piece each, we left Lucas with the rest of the cake, plus plates, napkins, and even a bag to keep it from getting stale, in the unlikely event that there was any left by bedtime.

He opened his presents which seemed like good ones, especially the new fleece and the sun light.

Before the cake we walked around the campus. (Will unicycled.) Here are Will and Carolyn going toward the art center with a cool sapling sculpture on the right.

There is a lot of stone at Middlebury. This is a fountain thing in the old library.

A little touch of home--a kinetic sculpture by George Rickey, made just up Route 9 from QIV-C in New Lebanon, NY.

Lucas and Jesse in the Middlebury greenhouse, which is high up in the fancy science building.

A study area in the science building--but who could study with that view? Carolyn is trying out the college lifestyle in the leftmost easy chair.

Eric noticed the opulence and luxury of the campus buildings; Ellen noticed all the stonework including a WHOLE BIG BUILDING faced with her favorite stone, American Granite; Will noticed many unicycling paths; Jesse noticed lots of opportunities for riding on Lucas; Sandy and I noticed that we ran into lots of Lucas's friends, most of whom started last February, as he did; and Carolyn noticed that it was definitely time to go out to dinner.