Campus Visit #1

Paul and I flew to Portland, Oregon, and then drove down to Eugene to visit the U. of Oregon so Paul could audition for a graduate fellowship in jazz studies there. Eugene seems like a lively town, lots to do, and certainly one of the great places in the country for outdoor recreation. One hour to the east is some prime skiing, one hour to the west is the ocean. The town is also known for cycling - bike paths and dedicated bike lanes are everywhere, and the sport of jogging in the U.S. was basically invented there - the Oregon track coach who coached Frank Shorter and Steve Prefontaine there started Nike.

On Friday, while Paul went to the music building to practice, I went exploring. First I took a drive just east of campus up this small mountain. I drove by Pre's rock on the way down - where Steve Prefontaine was killed in a car wreck.

Next I wandered around the campus. Here's a pic of the track and stadium around the track.

More campus.


This picture is of Pioneer Cemetery, which is right next to the music building.


We had to take some pictures of all the "Animal House" sites that still exist (the campus served as Faber College in the movie). If you're a fan of the movie, you will recognize, in order, Paul standing outside of Dean Wormer's building, the fraternity house used by the bad guys (Niedermeyer et al), and Mandy Pepperidge's sorority house (site of Bluto peeping at the pillow fight).



Paul had his audition on Saturday morning, after which we had plenty of time to sightsee. We drove to the coast to take some pictures as neither of us had seen the Pacific ocean. The drive was a really nice hour long trip through mountains and woods.

About 10 miles up the coast on the coastal highway, we found a cool beach and a lighthouse to hike to that allowed for some great pics.


After visiting the lighthouse, we parked and waited for the sunset, then headed back to Eugene to get ready for a full day of travel on Sunday.

Now we just have to wait to see if he gets a fellowship job offered to him. In the meantime, we head to the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, N.Y. in two weeks for visit #2.