Hogwarts on the Lake - Toot Sweet 4 Two

Today is October 1st and to welcome the start of the holiday season, I thought I’d create a creepy photo. It’s a combination of textures, overlays and text from PicMonkey under the “Vampire” theme:

tree branches from the “Night Frights” under “Textures”
a moon from “Moons” under “Overlays”
a bat from “Bats” under “Overlays”
plus “Jellyka Delicious Cake” from “Text” for the word “Hogwarts”
and “Eater” from “Text” for the words “on the Lake”
Then, the words are rotated to follow the roof line

Spooky, huh?

This Tudor-inspired building lives at a college in upstate New York, which I christened (with Ryan’s help) Hogwarts on the Lake to protect its identity {grin}. I toured this beautiful college campus, ripe with Georgian, Jacobean, Gothic, Victorian, Greek Revival, Tudor and Modern architecture with my niece and nephew, Bizzy and Ryan, on my recent visit to New York.

Here they are outside a modern cottage-style dorm room overlooking a pond. As frequently happens, when you finally download photos of a trip, you realize you didn’t take enough! This was the best photo of the two of them (slightly out-of-focus) and I was kicking myself that I didn’t take more. We were too distracted having fun!

And, I suppose, if I have to choose, I would rather have memories of a wonderful day with people I love than fantastic photos of family posing endlessly so that I can get that one great shot. Live in the moment, right?

Anyway, I applied one of PicMonkey’s “Effects” and voila’ – a cool, fun photo! This effect is called “Gritty”. I also changed the name on Ryan’s T-shirt to “Hogwarts”.

Enough about PicMonkey and on to the story…

Ryan and his older sister, Erin, both already attend college. In fact, they attend this college that we toured. Bizzy, a high school junior, is weighing her options. You see, this college, the one Erin and Ryan attend, is sorta a “family tradition” in that many members of their family have attended it in the past. Plus, the added bonus is that it is relatively near their home, making visits home easier.

Ryan, a summer camp counselor, had a day off so he wanted to take me there to see his home away from home. Plus, he wanted to give Bizzy an in-depth private tour to sway her decision. Since I haven’t toured any college for about 40 years, I thought there was no better time, or opportunity, than with my nephew as tour guide and my niece as a potential college recruit.

So, on an overcast but muggy summer day, we hit the road.

With a small yet sprawling campus, literally on a lake, Hogwarts on the Lake’s gentle rolling hills and grassy knolls, littered with massive trees, instantly instill a quiet peace over the visitor. Since we visited in the summer, undoubtedly it transforms to a bustling campus during the semesters. But, I enjoyed the uninterrupted peace, only tempered by the din of the restless wind from the lake beyond.

Founded in the late 1700’s, Hogwarts on the Lake is a small liberal arts college with active athletic and music departments.

The hallowed halls of these building hum with the presence of past students and faculty and the gloomy, overcast skies further reinforce the Gothic overtones of the campus.

One of the iconic buildings on The Quad…

What do you think this sculpture of a pair of scissors represents? Cutting the apron strings?

Bizzy and Ryan pose for me in front of the Chapel’s doors.

Ivy-covered Gothic chapel window – does this mean this school is “Ivy League” {grin}?

These park benches line the sidewalk and face the lake.

And, mansions and farms share the lakeshore landscape on the opposite side.

The wind, gusting so hard that it literally knocked you sideways as you walked along the shore, was perfect for dare-devil para-sailors and para-surfers.

Charlie records movies for us to watch. I don’t really pay attention to the available choices, because with limited time, I prefer working on my blog! So, I let him run with it.

Anyway, when I got home from New York, he’d recorded a few movies. The other day, he selected one called “At Middleton” starring Andy Garcia and Vera Farmiga. Classified a “romantic comedy”, this improbable movie, which takes place in the span of one day, is about two married (to others) middle-aged parents, who fall in love while touring a college campus with their respective children.

Quirky and light-hearted with subtle dramatic undertones, one quote struck a chord with me, even though I’m not a parent. In this scene, Vera’s character stops a tour group leader and asks for directions because she has gotten turned around and separated from the others. One of the parents in the tour group gives her a hard time for interrupting their tour and she blurts out shouting in angst, “here’s all you need to know about the Middleton experience…it doesn’t include you.”

Empty nesters everywhere sucked in a deep, agonizing breath at this eternal truth…

Tootles,

(other posts about New York)

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