Day 1: Notre Dame & Chicago

On my way out to Chicago, I decided to make a stop at Notre Dame.

One of the first things I saw was this lovely banner on Morrissey. I have a feeling that Dave and Mike will have some comments on that one.


This is the stained glass window closest to the Grotto - across from the old parish center. I'm not sure if this is a planned renovation, or if it's related to all the wind damage.


Speaking of wind damage, I walked around to the front of the Basilica, expecting to see rubble from the damaged spire. Wow, that fixed that pretty quickly.


This is the new statue behind Colman-Morse. I call it "Fake Field Goal Holy Family." The snap is back to Joseph. The Virgin Mother approaches for the kick and... OOOH IT'S A FAKE! Joseph tosses the Holy Child to Mary and she's off to the races!




I started wandering around campus looking for an open wireless network. As I rounded a corner, I glanced at these two people but kept on walking. Fortunately, they recognized me - it was Pete and Sarah, in town for Emmett O'Leary and Kathleen Eich's wedding. So I decided to wander around with them a little bit.

Pete wanted to make a stop in Keenan, and we visited the chapel for a second. My Grandma's Byzantine, so I knew she'd appreciate this painting.


Now that Pete knew I had a new digital camera, he decided to start taking pictures of Sarah and me in front of various monuments. We approached First Down Moses, and Pete and Sarah started talking about the various things that students had placed on Moses' hand and/or head over the year. In this picture, I tried to demonstrate to Sarah how such a trick was performed; she was not impressed.


Pete insisted on the traditional Touchdown Jesus shot. Funny, for all the years that I've walked by the Word of Life mosaic with my hands in the air, I've never actually taken too many pictures in front of it.


I guess the three of us were being artsy with this one. I guess.


After the last picture, Pete graciously Klondikized my camera.


After the three of us left Notre Dame (Pete took Sarah to the airport before returning to his new home), I headed out to meet Yonto and Jess in Chicago. We went to this little pizza place near Jess' apartment to watch the Cavs game. They had root beer on tap, see?


This shot is a "before" picture of two Cavs fans.


I'll be in Chicago til Wednesday morning. I'm hoping to round up everyone in the area for a bone dinner one night. On the off chance that someone in the area is reading this, how does Monday night at 8 sound?

EDITED While at ND, we briefly met up with Pete's sister. That led to this classic exchange:
PETE: Laura, this is John. Otherwise known as Kanka.
LAURA: Hi.
KANKA: Nice to meet you.
PETE: And that's probably the last time you'll hear anyone call him "John." Kind of like "Jim Moran."
SARAH: [honestly confused] Jim Moran? [pause] Oh, Klondike!