To give you a little insight into my youth, I am a product of a Catholic School education. My grade school years were spent at St. Matthews School in San Mateo, CA. While I am no longer a practicing Catholic (I refer to myself as a recovering Catholic), much of what I learned at St. Matthews is still ingrained in me. One such lesson I learned early and often was that there was no finer educational institution than the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. I was taught that I could have no better higher education goal than to go there for college degrees. Needless to say, I didn’t make it.
A couple of weeks ago, I just happened to be in Indiana to attend a certain race on Memorial Day in Indianapolis. When I planned the trip a few months ago, I decided to go early so I could finally see for myself this legendary bastion of college education and collegiate sports. It was, in a sense, a pilgrimage that started all those years ago.
So, two days before the Indianapolis 500, my friend Dave and I headed north out of Indianapolis for the 2.5 hour drive to South Bend. We drove through some beautiful farm country…fields filed with crops separated with what I refer to a mini-forests…lots and lots of trees. It was a beautiful drive.
With only part of a day to spend in South Bend, we covered the highlights of the Notre Dame campus…the football stadium and practice fields; “Touchdown Jesus”: the huge religious mural on the Notre Dame Library; the library itself; The Golden Dome; the Notre Dame Basilica; the Grotto; and, of course, the bookstore to pick up some Notre Dame t-shirts. We also ate lunch at The Legends restaurant, next to the football stadium. You can guess about the décor in that place. It was all exciting and great fun to see.
As you may have heard, football is huge at Notre Dame. We could not get close to the stadium as it is undergoing major renovations. I look forward to seeing the final product on TV when college football gets underway in September. And, right across from the stadium is Touchdown Jesus. More about that in another edition.
If I had to name one thing that impressed me about the campus, it was the campus itself. There are far more open spaces than buildings. It is like one big park, beautifully landscaped with huge trees, bushes, flowers, and long meandering walkways…and some beautiful, mostly old buildings here and there. Walking from building to building is a great experience. It is peaceful there, just as a college campus should be. While most western college and university facilities are crammed together (Stanford being an exception), Notre Dame is wide open beautiful parkland. I envy those folks who got their education here.
The photo here is of the Golden Dome, a campus landmark that sits on top of the administration building. If you ever visit Notre Dame, be sure and go into that building and stand under the dome. That is a special site all its own. I will share that with you in another edition as I will share some images from other amazing campus sites. Hint: walk into the Basilica and be transported back in time to a magnificent European Baroque cathedral. WOW!
Of course, the large campus bookstore is the place to go for great Notre Dame memorabilia at surprising reasonable prices. And if you are a sports fan, be sure and have a meal at The Legends restaurant. Just be sure to bring proper walking shoes because it is a big, big, beautiful place.
Yet another item checked off the bucket list.
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