Our trip started early at a new (to us) airport called Williams Gateway, in Mesa. It was quick to drive to, had no traffic, and there were no problems parking. The best part is they fly direct to Eugene, Oregon, and the flight is only 2 hours and 4 minutes!
Here we are in the Eugene Airport, and Sienna is happy to see her first duck!
We got a taxi to the Best Western Greentree Inn, located right across the street from the building we were to report to for our campus tour.
It's kind of hard to see, but the hotel is located right behind this local and popular pizza joint.
After checking in (thankfully our room was ready at 9:30 in the morning), we dropped our stuff off, rested a bit, and then headed to campus for our tour.
Along the way we saw this cool mirrored building with a water feature.
It ended up being a special building just for athletes. Dang.
Then we hit the Ford Alumni Center, where we sat and listened to an admissions counselor give a 25 minute presentation.
Sienna was excited about it!
Next to the Ford building is the basketball arena.
After that, we were off for our tour.
Cool bike rack. You know - O for Oregon!
This is our tour guide - Francis. We saw him later at the game with no shirt on and his chest painted green. He was the D in the boys who spelled out DUCKS.
The following are a series of pics around campus:
Pretty buildings and yes, lots of trees. Apparently before they were the ducks their mascot was the Tall Firs.
This brick building was apparently where several scenes from Animal House were filmed.
Sienna is digging the trees and the fresh air.
So am I!
The O is everywhere!
The duck is everywhere too!
Here is a gorgeous turf field for soccer.
And behind the turf field, the famous Hayward Field, home of many national track meets.
Our tour also took us through one of the residence halls, so Sienna got to see a dorm room, bathroom, common room, and dining hall. All the residential halls are very close to the buildings on campus, so getting to classes will take no time at all.
This Duck Store was busy all day. Students and fans galore buying gear for the first home game!
More tall firs and one weird girl!
Signs we are in the right place!
Whew! That was a long, yet informative tour. We walked a ton! We were happy to be back to the hotel for a rest before my Aunt Eleanor and cousin Laura came for a visit.
They live in Albany, Oregon, about 45 minutes away. We had a lovely dinner at a brew pub next to campus, and Laura who works at Costco, bought us these awesome Oregon sweatshirts as a gift.
Perfect for the chilly weather! It was a great day! Two more to go!
