Ricardo takes us to his glory days

We like to start our kids in training early. Ricardo shows Max the ropes.

I might have mentioned my glory days a few times. Ricardo and I had very different college experiences. For instance, he majored in economics, because that was the easiest way to graduate. Really? I thought it was journalism, or psychology, or communications. But okay, economics, really?

I went to a school of about 7,000 - Division 2.
Ricardo attended a school of about 70,000 - Division 1.

I was a mediocre volleyball player. And I'm not self-deprecating, I really sucked the first 2 years, and then rocked it out the last two years. That averages out to mediocre, at best. That's my statistics class working for me.

Ricardo was a -SECOND IN THE NATION, Four-Time All-American top-notch, bad ass mutha trucka - high jumper.

The only foresight I had when making the decision of which college to attend is that I knew I wanted to go to a fairly small school. This was validated to me by my Dad. When he drove me to college, we got to the corner, at the light, I pointed to the campus and said, "Well, there it is, what do you think?"

Seeing as how he could pan the entire campus at a stop light, he simply looked around and said,"That's it? What the hell were you thinking?"

By the end of it, he'd met the Admissions lady, who assured him that she would take very good care of his baby. And he believed her. Every time I had any problem, he always would say, "Call that Lila Vars lady, she promised she'd help." And Lila always did.

This weekend, we took the most relaxing, fun, and carefree family vacation to Minneapolis, MN. It's been almost 15 years since Ricardo graced the sidewalks of this campus. The first day we were there, we entertained the kids with the Light Rail system to the Mall of America. All the kids really wanted to do though, was get back to the hotel to swim. I don't know what it is about a damned hotel pool, but it's all they want. So, we promised them a dip in the pool, after we took care of of the touristy things at Mall of America: Nickelodeon on Crack & Coasters, The Rain Forest Cafe, and LegoLand. Apparently our kids are really sheltered. Thank God no one was around at the pool to hear Max say, "Thanks mom and dad for letting us out of the room to swim so late at night!" It was 7:15p.m.

The next day, we got our walking shoes on and headed to campus. Ricardo wanted to look around, but mostly, see the track and eat at Big Ten Subs. What can I say, the man loves his sub-sandwiches.

I cannot believe how gianormous this campus is. You have to cross the MISSISSIPPI RIVER to get from your Biology class to your Modern Art class. There are BIKE ROUTES and PEDESTRIAN ROUTES all over the place. It is absolutely incredible. I walked around in awe, mostly because of how big it was, but also at how beautiful it was. The leaves are changing colors. And the buildings were just beautiful. Some old and classic, others brand new and modern. And somehow it all works together.

There's some wreckage from the bridge that collapsed last year. The new bridge is up and running.But the wreckage is an eerie reminder as you're walking back on the walkway over the Mississippi.

The Track That Ricardo Rocked - and a mere fraction of the campus in the background, it merges into downtown. If you look closely, you can see Ricardo showing Max who the reigning champ is...beating a 6-year-old. That's hot.

It was fun to show the kids where Daddy went to college. They got a kick out of seeing the track that he practiced and competed on.

I'm guessing, with this project to show the kids our alma maters, we might have started with my school, then progressed to Ricardo's. Because I'm afraid the kids will be a bit let down, and when we pull up to the campus, at the light, they'll say, "What the hell were you thinking?" Which will be awkward coming from a 6 year-old and all...

That's how I roll.