WHAT DID YOU DO LAST SUMMER?

The Current took a random sample from around UB, asking the simple question, “What did you do with your summer?” Here are a few of the more interesting responses:

Ann Cotten, director of the Schaefer Center for Public Policy: “Hoping to get away from the heat of July in Maryland, my family and I traveled to Estes Park, Colo. Upon our arrival we were greeted by a record breaking heat wave. But it is true what they say–dry heat is not so bad. In the mountains, the heat was accompanied by a constant breeze which made us very comfortable during several days of horseback riding, hiking and sightseeing. We tried new foods, including buffalo and elk. One of our favorite memories was watching the rodeo with the sun setting in the surrounding mountains.

“Our next stop was Colorado Springs. Here we hiked through the Garden of the Gods, visited the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, drove up Pike’s Peak and toured the U.S. Olympic Training Facility. The highlight of our visit to Colorado Springs was a chuck wagon dinner at the Flying W Ranch. The dinner was set in an authentic western town, where hearty food was served during an outdoor stage show by the Flying W Wranglers.”

Jean Devito, sales and marketing manager in Auxiliary Services, went to St. Simon’s Island, Ga. “I visited friends, played a little golf, got some sun. We ate in some really cool restaurants and did some shopping. It’s a beautiful area, about 45 miles northeast of Jacksonville, Fla. It’s connected to the mainland by bridge. We also toured the Cloisters, a famous resort on Sea Island.”

Karen Drake, vice president of Human Resources, journeyed to Norway, Sweden and Finland. “I took the trip that had been in the planning stages for 25 years. Upon graduating from college, another friend and I made a commitment to visit our college roommate who decided to marry her foreign-born sweetheart and move to Finland. The scenery was breathtakingly beautiful in the Norwegian Fjords, with the hills rising above the narrow passages of crystal blue water. The old walled city inside Stockholm was full of brightly painted buildings, quaint indoor/outdoor cafes and, of course, great shops. Our final destination was Finland, where we relaxed in our friend’s home just outside of Helsinki. But the pinnacle of the adventure was our journey to Lapland on the Santa Claus Express. It was a trip well worth the wait.”

Peggy Potthast, associate dean in the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts: “We toured the Grant Teton National Park and Yellowstone National Park in northwester Wyoming and Mt. Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota.”

Larry Thomas, dean of the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts: “We toured Canada and visited Niagra Falls. It was impressive. This was in July, so we escaped a lot of the heat in Baltimore.”