Parent's Weekend at Syracuse University

Jim Jonson, Ashley Jonson, and Sue Jonson

The last weekend in September was Parents Weekend at Syracuse University, so Sue and I flew back to spent the weekend with our daughter, Ashley. After missing Parents Weekend for the first three years of college, we finally made it back for Ashley's senior year.

The weekend was packed with activities. Along with the tour of the campus and the city, Ashley took us to some of the local eateries including Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, which was recently featured on the Travel Channel show "Man Versus Food". The food was great and there was lots of it. Ashley also drove us up to Skaneateles in the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York. About 30 minutes out of Syracuse, it was a beautiful (and very hot) day and it was a great way to spend our second day in town. But the best part was just spending the day with Ashley.

Saturday was filled with more activities including a pre-game pep rally on the campus, and then we had front row seats in the Carrier Dome to watch Syracuse beat Colgate, one of their arch rivals, by a score of 42-7. Immediately following the game, we had to change and drive to a private dinner hosted by Ashley's sorority Gamma Phi Beta. We had a wonderful dinner, had a chance to meet several of her "sisters" and their parents. Gamma Phi was founded in Syracuse in 1874.

Finally Sunday arrived and it was time to fly home. Travel is an all day process since you cannot get a direct flight between Seattle and Syracuse. After traveling back and forth several times a year for the past three years, I don't know how Ashley does it. She has become a seasoned traveler after flying cross country for thousands of air miles. Maybe she has enough to send her home "first class" after graduation in May 2011. That day will come before we know it and then we will make our next trip to Syracuse for Graduation Weekend.

By Jim Jonson