Penn Alumni Weekend

We had another action-packed Saturday. After Luke's nap, we went, for the first time this season, to Smith Memorial Playground, which has been in existence since 1899. The playground and playhouse were built as a memorial to Stanfield Smith, son of Richard and Sarah Smith, who sought to create a safe place where children from the city could come to play, free of charge.

We went down the huge, all-wooden slide about 10 times -- Bryn by herself this year and Luke on my lap. In the photo below, Bryn and Luke are racing up the long walkway to the top of the slide, which is ridden atop a burlap sack. The playground closes at 4, and we left at quarter 'til to go to Penn for Ken's 15th reunion. At our first stop at the registration table, we were issued name tags. Bryn's cleverly read, "Bryn Rowles, Class of ?". Though a picnic was offered earlier in the afternoon, we limited our time on campus to an event in Houston Hall -- where our wedding reception was -- for kids. The highlight was the activity sponsored by the Vet School in which veterninary students helped children to treat wounded (stuffed) animals. Bryn picked out a dog, which she named Freddie, and Dr. Bonnie helped Bryn to stitch up the cut on his leg and to provide Freddie with a splint. Once Bryn and Dr. Bonnie finished taping Freddie's splint, Bryn gave Freddie some medicine by mouth and a shot, too.

Downstairs was a kid's paradise, complete with balloons, popcorn, cotton candy, soft pretzels, Kool Aid drink pouches, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches, bowls and bowls of candy and activities, too. We briefly visited the Zoo on Wheels where we saw an armadillo; silky chicken from China and Japan and sugar gliders from Australia. We also felt an elephant's ear and learned the difference between a cheetah and a leopard's coat -- cheetah's spots are solid, while a leopard's spots are circles with a lighter shade inside. The kids both got balloon critters -- a penguin for Luke and a butterfly for Bryn. And Bryn worked dilligently as she decorated the same kind of styrofoam hat that Penn gives to rising seniors on Hey Day. There was a magician, too, but he was more appropriate for older kids. We ran into just a handful of friends from college (Stacey Wruble, Lisa Nass, Bonnie Todd, Ira Marcus and Julie Shaffer, who's also a local friend), but we were impressed by the size of the event and the consideration for families. (We noticed that the large picnic on Hill Field also provided a "kids' corner.") We're already hoping to make it to the event next year, when it will be my 15th reunion.

In an unrelated follow-up to last weekend's post, I'm sad to report that despite our best efforts to keep her healthy and happy, Dorothy passed away last night. We'll see how long it is before I'm talked into another fish. :)