July 10 an 11

July 10

The Indiana Toll Road zips east from Indian Dunes to South Bend and gets you right to the heart of the Notre Dame campus in about an hour. Notre Dame's soccer program might be overshadowed by its exalted football program, but it is no less respected as a top-tier Division 1 program which regularly produces professional players. Vince's camp check in wasn't until 1:30, but we got to campus a couple hours early to scope it out and get a feel. There's a little Hogwarts to it both in terms of architecture and history. The legend-guilded football stadium is only overshadowed by the gold-encrusted basilica which cranes upward like a state capital. From the outside, the buildings hold a shadow of French gothic style with a splash of churchiness. On the inside, think dark wood, stone and arched elegance--all echoes of a tradition-heavy institution.

Spires everywhere!

Home of the famous Quasi Modo. Oh wait...

After some exploring, we grabbed lunch and got Vince to his check-in spot under an enormous white and yellow tent brimming with other players and families. There would be a lot of competition at this camp. We got his dorm assignment and sped over to get him settled in, as he needed to be dressed out and ready to play in about 10 minutes! It was a hasty goodbye as he hopped out of the car and snatched his things from the trunk. Seemed like less hugs and kisses than the first day of daycare!

Off to camp!

Vince's dorm

Ben and the girls then took refuge in the formidable Hammes bookstore--Notre Dame's own rival to Barnes & Noble. Although there is an obvious Catholic slant to many of the displays and featured books, I was impressed right-away by the general inclusiveness of the book selection. Essentially anything I could find in my Dallas B&N I could find here, although I confess I didn't go poking around for an "Erotica" section.

A coffee/smoothie and some wifi later, Ben and the girls journeyed back to Indiana Dunes and got in a nice hike before heading back to camp for some mac and cheese. The cool nights that require a light sweater are such a relief!

July 11
This one is simple: beach day. Ben and Morena took a morning run down to the beach and then swung back for Paula and Maya. We built a shade out of an old broken tent and read/swam until we couldn't no more...

Welcome to Aruba.

Some wood-fired gourmet pizzas and an ice cream cone were the perfect way to cap off the traditional vacation day. We did get great news from Vince that evening that he had made the All-Star match at camp! We weren't able to make it over for the game but we were happy to know he was making his mark in a very competitive environment.

Maya washing her clothes the old-school way.