Visiting College Towns

This month has brought with it an onslaught of high school graduation parties and lots of talk of colleges to our home as many of my daughter Taryn's friends prepare to fly the coop. Next month, we are hitting the road for our annual July vacation to a cooler, northern climate. This year, we’ve decided to take the time to stop in Gainesville, home of the University of Florida Gators, where Taryn has set her eyes on medical school in a couple years. We’ve never been.

In thinking about taking a self-guided tour and having an impromptu lunch on campus, I pondered the subject of college town tourism. I was reminded of one of our most memorable family trips - the year we spent the day at Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Seeing the chairs being set up for commencement on the lawn and Taryn's look of awe will stick in my mind forever. Our agency's partner Jennifer works with Auburn, where college life and tourism are centerpiece to Tiger football and great golf. I did a search for “visiting college towns” and read a couple travel-related articles on college cities that intrigued me. They spoke of cafés, bookstores, historic buildings, cutting-edge music and art scenes, a youthful vibe and a melting pot of individualism. They mentioned places like Boulder, Colorado; Berkley, California; and Burlington, Vermont - and I began to think, is it wrong to think about what’s in it for me when Taryn chooses a college?

Then I thought, yes it is, but that won’t stop me from planning some college town vacations of my own. She’ll be away in college, what’ll she care?