Ely Family Blog: Notre Dame

An actual rare photo of the Golden Dome. Very few people

have ever had the intuitive foresight to take a picture of it, but Joe and I

are forward-thinking and idea-driven individuals, and are always

thinking "outside the box" in a new paradigm.

As most of you have probably read from Joe's blog post, the trip through Indiana was a great success, in more ways than one. He captured the race details in South Bend very well, and I hope everyone had a chance to read it. The rest of the weekend went just as well, so I'm posting here a few of the non-running details.

Back row, l-r: David, Susan, John, Matt.

Front row: cookie container, plates, utensils, glasses.

NOT PICTURED: Banana bread, cake.

I arrived in Indianapolis on Thursday evening, and rode with Gretchen back to West Lafayette. I finally got to meet the lovely Susan after all this time, and I hadn't seen David in more than seven years. Matt was at the house, and the three of us had a great dinner ("supper," in the midwest) that evening. A meal of chicken and mushrooms, rice, salad, and fruit were part of the evening's repast. Joe and Gretchen joked with Susan for having forgotten the cake she made at home, and with Matt for having eaten the loaf of banana bread, so for dessert we were treated to cookies made by certain Ely grandchildren. They were quite exquisite!

Matt had to be back in Chicago Friday morning ahead of a long trip to South Dakota for school, so Joe left around 8pm with Matt for the long drive west. I had a great conversation with David and Susan, and talked with Gretchen for a while after they left. It was a fun evening spent getting caught up with everyone.

Joe didn't get home until 3am or so, and I was tired, so neither one of us was up until after 8:30. After an oatmeal breakfast ("lunch," in the midwest), Joe and I were off to South Bend. First, though, we stopped over at David and Susan's house so I could meet Andrew, Nathan, and Berneice.

They are great kids, not shy at all, and seemed thrilled to have a stranger in their house to whom they could show off their toys and many costumes.

l-r: John, Nathan (or possibly Andrew), definitely Berneice, and Andrew (or possibly Nathan).

What a fantastic family, and how nice it is that they are finally all together again for good.

We paradoxically headed north to South Bend, and Joe was nice enough to put up with me getting all worked up over the great scenery along the way. ("Look, Joe! A barn!! And an open field! With grass everywhere!!!" "Yes, John, that's a barn. And that 'grass' is called 'wheat.'").

We were hungry for lunch ("dinner," in the midwest), so we stopped in Logansport, Indiana ("the city that means well") in a little hole-in-the-wall diner called "White House Burgers." The outside was dirty, the ceiling tiles were all warped (yes, ALL of them), but we went in more for the experience than for the food.

At least the plates and forks were clean, and the mustard was courtesy of Kroeger. I suspected that my "Diet Coke" was really "Diet Generic Cola courtesy of Kroeger," but I didn't make a big deal out of it.

In spite of the likely health code violations, the food was actually quite good. Two burgers and two Diet cokes, and the total bill was: $4.95. Yep, that's it. For everything. I think my tip of $1.05 probably went toward the health inspector's slush fund, but what the heck. It was well worth the stop, and we couldn't help but make the obvious comparisons to Tiny's Cafe.

We arrived in South Bend in the late afternoon, found the Race Expo at the College Football Hall of Fame, and got our race packets which included a t-shirt, timing chip, orange socks, and a poster. After driving the race course, we headed to the Notre Dame campus where we eventually met up with Dave Eichstadt. Dave was a great campus tour guide, and he was able to help us find Lyons Hall, which was one of Grandpa's dorms. The dorms were mostly empty ahead of the alumni weekend, so we were able to look around Lyons Hall in spite of it now being a "female-only" dorm. Dave called Amy to find out which room was Grandpa's and of course she knew: room 219. The young woman in charge was nice enough to get the key to that room, and she brought us upstairs and let us in. What a thrill to be in this exact same room again:

The tipped-back chair with the feet propped up is the classic Gene Ely pose, whether here in Lyons Hall, or in the famous Tack room at the farm.

Paying homage to "the pose," just five feet and 75 years away from the original location above

The "link" between the years is the radiator on the wall. The television set was NOT part of the original decor.

We continued the tour of the campus with Dave, including a visit to the new book store, which I understand has a couple of things with the Notre Dame logo on it for sale. After wandering through the book store for a while, we parted company, and Joe and I left to have dinner, then turned in for the night at the luxurious Knight's Inn Motel in South Bend ("Where is the concierge? I wish to reserve tickets to a show.").

The race on Saturday was of course a great success, as Joe described so well on his blog. Kate made the two-hour drive to campus with Mikey, so the added treat was getting to spend time with all three Eichstadts at Notre Dame after the race. Mikey just never stopped smiling, and he was quite comfortable around everyone. Dave and Kate are great parents.

Notre Dame 3, UCLA 1

We found a shady table where we could sit, and Mikey had a nice lunch of an orange-colored Gerber substance, possibly chicken and vegetables. We talked for an hour or so, then Dave and Kate had an alumni function to go to, so we said goodbye. Joe and I were amazed at the good fortune to have been able to see the three of them when we were there, a rare opportunity for the cousins/uncles to get together.

We then drove down to Carmel to visit Brian and Susan and the kids. It was my first visit to their house, in spite of the fact that they've lived there for the better part of ten years.

Carmel, Indiana: Quintessential suburbia

Brian barbecued some chicken, and Susan made corn-on-the-cob, potatoes, and a salad, and we spent a good part of the evening sitting on his backyard deck talking with each other and the various neighbors who dropped by. T.J. and John seem to attract the attention of several of the neighborhood kids, and they all came and went at various times, playing soccer in the yard, talking with us, throwing a ball to the dogs in a pick-up game of "fetch," etc. The late Norman Rockwell was off to the side capturing the whole thing on canvas.

Brian and I were up early for church on Sunday morning; Susan was going later with the kids, as T.J. was serving the 11:00 mass. I had a quick bowl of my special-blend oatmeal ("Now 50% blander!"), said goodbye to Susan, and we were off to church, and then straight to the airport. I got home at a decent hour Sunday afternoon, tired but basking in the glow of the trip.

It was that kind of weekend: not a minute was wasted, and every moment was rich with enjoyment. It was even better than I had thought it would be, and my ever-lasting thanks go to Joe, Gretchen, Susan and David, Kate and Dave Eichstadt, and Brian and Susan and kids for making it all so worthwhile.

Here are a few more photos from the weekend:

"Bunny," the beautiful Berneice Ely

We're here at the Heritage Sports Hall, just beneath the "E. Ely" on the wall of monogrammed athletes.

Joe mentioned the significance and impact that these simple four letters have on our family. Neither one of us had ever seen it before, so it was all very new and special. Just across the room from this "E. Ely," in exactly the same font and size, are the letters "J. Montana." All equal in the annals of Notre Dame athletics.

Joe standing outside the tunnel entrance where we would finish the race the next day. He is on the phone with Nathan, who is calling with vital news of a Cubs comeback win.