Picnic at Harvard

Yesterday morning we decided we'd like to have a picnic. It was actually kind of a cold day... I didn't bring my jacket with me, but I wished I had. In the shade if the wind blew, it was downright chilly!*

We walked up to the "Havaahhd Yaahhd" (Translation: Harvard Yard!) to eat our sandwiches. Ellie had a good time wandering around, but we eventually moved away from our original spot due to a super-bold and way-too-tame squirrel. I guess he's used to being fed, because he had no problem coming right up to you to try and steal food and Ellie got a little freaked! Other people around us were trying to scare him away and he wouldn't leave us alone... one guy even threw his backpack at him and he still wouldn't leave!

The buildings are all so old... even the trees look like they've been there for centuries. I knew that Harvard was really old, but I didn't realize that it was the first private university in North America and founded in 1636 (incidentally, UNC was the first public university, founded in 1795). It was a nice spot for lunch and a casual stroll. Here are some pics:

The main library... the school was named "Harvard" after John Harvard who gave them 400 books from his personal library:

Memorial Church: One of the "new" buildings on campus, built in 1932. It's hard to tell because of the trees in this picture, but the steeple on the chapel rose really, really high above the rest of the building. Probably easier to see during winter when all the trees are bare.
Statue of John Harvard. For interesting facts about this statue, read this.

*The cool weather in August gave me a teeny-tiny taste of what it must be like around here in the dead of winter when the snow is piled up for months and temps are consistently in the teens!