Texas Christian University

January 2007. The TCU area of Fort Worth was much greener than I ever imagined it would be. Large stately lawns in front of every hall, marble steps leading to their entrances, a kind of UVA feel. The bookstore was gutted for renovations, leaving a raggedy trailer as its stand-in. The low ceiling threatened visiting basketball recruits to this religious affiliated - probably Jesuit - school. This travel mug was the only affordable trinket. It is top heavy, the handle is too small to fit the proper amount of stabilizing fingers, and nothing about the removable lid says durable. Its saving grace, of course, is the blinding purple. Not too many schools have the utter gall to make purple its primary color. But then again not too many schools willingly name their sports teams 'The Horned Toads'.

"They musta turned him into a h-horny toad!"

University of California, Los Angeles

9 Dec 2005. This visit to pick up an insulated travel mug was preceded by another visit the same day as USC. But in early 2004 I chose an XXL UCLA women's water polo national champions tee shirt instead of something I could drink out of. The shirt had long since been donated to Goodwill once the novelty wore off (and what will become of these dozens of cups and glasses once their novelty wears off?). UCLA differs from its cross town rival in that USC is located in a shady part of town surrounded by Burger Kings and hot cracked asphalt. In contrast, UCLA is cradled by friendly retailers such as Potbelly Sandwich Works, Jamba Juice, and Quiksilver. Long live the University of California for Loaded Asians!

James Madison University

There is no specific date for the JMU entry as I have collected a few along the years. Only a handful are shown in this photo here. There are two generic giant tumblers that fit in with the rest, a couple of pilsners that reveal the Duke Dog's face at the bottom of the glass when you finish your Dominion root beer, a glass bottle filled with purple and gold candies, a bulldoggin' reusable travel mug that I actually designed for a contest, a commemorative Madison Century soda bottle, an insulated stadium cup, and various other plastic throwaways. The 'Duke Dog and JMU' design has been replaced in some instances solely by the Duke Dog's head and collar for simplicity's sake. Other than the 'what does a duke have to do with a bulldog?' question, this logo is solid in layout and color. It could use more purple, but the two color version satisfies that argument.
In December 2004, JMU won their first Division I-AA football national championship without even playing a game in Harrisonburg. They were the first team to win four straight road games on their way to winning the title: Lehigh, Furman, William & Mary, and Montana (at a neutral site in Chattanooga).
JMU is another school in the Appalachians, specifically the Shenandoah Valley, an underrated part of the country visually and naturally. Be warned, Interstate 81 always has heavy truck traffic (as a north-south alternate to Interstate 95) but get around that and you will find civil war history, small town hospitality, gorgeous scenery, and open air poultry tractor trailers. Pluck 'em if you got 'em.