✈️When Rylee's Away... 2/23/25

Rylee left me for the week to attend her once-a-semester meetup with her program at UConn, so I did the only natural thing in this scenario and flew away somewhere, too. It’s not fair that she’s the only one who gets to travel. In fact, I left after her and arrived back before her, so in some ways, it’s like I never left…

Now, I bet you are wondering where I went and what shenanigans I got up. So I invite you to sit back, relax, and enjoy as we dive into what’s up with Will this past week.

In all honesty, President’s Day was rather dull. Rylee left early in the morning for a flight, and since I had a red-eye flight out of SFO, I opted to stay home to get some work done and spend time with Cleo. I arrived at the airport a couple of hours early, so I checked out the airport museum displays featuring things like African instruments and Rosie the Riveter (which has geographical significance, as a major WWII shipyard was located in Richmond). I also played basketball in the terminal since there was a display from the NBA All-Star Weekend.

Before I go any further, I want to express that I absolutely detest red-eye flights. I find it difficult to sleep on planes, and if I do manage to catch some sleep, it’s more of a power nap at most. Yet, I take them constantly, especially when heading to the East Coast, as they are convenient. As the saying goes, “You can sleep when you’re dead.”

I landed in Atlanta, Georgia where I was picked up by my mother and grandmother, and began the trek to Auburn, Alabama. And while I was sleep-deprived, I was happy to see my family again.

As I needed some caffeine, we decided to go out to a cafe. I wanted something a little lighter than coffee, so I ordered an iced tea. The moment that I took a sip, I realized the error of my ways. It seems that I have been away from the South for long enough to forget that the de-facto way to get tea is sweet. I think I lost a lot of Southern street cred that day.

You might be asking what’s there to do in Auburn, Alabama? Well, I was asking that too. It turns out that there is a good bit.

The town next door, Opelika, has the Museum of East Alabama, documenting some of the area’s history, such as the manufacturing, famous inventors, WWII history, Native American artifacts, and sports history. Apparently, there was a World War II prisoner of war camp in Opelika. 

Back in Auburn, the university has the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art which featured exhibits including Rodell Warner + Audubon + His Journals (a multimedia recreation of the Audubon Journals), John Augustus Walker: Historical Panorama of Alabama Agriculture (a series of murals reflecting the progress of American farming technologies), Kate Medley: Thank You Please Come Again (Photographs featuring the culture of the American South and how these rural communities adapt), and a showcase from the Auburn Faculty.

Less than 30 minutes out from Auburn was a winery. The South is a bit of an interesting case concerning wine, as the growing conditions are untenable for the majority of your stereotypical wine grapes. Instead, a bunch of regional grapes such as Muscadine. Muscadine wines have a tendency to be sweet, and this place’s wine was not the exception. Not my favorite winery or wine, but I have found that I enjoy going to wineries as you get to taste what can be made in a particular region.

On my way back to the Atlanta airport, I was able to hang out with Hunter. He informed me that he is running for Georgia Tech Student Body President. I don’t think that this is going to make any difference, but I endorse him!

Rylee’s return flight got in late afternoon on Saturday, so I had time for one more adventure.

This past weekend marked the start of SF Beer Week, a celebration of craft beer made in the Bay Area, so I felt obligated to stop by one of the breweries to partake in the festivities. My brewery of choice was Trumer Brewery.

Trumer Pils is a storied 400-year-old brewery following the “Reinheitsgebot” or the Austrian Beer Purity Law. There are only two Trumer breweries in the world: One in Austria and the other in Berkeley, California. 

To end the week off, I picked up Rylee from the airport. We had a charcuterie plate while we excitedly discussed our week apart, which leads into the next section…

You didn’t really think that I wouldn’t be a part of “What’s up with Will,” did you? Of course not—you know us too well for that! Welcome to “Rylee Writes,” a way less consistent and often more chaotic installation by me, the Rylee Holland. Enjoy. 

My graduate school cohort meets for one week each semester at the University of Connecticut, and last week was that week. “Hell freezing over” is the best depiction I can offer of what February in Connecticut feels like. Everyday, the wind chill was sub zero, and this Georgia-native/California-resident is NOT built for that. Thankfully, spending time with my cohort and our program director (almost) makes up for the conditions. 

This week’s focus was on communications and public speaking. As you all know, I’m a certified yapper, so I was thrilled with this topic. I forced my classmates to listen to a 10 minute presentation on why gluten is my arch nemesis that I like to think was both comedic and educational for my fellow healthcare workers. 

Above all else, this week gave me the opportunity to reflect on my time in graduate school. These week long stents are filled with traditions, many of which span the entire ~45 years that this program has existed. This was my fourth and final time seeing my entire cohort together, and I’m so grateful for the personal growth and incredible friendships that this program has given us. Go Huskies!

• A topical video for this week considering all of my travels. It was cool to see a little bit behind-the-scenes for an airport that I fly out of so frequently. Also, this video is actually sponsored by SFO which I think is hilarious.