For the third installment of her weekly series, “My Great Escape,” Emma Stein will extol the praises of Columbia’s favorite getaway right in the thruway.

All right, all right, so maybe it is a bit of an imaginary escape right now, given the mostly below-freezing, sometimes rainy, sometimes snowy weather, but I’ve been fantasizing about it. On those few days when the temperature soars above 50 degrees and the sun peeks its head out of the clouds, I’ve even experienced it, albeit briefly.

You must acknowledge that there is something magical about these steps, about sitting in front of such a regal building looking out on the campus. You can sit with your friends, enjoy drinks (of the non-alcoholic variety, of course), and simply bask.

I, for one, know that I cannot wait to do simply that… but I’ll just have to wait for warmer times. Steps, I cannot wait for your glorious return this spring.