It's all in the name of football!

Since the last post, we've been in Tallahassee, Boone, Amelia Island and back to Tampa.

After a sad game of the Seminoles losing to Wake Forest, we watch the Bucs beat the Chicago Bears in OT! The next morning, we loaded up the BDT and headed north to Boone.

While there, we checked on the status of the back yard project. Looking pretty good! Deck big enough for a dance party, space up the hill for a hammock and lots of new plants all around. We also spent time with Ray, Toby, Bob, Barbara and Don. It was a short but busy trip!

When we left Boone, it was 41 degrees! BRRRR! It got a little warmer as we headed south, but by the time we got to Amelia Island, it was only 76!

Rick & Joanne are wonderful hosts and we all had a great time at the pre-game party!

The group caravaned to pick up the game-day grub and then onto the Stadium where the Seminoles were playing the Colorado Buffalos. We ended up with about 30 people visiting our tailgate. Frank had the TV all set up (it seems to get easier and faster each time he sets it up), chairs in the 'living room'. Joanne had the bar stocked and lots of yummy snacks. And when the time was right, the BBQ from Smokey Bones!

It was an exciting game and the Seminoles played really well, winning the game!

After the game, we headed back to Tampa. We wanted a good night's sleep before another round of tailgating prior to the Bucs vs Packers game. A little hiccup for some people with the parking, but it all worked out well! John cooked some fantastic brats and Chris came through with the shots. And to cap off the day, the Bucs won! (Note to self: too many Jaeger Bombs and beers along with the lack of food, can lead to a really hurt toe.) (A picture will not be included.)

And in "honor" of Green Bay, we had cheesy snacks - Cheez Whiz on Cheetos!

A few quiet days at home and now we're getting ready to head south to cheer on the Seminoles in Miami.

All in all, a good football weekend!

Tallahassee to Tampa and back

Although Florida isn't known for its change of seasons, Frank and I have four seasons...travel, fishing, golf and football, and sometimes they overlap!

After spending time in Tallahassee, we headed back to Tampa for a Bucs game and a few appointments.

We had a great tailgate for the Bucs vs Atlanta game and the day was even better because they won!

Dan (the middle man), drove from Orlando to join Chris for the Bucs game. It's been a while since we've seen and glad we got to spend some time together! We had a great turnout for tailgating!

The motley crew!

We also had a fun dinner with the neighbors! We are in the planning stages for a trip to Panama next year and the Broomes and Duran's are very interested in joining us for the fishing part of the adventure. Stay tuned, but if you're interested in participating, you know how to get in touch with us.
After a few appointments we packed up the BDT and headed to Tallahassee for another round of tailgating and football. Go Bucs! Go Noles!

Week in Tallahassee

Our plan to spend the week in Tallahassee worked out very well. We had the opportunity to attend the FSU Women's Volleyball match. Frank knows much more about volleyball than I since he watched and supported Allison and Andrea play pre-college. Unfortunately, they lost. Those gators...such cheaters!

We took a few days off from FSU sports, but were able to get out and play golf on Thursday. While Southwood is a nice course, it is very tricky! The first cut of rough is very thick and it is very easy to lose balls...even the bright colored ones. I shot a 98, which I consider pretty good given the conditions of the course, the weather and lovebugs.

Since there was minimal interest in tailgating on Saturday and since Rick & Joanne were kind enough to offer us their tickets in the box, we decided to skip tailgating. So, we walked over to see the Ruggeri's in their garnet and gold condo and were able to catch up with them (Tim & Jamela too). It was great seeing them before their head off to Provence for a few weeks.

We were able to get to the stadium in plenty of time to get a cold drink and step outside to watch the opening 'ceremonies' and flyover. Look carefully and you'll see the stealth bomber!

All in all, it was a nice week in Tallahassee!

FSU Football Season Kicks Off

FSU football season has officially begun! Unfortunately the Seminoles don't have a lot of their starters for the first few games, but that didn't stop us from having a great weekend and tailgate on Saturday!

We met up with Rick, Joanne, Jamela and Tim at DownTown GetDown Friday evening. It was a nice way to kick off the football weekend and the weather was warm, but not too bad.

After GetDown, we joined the Rick, Joanne, Tim and Megan for dinner. Hadn't seen the kids since their wedding. They were very excited to be back in Tallahassee for a football weekend!

The Seminoles played Western Carolina and we had about 20 people for tailgating! Frank and Rick made arrangements for Frank's brother Ray to get the spot next to us and after shifting things around a bit, we were able to set up the middle spot as Tailgate Central. We had nearly everything we needed for a great tailgate...except an air conditioner! It was SO HOT!! But in typical fashion, we had fantastic food and lots of fun. (We were hoping the 10% chance of rain that came would cool things down, but unfortunately just steamed up!) In spite of the heat and humidity, it was a lot of fun having so many people participate in the festivities.

We get into the stadium and find the game was delayed an hour because of lightning. Finally it started and 5 minutes into the first quarter, the players were called off the field due to more lightning. Fortunately the Seminoles ran the kick back for a touchdown before they had to go in. And then the rains came. Fortunately, we had our ponchos, but decided to head under the stadium anyway. An hour later and they were able to resume the game. A few more plays (and touchdowns) and we went down below because of more rain and thunder.

A game that normally takes about 3 hours took 6 but ended with a final score of 69-0!

http://www.fsutailg8.com/

More golf

Last week was the Hound Ears Member-Member golf tournament and I had been invited to team up with Shirley a very sweet lady who lives down the road from us. She and I have played together before and thought we would make a good pair.

Everyone was encouraged to wear pink over the two day tournament as it was the "Rally for the Cure" tournament. On Tuesday, we could purchase a 'get out of trouble' ribbon - 10 feet of pretty pink ribbon you could use 1 time to help if you found yourself in a bit of a situation. I resisted as long as I could, but ended up using mine to get me back into my own fairway. And as it turns out, onto the green! I didn't play so well the first day and was really frustrated. But after a long talk with myself, going back to the driving range and watching my golf lesson, I felt like I was a changed woman, ready for Wednesday's round.

Unfortunately, things still went a little screwy with my swing and I played worse on Wednesday, in spite of buying a Mulligan!

But, Shirley carried our team and we ended up winning Low Gross! She was very excited and I'm glad I could help with what little bit I did.

We had a fabulous luncheon and met a woman who is a cookbook author, designer and entrepreneur. Her company is W.I.N.O.S (Women In Need Of Sanity) http://www.winoshavefun.com/ and she donated some great gift baskets along with giving each participant a visor of their choice.

All in all, it was a fun time and I'm glad I played. Next season, I'm going to play with the 'Big Girls'. :o)

Family Time in Boone

Labor Day weekend was an abbreviated Jones Family Reunion of sorts. Ray & Bonnie had their entire family in Boone for the weekend...9 adults and 5 grands (newborn-4 years old) all under one roof! Rich & Alice came up and stayed with us for the week. It was nice to spend some time with everyone and the weather was wonderfully cool! Lots of good food, fun and laughs.

Birthday Party Picnic for Bonnie at a great park in Banner Elk.

Birthday Girl in the middle with beige visor holding her newest grandson, Charlie.

Uncles playing with the 'big kids'.

Celeste, Bonnie and Frank enjoying a very competitive round of croquet.
Frank, Alice (Nan), and Rich overlooking the golf course.
"My Three Sons" - Ray, Frank and Rich with Alice (Nan)