Big and Little Noles enjoy the weekend in Tallahassee

We were very excited for this weekend's game because Ray, Bonnie, Megan, Joe and the kids were coming to Tallahassee.  The last time they attended a game at Doak what when Ray & Bonnie's son, Mike, played for Western Michigan and the Broncos came to play the Seminoles (2006, I think).

The Lotts made it to town and we were able to have a little time at DownTown GetDown Friday evening.  Nothing says game weekend like pizza on the street and a little sparkly tattoos!

 The food was prepped. The tailgate supplies were organized. And the 'yota was packed to the gills!

We got things set up (three tents, 5 tables, 1 TV, etc.) and we were ready to go.

The Lotts (Mattie, Joe, Megan, Celeste and Mary-Alice) before checking out the activities on the Green.

Just as we were trying to assemble everyone for a group picture, the Publix Tailgate Patrol cart pulled up.

They asked if we had any Publix things. (All of our homemade goodies have Publix ingredients, but we didn't have the packages.) Luckily someone brought their items in Publix bags. And we had several Publix waters. Whew!

He told us we were the Publix Tailgaters of the Week! Oh my gosh! We won, WE WON! You don't understand....for us, this was comparable to wining the Publishers Clearing House! All these years, all these FSU and Bucs tailgates, all the times we've seen the Tailgate Patrol cart drive by, all the times we've seen winners on the big screen and nothing. Until Saturday!

We had a great tailgate! 

 Joe & Ray

 Mary-Alice in action, with big sister Celeste.

 Mary-Alice, Frank, Joanne and Ray.

 Littlest Nole, Mattie.

 It was a three-tenter tailgate.

 Rick and Frank catching up.

 Mary-Alice, the middle little Nole.

 Our Lot 5 "space" Guys - Rick, Frank and Ray.

 The Lott Ladies

Katie and Joanne

 All about the tattoos!

 Girls rule the parking lot!

 The Lotts are ready for some Nole football!

 Nole brothers - Frank and Ray.

 War paint, tattoos and the Chop.

 We had fun hanging out with Celeste!

The Seminoles won!  And WE were on the big screen!

And you thought we were just hanging out, twiddling our thumbs....

Our plan for this week was to stay in Tallahassee since there were back-to-back home games. 

On Monday, we made the decision to consolidate vehicles.  Frank's been diligent with his research, trying to find the right vehicle that would tow the boat, hold all our tailgate stuff and be comfortable to drive.  So we decided to head back to Tampa on Tuesday with the X5 and pick up the Beast.  Frank's research narrowed vehicles down to the Expedition or Sequoia.  Before taking possession of the Beast, we took a spin around in the Expedition.  (It was nice, would fit our needs, but it felt like a truck and wasn't too comfortable.)  Then we headed to the Toyota dealer (which was in what seemed like another country - Wesley Chapel).  Took the Sequoia for a drive.  (It too was nice, would fit our needs and was comfortable.)  So, Frank made an offer.  They didn't like his offer so we were ready to walk.  But lo and behold, after the salesman "talked to his manager", we had a deal. 

We are the proud owners of a new 'yota!

Ready for tailgating!

After reading the program from last week's game, we found the announcement for attending Jimbo Fisher's Radio Show on Wednesday evening.  We scooted back from Tampa to Tallahassee.  The lovebugs were horrible, but nothing a quick trip to the self-service car wash wouldn't cure.  Then off to the Hotel Duval and Jimbo's show.

It was a fun experience and I'm glad we had the opportunity to see Jimbo in a little more casual environment along with Gene Deckerhoff.  The whole Fisher family was there and during commercials, he had fun with his sons and signed autographs, etc. 

Jimbo and Gene

And Coach was nice enough to take a picture with us.

There is a "sighting" game we (and several friends) play when we are at FSU events.  Normally we take stealth pictures:



But.....tonight a bold move was made:

a picture WITH Matt.

Tonight was also a huge Harvest moon.  Thankfully, my brother mentioned it earlier in the day and I made sure to snap a few pictures.  

The moon is white, streetlamp is orange.

On to get things ready for the Jones' and Lott family's visit to Tallahassee for the game this weekend!

Back in Tallahassee for Seminole football

The third football game of the season found us back in Tallahassee.  Florida State was playing BYU at a respectable time of 3:30.

Frank read "they" were trying to get a group of fans together to meet at the Athletic Center and give the Seminoles a big sendoff prior to them heading out of town for the evening. 

We got there a little early and fortunately, were able to catch a tour of the various facilities within the Athletic Center. I had seen it a couple of years ago when Lynne and I did the Women's Football Clinic, but Frank hadn't. Still as impressive as it was, but improved for the new era! After the tour, we headed outside to see the guys as they headed toward the buses.

Not quite as orderly as when they get off the bus. They seemed to come out of the locker room two by two with a lot of time in between. But most of the guys waved or high-fived or patted little kids on the head.

Coach Eddie Gran

Head Coach Jimbo Fisher bringing up the rear.

After sending off the team, we headed to DownTown GetDown and caught up with the Astors and Ruggeri crew.  A couple of BYU fans were hanging around and we invited them to join us.  (I have to say I was a caught a bit off guard as both of them had alcoholic beverages in hand!)  After talking with Pat and Kelly, who are from Atlanta, their grandson got a scholarship to BYU and they were in town to cheer him on, but made it pretty clear they were not Mormans.  :o)

We enjoyed a yummy dinner with the Astors at Avenue Eat and Drink, and headed back to the crash pad.  We had a tailgate to get ready for!

Fortunately, the game wasn't until mid-afternoon so it made it much more palatable to do a tailgate.  And we were looking forward to it, albeit a smaller version since we didn't have The Beast.  In "honor" of our BYU opponents, the tailgate theme was alcohol-related:  beer brats, beer-cheese dip, Kahlua brownies, etc. 

Everyone huddled in the shade, around the TV.

Joanne, Little Nole Alden and Grandma Lee

Our friend Tim (white shirt) was working on a video for the Boosters and asked if he could include our tailgate and interview the Tailgate Coordinator Extraordinaire! 

The Usual Suspects.

Janie and I won't complain about "wind-blown hair" - the breeze was WONDERFUL!

We got to our seats in plenty of time to enjoy all the pre-game traditions, including the flyover by a C130 as well as Chief Osceola and Renegade plant the spear!

After suffering such a horrible loss in Oklahoma, everyone was very curious what team would show up. 
While there were a few mistakes, the whole team obviously worked hard during practice and it showed.  At one point, Jimbo was so fired up because of a call by the refs!  He was m-a-d mad, ranting up and down the sideline.  Well that just got the crowd riled up and cheered all the more for the Seminoles and Jimbo.  (We can't wait to see his show when we know he's going to be asked about it!)

It was a great game, good showing of Seminole spirit and ended with a win.  (We were surprised how big the BYU crowd was, but learned there is a large Mormon contingent in Tallahassee..who knew?)

Next up - the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest come to Tallahassee.  (Thankfully it's another 3:30pm game and hopefully the temperature will start to get a little cooler.)

Because some people are addicted....

to our blog, here's an update.

I've recently learned that some of our followers are addicted to our blog and YEARN for what is happening in the lives of the Crazy Travelers. 

Ok, you asked for it.  Let me tell you, it aint' all bon-bons and Oprah!

We've been in Tampa since returning from Oklahoma.  And while we we're home we've dealt with things like:

 - Frank's mom being moved from rehab in Lake Wales back to her apartment.  (She's 87 years old and fell a few weeks ago, dislocating her shoulder.  Fortunately, nothing was broken.  But when something like this happens, it takes her a long time to recover.)  Frank and his siblings have all worked together to make sure she is getting the care and help she needs while in the hospital, rehab and back at her apartment. 

 - We've had a frustrating infestation of millipedes.  I have no idea how they are getting into the house, but they are.  I've obsessed over watching the doors and never see one cross the threshold.  But sure as sh*t when I turn away, there is one in the middle of the room!  The bug guy has been out every three days to try and rid the house of them.  Hope his latest magic potion does the trick!

 - The lawn guys had their blades set too low and destroyed the plumbing line cleanout cap.  But, nothing a trip to Home Depot won't solve.

 - And speaking of the lawn, after a morning walk, I noticed a large amount of sand in the gutter.  Upon further inspection, I noticed a huge hole where the sprinkler head should be.  It was broad daylight and I needed a flashlight to see where things were in this hole.  Fortunately, the sprinkler head was still there but had completely separated from the line.  A quick call to our fabulous sprinkler guy and we were back in business.    Thanks, Harry!

 - Many of you loyal followers are familiar with The Beast.   Well, while we were in NC, our dear friends at home, were borrowing it.  Sadly it left Victoria stranded at the car wash one day.  But after calling AAA and replacing the batteries it was good as new...or so we thought.  Turns out, there was an issue with oil getting into the cooling system (not the A/C system, but the engine cooling system.) After having it towed to the dealer and an estimate, the diagnosis was not terminal, but close to it.  Needless to say, there will be some decisions being made relatively soon regarding the "all-purpose vehicle" we use for tailgating and boat hauling.

 - On a positive note, the house in Boone, is SOLD!!!  Now this will free us to do more crazy traveling!

Stay tuned.  It's a football weekend and there is bound to be pictures from tailgating and the game!

Oooooooooo-klahoma! (Not the musical) - Day 3 of 3

The second game of the new Jimbo era and Florida State was slated to play Oklahoma University.  We were all pretty excited about the opportunity to play them and secretly hoping there would be a big upset.

As mentioned at the end of the Part 2 post, a very generous invitation was extended to the group at dinner.  We were invited to ride in the limo to the game!!!  Oh boy...Bonnie and I couldn't get our hands up fast enough to say we wanted to go!  (Fortunately our friend Christian had already reserved 4 seats for us.)  Our previous plan was to ride in the bus to the stadium and back.

We got to the hotel in plenty of time...making sure our host would not be waiting on us.  With plenty of cold beverages were on hand and in hand, we started to make our way toward the stadium.  The driver said it would be about an hour or more, with most of that time waiting in traffic closer to the stadium.

Nole Brothers!

 I don't know what happened, but we were there in less than an hour and conveniently dropped off right next to the FSU Tailgate.

Ray, Christian, Leann, Frank and Bonnie

What a great turnout and show of support by the Seminoles!  The food was plentiful and tasty.  (But they probably should have had a few more port-a-potties and bar stations.)

Leann, Frank, Rick and Bonnie

(Thanks for the picture, Joanne!)

After having lunch, we started walking toward the stadium.  Rick and Joanne's son and daughter-in-law (Tim and Megan)  rallied a bunch of Seminole friends and set up a tailgate right outside the stadium!  We stopped by to visit for a while, quench our thirst and then head in.

It sure was nice not doing any of the setup, cooking or cleanup!

(Thanks Tim and Megan!)

Everyone was amazed how many Seminoles had traveled for this game!  Because Oklahoma's red (crimson) is so close to Garnet, everyone was encouraged to wear Gold.  It was really cool to see so much of it in the stadium!

(This was half an hour before kickoff.)

There was a lot of enthusiasm and excitement as the team was on the field warming up.  There was a sense of hope that maybe, just maybe the Seminoles would do well.

The weather forecast was calling for partly cloudy skies.  But just like the weatherpeople in Florida, they were WRONG!  Oh, it was a it cloudy when we were traveling to the stadium, but as soon as we entered and found our seats in the corner of the stadium, those clouds just disappeared.  It was H-O-T hot!

The game started and within the first five minutes OU (or Zero U as we've seen it referred to), scored.  But within the next five minutes, FSU scored!  Unfortunately, there were several plays after that where FSU just lost momentum and it was downhill from there.  (I will spare ourselves and others the agony of discussing this any further.)

It was one game, early in the season, against an out of conference opponent.  There are learning opportunities, things to fix and more games to play.  We're all focusing on getting ready for the next game!  And that's all I'm going to say about that!