First-timers in Charleston

The next leg of our adventure took us to Charleston, SC.  We made reservations at the James Island County Park.  But also had opportunities to get together with family and friends.

It was a very scenic drive into the city!

We were looking forward to the time here and it started with dinner at the Clarke's.  They too traveled to Clemson for the game so it was nice to commiserate together.  Frank's nephew Phil, Angie and the kids hosted dinner in their beautiful home and Phil's mom, Donna, cooked!  It was wonderful having a home-cooked meal with everyone.  And we introduced them to Left-Right-Center.  Fun was had by all!

The next day was "chores".  Found the local laundromat and got a few loads of laundry done.  Then we did something so touristy.......the outlet mall!  (A cold front is on the way and we needed a few more layers.)  Later that afternoon, Hannah had a volleyball match.  Frank was transported back in time when he cheered on Allison and Andrea in their volleyball games.  :o)  And Hannah's team won both games! It was really a lot of fun to watch.

There was a bit of time before Ross's soccer game and it was suggested we experience a local tradition - Jack's Cosmic Dogs!  Hot dogs, skinny fries, sodas in bottles, shakes and all things nostalgic!

As mentioned, we chose the James Island County Park as the place to stay while we're in Charleston. 

 November-December, the park hosts the Festival of Holiday Lights.  It's huge!  And they have already started getting things set up.  There are 650+ acres in the park and it seems nearly every inch has a display.  There's the "under the sea" themed area, Santa's Village, nursery rhyme-themed section, patriotic area and many, many more!  They started in September and the lights come on November 11.  Every lightbulb will be changed out to ensure they are as bright as can be.

Cow jumped over the moon and the dish ran away with the spoon.

Sadly, we will be back in Florida when the lights come on.  But I'm sure it will be spectacular!

On Wednesday, we ventured into downtown Charleston to scope things out and decide what we wanted to do on Thursday.  (Were there any tours we wanted to do?  Any excursions we wanted to take?  Any stores we wanted to shop in?)

Hotel that looks like a fort/castle

Holocaust memorial and one of the many beautiful green spaces.

On our way back to the car, we decided to give one of the local restaurants a try.  After a quick look at the menu, we decided Virginia's would be the perfect spot for some good southern grub. 

Fried chicken, collard greens and mac-n-cheese.

Fried green tomato BLT, sweet potato fries and blue cheese coleslaw.

We had plans to head to Folly Beach where our friends Tom and Raquel rented a house for the week.  We were in for a real treat - a Low Country Shrimp Boil!  But first we spent some time playing on the beach. 

Shrimp from Crosby's, right off the boat!

Potatoes, sausage, corn and shrimp.  Delicious!

Kevin and Annmarie working hard. 

(Yes, that's a Clemson guy wearing FSU ovenmits.)

Nothing like eating outside, with the waves crashing behind us and the breeze blowing through!

Same game, different group.  Left-Right-Center is getting around this trip.  :o)

We have really enjoyed our time in Charleston with family and friends!  The weather has been warm and the mosquitoes, HUGE!  (Now I know why they call it the state bird.) 

The away game road trip begins!

Back when the FSU football schedule was announced, we couldn't have been happier.  There were three home games in Tallahassee and then three away games (with a bye week thrown in) in SC and NC.  This was the main reason we bought the motorhome! 

The first stop in this road-trip adventure was for the game at Clemson.  We did some pre-planning with our mentors, Ronnie and Bonnie, and made arrangements to spend one night at a campground in Madison.  From there it was a short two-hour drive to Clemson.

We left Tallahassee and headed north toward Madison.  Along the way we saw numerous pecan groves and cotton fields. 

 Cotton fields

These were The TeePee's first hills!

I used the term 'campground' loosely, but at least we had electric, sewer and water and we got our money's worth!  We ventured into Madison for breakfast before getting on the road to Pendleton. And decided on a little place called Perk Avenue. But before we got to the restaurant, we spied this cool looking motorcycle and just had to follow it for a closer look.

It's a Peraves Monotracer!

Yummy breakfasts at Perk Avenue. 

We continued along behind our mentors and were heading toward Pendleton, SC.  Back in June, Frank made reservations at the "Y Beach" at Clemson where we could park the motorhomes, but we would be dry camping (no water, no electric, no sewer) the whole weekend.  We were ready, but thankfully the guys made arrangements at the Garrison Arena, just outside Clemson.  Full hook-ups AND the directions to get to the stadium taking "the back way".  

Plenty of space!  There were 5 FSU motorhomes and 1 Clemson.

We even had horses hanging out in near-by fields.

Bonnie had some left-over carrots and we decided to make friends on our walk one morning. 

A friend of R&B's had recently opened a bar in Greenville and it just so happened his daughter graduated from FSU.  We, hit the road and enjoyed a fun Friday evening at The Art Bar on Main. 

Brave owners hanging an FSU flag while being in the heart of Tiger and Gamecock country.

A great concept!  Beautiful artwork by local artists hangs in throughout the bar with two levels for enjoying a glass of wine, awesome selection of beers and coming soon - cocktails.

Lindsey (FSU grad and manager), Ron, Bonnie and Frank

More of the fun artwork - made entirely of shells! 

Leann, Frank, Emily (friend), Paula (wife), Lauren (daughter), Rob (owner/friend), Bonnie and Ron

The bar is right on Main street and the weather was perfect for enjoying our beverages and tapas al fresco.  Rob is showing off a painting of the bar/patio area a local artist did for them.

Game Day!  We followed the directions to the "back way" to the Clemson stadium.  (Thankfully we did a dry run the day before and avoided ALL the traffic!)

Public parking, about a mile from the stadium but shuttles were available.

"Y Beach" where we would have parked the motorhomes. 

It would have been VERY tight and probably not a good experience, especially since it rained very hard the night before. 

Leann, Frank and Rob

But we did find some other Noles and they invited us to join them for some pre-game festivities. 

We opted to walk to the stadium.  The weather was terrific, and we had plenty of beverages to keep us hydrated along the way. 

Stadium in view.

Frank and Ron

It was awesome having the Marching Chiefs at the game!  Hopefully they will be able to go to the other away games.  :o)

Frank, Leann, Bonnie and Ronnie

(This was their first out-of-the-state away game and we heard they were seen on TV!)

Sadly, the Seminoles did not win.  Thankfully it wasn't a blowout.  While we had some good plays, considering the injuries and freshmen starters, there were too many penalties and just didn't get the job done. 

But, we are putting it behind us andmoving on to the next leg of the adventure.  We are going to spend time in Charleston and Myrtle Beach before we head into North Carolina.

Stay tuned.  The blog will be updated as time and technology permit.

Weekend in review

What a weekend!  Because of time constraints, this post will be mostly pictorial.

We spent the week between games in Tallahassee and there were lots of FSU-related events.

Wednesday, we attended the Jimbo Fisher Radio Show.

Rick, Joanne, Tim, Jamela, Leann & Frank

On Thursday, we attended a fundraising event for the Fisher's Kidz 1st Fund with Ray and Bonnie. 

On Friday, there was a golf tourney, also benefiting the Kidz 1st Fund.  Ray and Frank sponsored a Million Dollar Hole in One opportunity.  Met lots of fun people.  (Sadly, no one got a hole in one.)

Ray, Frank and Coach Mike Martin (FSU Baseball)

Working the tourney.

Got the TeePee over to the stadium and had just enough time to get cleaned up and ready for the event kicking off the campaign for FSU's Indoor Practice Facility. 

Then it was over to Hotel Duval where the Scherf's hosted a bunch of us in their sweet suite before dinner!

Beautiful garnet and gold sunset overlooking downtown Tallahassee.

Leann, Lori, Bonnie, Cindee, Bonnie

Dinner with the gang at Shula's

Bonnie, Ray, Christian, Bonnie, Ronnie, Frank, Leann, Lori

After dinner, we headed to Level 8.  Let's just say that "what happens at Level 8, stays at Level 8".

With Kari and Eric

"The Young Ones" - Kristen, Alex, Kari and Eric

Finally!  Saturday!  The day so many had been looking forward to!  THE BIG GAME - FSU vs Oklahoma!!

The Tailgate Compound

Ready for tailgating at The TeePee!

Hanging out on the shady side of the compound with the Glazers.

Janie, Frank, Leann, Duey and Ray

Janie doing the rap she came up with before rap was popular!

Student tickets for this game sold out in 17 minutes!  And they were in their seats an hour before the game.  So exciting!

Doak was packed!

Our flyover - the Goodyear blimp!

Chief Osceola and Renegade plant the spear!

Game on!

What a game!  No sitting down for the loyal Noles!  The outcome wasn't what we hoped and some of the key players were hurt.  But it was a great game and Oklahoma had to work hard for their win.  Congrats to the Noles for their efforts against the #1 team.