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.