PSU vs. Purdue

My wife came through in a big way...

For our anniversary this year (#9), she scored 2 tickets to the Purdue game, a room in a B&B less than a mile from the center of town, and arranged child/pet care for the weekend. Damn, I married well.

By the time we managed to get everyone to where they needed to be on Friday, it was almost 7 PM. Even with 2 stops (one for a quick dinner), we still managed to do the @200 mile trip in under 4 hours. Game was scheduled for noon on Saturday and we were just plain beat by the time we unpacked, so we just got a good night's sleep instead of trying to hit one of the bars.

On Saturday morning, we made the walk down University Drive toward College Avenue at around 9:00 and just kind of drifted around trying to see what had changed since the last time we were there. It would have been easier to count the number of things that hadn't. Yikes! The original plan was to catch the loop from town up to the stadium, but since they didn't seem to be running yet, we just ambled casually up the hill from McLanhan's.

There are a couple of tailgates that I can usually find, and this was no exception. We made it to the front of the overnight RV lot on the far side of the stadium just before 10:30 and hooked up with some old friends. The beer was cold and the venison on the grill was real fresh, so by the time we were ready to make our way inside, I was feeling pretty happy.

My wife had actually never been to a game in Beaver stadium, so she was a little disappointed that, although we made it before the opening kickoff, she missed the band's pre-game show. Anyway, game got started poorly with the Chicken Makers taking the opening kick back for 6 but, in the end, the good guys came out on top. After a couple more refreshments back at the tailgate, we made the loooong walk back and just chilled for an hour before dinner.

We actually wanted to eat at the Tavern, but a 90 minute wait for a table was just unacceptable. Instead, we ended up at the Gingerbread Man, and were not happy about it. If you're ever in State College and are hungry at the G-Man, stick to the bar menu. Don't go near the dinner entrees. Let's just say that al dente is not good when the pasta started out frozen. The potato soup was pretty darn tasty though.

After dinner we walked around the corner to my buddy Rockey's place, The Brewery. It was still pretty early and there were only a couple dozen people there, so we were able to grab a table and just take it easy for a bit. My wife decided to stick with her usual Smirnoff Ice while I opted for Woodchuck Cider out of the mason jars. At about 9:30, the band did a sound check, and I foresaw some ominous time ahead. The lead guitar had some effect that was at best tinny, and, usually, just downright painful to listen to. And the front man had moved like a chicken. I kid you not.

Just after that debacle finished, a group of 5 from the tailgate came in and it was obvious that they hadn't treated themselves to any down time. Thankfully, the bar was starting to fill up around then, so our little group wasn't really any louder than anyone else. Until the band started. Bad. Real bad. It was a shame too; the set list was pretty decent... Police, Ramones, STP, Bush, Velvet Revolver, Foo Fighters... they just mangled them. About halfway through the first set, my wife asked me to go get her something tasty but strong. Easy request at the Brewery... Uncle Rockey's Stupid Juice. It starts out with about 1/3 of the glass filled with whatever the jar of cherries was soaking in. Some combination of vodka and grain. Mostly grain.

Needless to say, she made it for about another hour before she was ready to call it a night. I don't think I have ever called it a night in State College before midnight before, but this WAS a weekend for our anniversary, so I thought it best NOT to put her in a cab and follow later. Just a hunch I had. We got back around midnight and crashed. Between the early night and daylight savings ending that night we were able to be up by 8 AM and still catch 9 hours. Try doing THAT with 2 small children and 5 dogs.

Anyway, we packed up and drove into town to do a little shopping, mostly for gifts, and were able to get on the road for home before 9:30. By the time we retrieved the dogs from the boarding kennel, it was after 2 when we finally got home. I found an email waiting for me indicating that a bunch of guys were getting together for the Eagles game that night, including a friend that was up from Virginia for the weekend. Done and done. Except that is also an accurate description of the Eagles play last night and season outlook. They might only win one more game this entire season. A bad ending to a good weekend.