1998 Outback Bowl

27 December 1997 - We left Rapids today to drive down to Florida to watch the Badgers play in the Outback Bowl on New Years Day. First, we dropped our dog, Sadie, off at the kennel. We left at 8:30 and drove all day until we got to Murfreesboro, Tenn. We stayed in a Hampton Inn there. Early night.

28 Dec - I got up at 5:00 this morning to get ready. We wanted to be on the road by 6, so we could get down to Sarasota by 7 pm ET. On the way out of Tennessee, we saw the mountains there at sunrise. It was very pretty. My wrist hurts while writing this! I tried to teach Cassie how to play sheephead. We saw an awesome sunset just past Tampa. We got to Sarasota around 6:30. We ran upstairs {of the Daly's condo building} to see the ending of the Lions-Bucs playoff game. The Bucs won, and the people were really nuts. We went to Applebee's for dinner and waited a long time for everything. Came back, watched the X-Files and went to bed.

29 Dec - Cassie and I got up early to go look for shells on the beach. The wind was really blowing and it was stormy out. We didn't find many shells. Mom and I went shopping and got some food for the week. We're going up to Tampa to pick up game tickets that Dad reserved. It's really blustery out. We went all around the city. We stopped in Ybor City to putz around. We almost got hit 3 times. I think everybody had at least one heart attack. We ate lunch at this restaurant called Cha-Cha Coconuts. Pretty neat. We went in this hat store and Dad got this Australian-esque hat for work. Cass and I went into a store that sold old fashioned clothing. Kind of like Goodwill only better. We came back to the condo early and didn't do much after that.

Cha-Cha Coconuts

30 Dec - I got up early again to look for shells. Another windy, cool morning. The temps are only about 50s-60s. Anyway, I think I was out too long, because when I got back and took a shower, my feet swelled up. Mom, Cass & I went shopping. I didn't get anything. We sat around for a little bit before Mom and I went for a walk on the beach to the point. We found a bunch of sand dollars and a baby squid and 2 baby octopi that had been washed up. Cass and Dad came out on the beach. She and I made a sand Camp Randall Stadium. Mom took pictures of us with the sunset behind us. Then we went swimming in the ocean with giant waves. I was really cold when we got out. We made pizzas for ourselves for dinner. Watched the Alamo Bowl, then went to bed.

31 Dec - I didn't feel all that great when I got up this morning. Sore and tired. Mom and Dad decided we were going to go look at manatees. But first, we drove to see where Mike Daly (our neighbor) plays golf down here. Pretty nice. We drove out to the Mote Aquarium. We saw all sorts of fish and sharks. We went into this building that had sea turtles and manatees. They had just brought in a baby pygmy sperm whale that they were trying to save. I got a manatee key chain. Then we went into the Pelican Man's Bird Refuge. All kinds of birds, like egrets, pelicans, and hawks. We were going to go to an Antebellum plantation, the Gamble Plantation, but it was closed. We drove on to Ybor City. We ate dinner at Cha-Cha Coconuts again before walking up the street. The parade was going to start at 4:30, so we had to find a place to stand. We ended up by a dunking tank that had a guy inside making fun of the kids trying to dunk him. Cassie went up to give it a try. She didn't get him, but she did get called "Bed-wetting Betty." The parade started. High school bands played and floats threw beads and candy at us. I got a string of red beads. Both college bands played and Cassie and I polkaed to On, Wisconsin in the street. We followed the bands to the area they were having the pep rally in. Georgia fans really aren't that loud, at least compared to us. Each band played a couple songs and they introduced the cheer squads. Right at the end, I got a chance to say hi to Mike T, a friend of mine (kind of) who plays in the Badger band. We walked back to the van and watched the fireworks show. That's always really neat, especially the finale, when they shoot off 20+ in just a few seconds. We drove home after that. I got a glass of fake champagne and drank that before going to bed. 11:02 ET. Well, it's new years in Nova Scotia! Happy New Years!

At the Pelican Man's Bird Refuge

Enjoying the parade

1 Jan 1998 -  We had to get up nice and early this morning to go to the bowl game. We were on the road by 6:30. We got a nice parking space when we got to Houlihan Stadium {The Big Sombrero} in Tampa. We wandered around for a bit, saw the Budweiser Clydesdales and heard the Badger Band play. When we went in and found our seats, we were right in the middle of many Georgia fans. And the Georgia Band. Bad stuff. Before the game, we moved over to the Badger side of the field. The game itself was a total blowout. The Bulldogs won 33-6. We didn't score a touchdown until the 4th quarter. I think that was the saving grace of the game or we really would have been ashamed. We stuck around for the band's 5th Quarter. Had a nice little competition between the two bands. It was kind of a nice day. Sunny, but very chilly with the wind right in our faces. I wore my winter coat and gloves because I was so cold. We came back through St. Petersburg and over the causeway. My head was pounding by then. We made spaghetti for dinner and watched the Michigan Wolverines beat the Washington State Cougars 21-16 in the Rose Bowl for the National Championship. I was getting tired, so I wrote this and went to bed.

{transcribed 2/4/2020}