29 Dec 2003 - It's a bit of a different situation going to a bowl game this year. Instead of traveling solely as a family unit, this year, some of Cassie's friends are joining us. Mom & Dad left Sunday night to go to Waupaca. They would be dropping her
[Grandma Maxine] off at her sister's on the way down. Cass & I got up bright and early, when we began our leg of the journey. We were taking off to Germantown, where we would meet up with the three other kids (Brian & girlfriend Sheri, and Cass's boyfriend Braden.) Going down via Appleton, we made great time and had time to kill before the designated hour. So, I started looking for anything familiar, since I lived in that town from 1-5 years old. Eventually, I found the way to our old housing complex. I don't think Cass remembered it much. By that time, we got over to Brian's house just as Sheri & Braden were pulling in. After a bit of chitchat, we loaded up the van and we were on our way. The drive was pretty uneventful. I spent it either reading, napping, or watching whatever movie they'd put in up front. Through it was raining pretty hard when we got in to Nashville, we managed to find our hotel. About a half-hour later, Mom & Dad showed up. Pretty early night for all of us.
30 Dec - The next morning, when we were all up and breakfasted, we drove over to the Opry Mills Mall to do some shopping. The college kids took off while I wandered around with Mom & Dad. My big purchase was an Old Navy sweater for $15. Eventually, we met up with the others around 2, and decided it would be a good time to go downtown. We drove and got lucky with parking. Since we hadn't eaten lunch, we stopped at the Old Spaghetti Factory for food. After that, the kids went off while Mom, Dad & I did some exploring. We stopped for drinks at an Irish pub Mom had visited before while in the city. They got to talking with another couple and all sorts of "small world" stuff came out. I nearly had to drag them out, because we were supposed to be meeting Cass & Co for the Battle of the Bands. It was the UW Marching Band vs. Auburn's, and there was no contest. I think Badger fans outnumbered Auburn's 10-1. Badgers played a good 5th Quarter show. Auburn, popular music. Booo. They were like my old high school pep band, only worse, because there were more dancers and baton twirlers. After that, Mom, Dad & I headed out for some food before bed. Ended up at the Taco Bell down the road. Pool night!
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| View of the Battle of the Bands from a parking structure |
31 Dec - We were up and out bright and early this morning, but that didn't matter much as we got stopped in traffic. It took an extra hour to reach the stadium. Not having as much time as we hoped, we did a quick tailgate with the kids before heading in. It was a little confusing where our gate was, so we walked around nearly the entire stadium. Our neighbor in Rapids, Mike Daly, got us great tickets in the club level (= swanky) of the stadium. It was a beautiful day. Relatively cloudless skies, temps in the low 60s. Too bad the game wasn't as nice. Putting up with an obviously biased announcer and a huge Auburn fan contingent was one thing. But putting up with our near-complete lack of game was another. If the game had ended six minutes sooner, we had a chance to win, but it didn't and we blew it. The one highlight for me was tracking down Kendra and Paul after 5th Quarter. After the game and some tailgating, Mom, Dad & I headed back downtown to do some souvenir hunting. We stopped in a few shops, bought Cass a new fake ID, got my picture taken with a wooden Elvis, and had a very nasty pint before going back to fetch Cass & Braden before getting Mexican for dinner. That was about it. I wasn't even awake when the clock struck 12. Happy New Year.
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| Cass, Braden, Sheri, Brian with the sign Cass & I made |
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| Love me tender, wooden Elvis |
1 Jan 2004 - Drove up to Dearborn w/Mom, Dad & Grandma. They moved me out of my apartment the next day. Bless 'em!
{transcribed 1/14/2020}
