2020 Badger Rose Bowl

30 Dec 2019 - When the Badgers lost to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship game earlier this December, we really didn't think we would be getting a trip to the Rose Bowl as a result. Lo and behold, we got the selection. Because it had been so long since Nick & I went to a bowl game, and because it WASN'T Florida, we made plans to go. My parents had already started their own plans and included us in their ticket order. That's how we found ourselves waking at 4:30 am in Green bay this morning. We drove up to Green Bay yesterday (Sunday) morning, and did Christmas with Nick's parents after watching the Packers-Lions game. We were up and ready by 5:15 am. Steve drove us to the airport as it rained. West of GB, the area was under a winter storm warning (Rapids was projected to get 6-8"). No issues in the airport, getting through security quickly. We were on a tiny plane, and were buffeted heading over the storm to Minneapolis. We actually landed a bit early and waited for my parents (who had driven over the night before) to arrive. We had to go from one side of the airport to the other, but we had at least 3 hours to kill. We decided to kill some of that time getting breakfast at the Stone Arch restaurant. We ordered a round of Bloody Marys to celebrate the trip and kick it off in style. These bloodys were garnished with huge fried chicken wings. :) After eating (I got the eggs benedict w/lox and arugula), we joined the throng at the gate. Lots of Badger fans on our flight. Since my folks checked bags, we gate-checked our carry-ons, too. Our flight remained on-time at the gate, so we got on it ~11 am. The wind was howling, snow blowing, visibility poor. Ideal flight conditions, right? It took about an hour to get the plane deiced and finally off the ground. It was nerve-wracking for sure. But it was uneventful once we were airborne. I spent most of the flight trying to sleep. We got so little sleep the night before (thoughts, uncomfortable bed, Steve snoring) and had to get up so early. My system didn't care too much for me trying to sleep and also drinking coffee. We had some nice views over Kansas, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, California. We landed ~2 PST. It was nice to see palm trees & feel 60° temps. We waited for our bags, got on the shuttle to the rental car place and eventually made it out of the LAX area. My folks rented a Jeep with room for all of us. We got to experience the fabled LA traffic as it took us an hour to go ~17 miles. We were on the 405 and the 101 heading to our places in Burbank. I caught a beautiful sunset as we arrived at our Airbnb at 1402 W Victory Blvd. We were dropped off ~5, relaxing and showering before we were picked up again ~5:45. We drove to Pasadena, where we had been invited to a Badger party for player's families and friends. An acquaintance of ours invited us, as she is the aunt of a player. She was the first person we saw when we arrived at the Brookside County Club. We talked with her, met her sister and got a picture with her nephew. Nice food, expensive beer. Spent ~2 hrs there talking, eating, watching old and current bowl games. Maybe 100 people there? Feeling beat, we headed back to Burbank and to Walmart for some provisions. Despite being after 8, it was so busy! Waited a long time to check out, then for the one manager who could scan our beer purchases. So frustrating, but eventually that trial was over and we headed back. Stayed up just long enough to get ready for bed.

30 December

31 Dec - We slept in until 7, woken by the sunrise and gusty winds. We fixed ourselves eggs, toast and coffee, then the folks picked us op ~8:30. We showed them our apartment and we decided on our first destination for the day: Hollywood. It was nice, so we drove down there and found a place to park. None of us had been down there, so we spent some time taking in the classic sights and looking at all the Hollywood Walk of Fame stars. Some areas were super busy, which got old quickly. We managed to kill over an hour down there before we'd had enough (we also ran into a guy who told us he'd lived in Rapids for 4 years. Small world). We headed back to the car and got ourselves on Mulholland Dr (Nick's idea). He seemed to enjoy all the switchbacks. The rest of us were glad we didn't get sick. There were some overlooks and we stopped at one looking north. Pretty clear day for LA. Also a guy smoking weed there. We finished that drive heading to Ventura Ave for lunch. We left my parents at one restaurant while we walked across the street to get delicious Poke bowls. Mmm. We washed those down the a beer by Mom & Dad. We decided to try our luck at a place listed as a Badger bar in Santa Monica. The Brü Haus wasn't very Badgery and the German beers were pricey. We didn't stay long there. It was ~3, so we headed to Pasadena, which took ~1 hr. Found a place to park, then took a walk up Fair Oaks to Colorado Blvd. There was a carnival atmosphere with people camping out for the Rose Parade, people in classic cars cruising, and people like us walking around. Mom wanted to show us a place called Barney's Beanery. We walked in and saw an empty table... between 3 tables of Ducks fans. We sat and admired the decor (so many license plates on the ceiling!). I got a NA beer, since I wasn't feeling another and I would be driving us home. People from all those three tables chatted with us. I took a picture of "Ben" and Dad. I got a picture with "Jed", who showed us a 2015 Rose Bowl Championship ring he had. They were fun and nice. When we finished our beverages, we walked to Beer & Claw, where I had made reservations. We had a drink at the bar and were joined by Natalie and their aunt Joanne and uncle Clarence. We had a good time talking with them, Nick especially. We sat down to eat at 6, ordering huge platters of Cajun shellfish. The food was excellent. I was concerned about traffic getting out of Pasadena and got irritated at Nick.We said goodbye and left ~8. I managed to drive us out, no problem. It was a mostly silent ride back. Back at our place, Nick and I got into a heated argument about stupid stuff. That, plus sleeping in a strange room with a snoring man and a wonky belly and fireworks randomly going off has me up and writing this at 11:30 pm when I should be sleeping since we need to get up early... {Got freaked out 10 minutes later when our host's cat sitter came by unexpectedly. She did not know our host had guests...}

31 December

1 Jan 2020 - I learned that shooting off fireworks to mark the New Year is a thing they do here, since I was till awake then. Fell asleep sometime after, only to have the alarm wake me at 5:45. We got ready and had some breakfast. Mom & Dad got here ~6:30, then we headed to the Rose Bowl beneath a beautiful sunrise. We easily got into a lot. It was a bit nippy, so we threw on some extra layers and walked up to the Rose Parade route. Nick and I talked through our argument last night and came to a place of understanding. That greatly eased the tension under which we had been operating. Beautiful day, so the over 2 mile hike wasn't awful. Found an alley (Big Bang Theory Way) that wasn't very crowded. I hoisted myself up on an enormous planter box set back from Colorado Blvd that gave me a good sight line. We watched ~20 floats/bands/equestrian units to see the Badger float and band. After that, we turned around and walked back to the country clubhouse. We had signed up for this morning's Badger parents/family/friends tailgate, too. Many more people than on Monday. Had some food & coffee ~10:30. Found a nice spot on the patio to sit, so we stayed there for a while. We smuggled in our won beers (the car was close) and played some 4-handed sheepshead. Decided to make one last trip to the car before heading into the stadium. We joined the masses only to realize we were better off going in near where we were parked. Once back there, got right in with no problems. We found our way to our seats - 18 row A 113-116... Three freakin' rows from the field. Great for ambiance, but terrible for actually watching the game. There was a stealth bomber fly-over. About the game... well, we lost 27-28 against Oregon. It was a close, back-and-forth, exciting game, but turnovers hurt us in the end. Good things - lots of energy in the stands (through I was exhausted), beautiful sunset, our band's much better, and it wasn't too cold by the end. {Also, courtesy of Nick's cousin's wife, we found we had been on TV. :D} Alas, we lost, so we didn't stick around the stadium long. Nick and Dad bought hot dogs off vendors outside the stadium. I nibbled back at the car. We listed to post-game radio and had a beer as the lost struggled to clear. After about an hour, we were able to get out of there without much difficulty. Got back to our apartment around 7:30. Did a load of laundry, reheated leftovers, caught up on the day. It'll be an early night for me.

1 January

2 Jan - Finally got a decent night of sleep. Woke up ~6:35 to another beautiful sunrise. Had plenty of time to pack up and eat some breakfast. The folks picked us up at 8 and we checked out of the apartment. We had a Warner Bros Studio tour at 9. We found parking and got in line. Didn't take us too long to get on a tram. Our tour guide was Miranda W and she did a great job. There was also a group from Florida with 5 moderately annoying 15 or 16 year-old boys. We saw costumes from Aquaman, Wonder Woman and Harry Potter. We drove through "jungle" sets and set-making departments. We saw batmobiles and oodles of props (so many chandeliers!). We got to walk into a set from Shameless and sat in Conan's audience's seats. Last, we got to see some recreated sets from Friends and The Big Bang Theory. Still an interesting tour, through we didn't really watch the shows they highlighted. After the tour, Nick drove us toward the Griffith Observatory. It was very crowded, with parking far away. If we hadn't walked over 5 miles yesterday, we might have considered the hike, since the weather was nice. Instead, we just drove the switchbacks before deciding to head to the Miracle Mile area for lunch. I found a taco place that looked good on Wilshire Blve (El Cartel). Quick, inexpensive (considering...) lunch. We snuck a couple of beers to drink while we dined al fresco. Our next stop was supposed to be the La Brea tar pits (Mom's idea), but the lot was marked as full. As we tried to drive around and find a different place to park, we spied the Peterson Automotive Museum (not that it was hard to miss with that red and silver facade), and decided to go there instead. We spent 1.5 hours looking at the collection of classic roadsters, prototypes, and vehicles from TV/movies. That was interesting for all of us. Dad like the Porsches, Nick & I liked the 1st Shelby Cobra. From there, we walked up to a pub called Molly Malone's. Despite the good ratings, it was rather lackluster. There was one other patron there when we arrived. The bartender wasn't very welcoming, so we departed after finishing our pints. We decided to head toward the ocean. We ended up parking close to the Santa Monica Pier. We moseyed down the Pier, took in the views of the waves, beaches and distant mountains in the late afternoon sun. There were a lot of people doing the same thing. We parked ourselves at the restaurant at the end of the Pier (Maria Sol). We each got a tropical drink (delicious pina colada in my case). Mom & I darted in and out several times to capture a gorgeous sunset. We decided to stay there for dinner. I got shrimp ceviche tostadas that were excellent. It was busy and the restaurant understaffed, so it took a while, but our waiter Juan was friendly. We also called the kids from the Pier to say hi. We picked up personalized license plate keychains for the kids and a magnet for ourselves. It was dark by the time we left. It was so nice to sit outside with a musician playing and the waves crashing and the heaters heating. Once back in our vehicle, we departed and headed to LAX. We got there a little before 8, saying goodbye to Mom & Dad. Security was very quick, through my carry-on did get flagged (again for snacks...). We made our way to the noisy, multi-gated mess in Terminal 3 and hunkered down for a wait. Our flight leaves at 11:40 pm and we fly this first leg to Detroit.

2 January

3 Jan - We boarded our plane and departed on time. I put on my noise-canceling headphones in an attempt to sleep. That was made difficult by the unhappy toddler in our row shrieking and crying every 10 minutes or so it felt like. Also a fair amount of jolting from turbulence. But I must have slept a bit because the flight overall felt short. (It was also unnerving to be warned about "significant rough air" but that didn't really happen.) We got into Detroit ~6:30 am EST. After deplaning, we walked the quiet concourses to our next gate. We got some coffee and joined the two other passengers already there. We were both still tired, so we took about an hour nap, walking as the sky brightened (cloudy, so no sunrise) and the general airport noise increased. We boarded our 9:55 am flight on time and got going. Had the most turbulence on the trip on this leg, but only in a few sports. In about an hour, we touched down in Green Bay. We left Steve know we'd arrived as soon as we could. Since we were in row 5, it didn't take long to get off the plane. Steve picked us up and we headed back to their house. The kids were as happy to see us as we were them. We chatted and had a light lunch before packing up and leaving. Kind of depressing to have to put our winter coats back on. It was gray and in the 30s the entire way home. I know I struggled to stay alert on the drive back, so it was better Nick was driving. We got home around 1, unloaded and greeted our three kitties: Roary, Amy & Robin.

Plates: 35 states, 2 Canadian provinces, 5 Mexican states.
Total trip cost: $4,252.12
{transcribed 2/3/2020}

2011 Badger Rose Bowl

31 Dec 2010 - The day dawned extremely foggy. We had a flight from Madison to Chicago that was to be the first leg of our journey; we found out that the same flight was canceled several times yesterday because of similar weather conditions. That was worrisome, but we packed up Felix's stuff and drove to Fond du Lac, where we met Vicky and Cindy. Steve and Vicky are watching Felix while we are in California. It was hard to see him go, because we've never been away from him longer than a workday. {Felix was nearly 18 months old.} On the way back, it seemed less likely that our flight would be on time, if at all. We borrowed an I-pass from Cassie and hit the road for Chicago almost as soon as we got home. The fog cleared as we went south, but turned into heavy rain around Chicago. At least flights were going in and out. We tired to switch to an earlier flight, but apparently they don't let you fly standby anymore. We went through security (ugh), then decided to have a nice early dinner at the Macaroni Grill restaurant in our concourse. Nick got pizza and I got chicken and pasta. While we waited, we played Dominion, called to say hi to Felix, and tried to relax a bit before our 6:45 flight. Mom and Dad flew out on the 29th and will pick us up at the airport when we land. We left at 7 pm and flew in at 10 pm (CT). We met up with Mom & Dad, when went to the hotel (Anaheim Hilton). Quickly discussed our plans for tomorrow, then called it a night at 12:30 am CT, after 16 hours of travel.

1 Jan 2011 - I slept so soundly last night I didn't hear the fireworks at Disney at midnight. We got up at 5:15, then meet the folks at 6. We drove up to Pasadena as the sun rose, slowed only by the odd slaloming police car on the interstate. We parked at the stadium, then followed the mass of humanity toward the Rose Parade route. We found a place to stand at an intersection near one of Jay Macias's aunts (very friendly lady). We also saw Matt Bernstein walking around. we were near a good group of Badger fans, who joined Dad in cheering for the manure scoopers. ["Scoop! Scoop!] We left the parade after seeing both the Badger and TCU floats and bands. We made our way back to the car to tailgate. The day is beautiful - only contrails marring the blue sky and with temps in the low 50s. we had our bloody marys, sat on upturned plastic buckets on a red-flowered tablecloth. Ah, lovely. There seems to be many more Badger fans than our purple-clad rivals. Jim, Jess and Jess's family stopped by to say hi shortly before we went in to the stadium. About an hour before game time, we found our seats. As for the game itself, I'd rather not comment too much. Suffice it to say we did not look like ourselves; missed opportunities and a missed 2-point conversion left us short 19-21. Damn. We stuck around afterward for 5th Quarter and for the parking lots to clear. When we got back to Anaheim, we went to a sports bar called Clancy's for dinner. That was nice, but we all felt beat. we shared a quick drink with the folks before we called it a disappointing day.

At the Rose Parade

Emulating a statue

Ws!

2 Jan - We woke up around 6:30 and gave a call to see how Felix was doing. Great, apparently. Nick and I relaxed in the room for a while, then got ready. Around 9:30, we went up to Mom & Dad's room for some snacks. We checked out and went for a drive over to the Disneyland Hotel and Downtown Disney. It's been a long time since I was there and it's totally changed. We walked around the shopping area, then decided to go to the Jazz Kitchen restaurant for brunch. I got crab cakes, while everyone else got something with a similar creole style. After that, we drove up to Santa Monica in the rain to find a bar to watch the Packers-Bears game. The first we tried was packed with no parking, so we went to a hole-in-the-wall near UCLA. A few other tables of Packers fans joined us while we were there. The Packers won 10-3, putting them in the playoffs! Sweet! After the game, Mom & Dad dropped us off at our hotel near LAX {Hacienda at Sepulveda @ Mariposa}. It was raining, dreary, ucky. We said good-bye to them (they're driving to Las Vegas right now), then made our way via stairs (elevator broken) to our less-than-stellar room. (TV with no green, broken light bulb), but at least it's clean and there's a shuttle that will take us to the airport on Tuesday. We were still feeling pretty tired, so it's good we got food from the folks so we didn't have to go out. We may be more adventurous tomorrow, although we don't have a car.

Packer fans in UCLA-ville

3 Jan - It was still rainy and cold this morning, so we abandoned the plan of going to Knott's Berry Farm in favor of a trip downtown. We got a free breakfast, then relaxed in the room until about 9:30. Then, we walked to the nearest rail line and took that to our transfer stop. It took a while to figure out where we were supposed to be for the next leg of our journey, but we found it and it wasn't raining anymore. We took the bus downtown to Little Tokyo. Our first stop was for lunch at ZenCu. We got spicy tuna rolls, Philly rolls and crab rolls (all yum!) along with chicken teriyaki for Nick and Soba noodles for me. That was the first time I had them and they didn't do much for me. Oh well. We walked through the small Japanese Village Plaza, purchasing sake sets for Natalie and us. From there, I wanted to talk to the Flower Market. Not a bright idea, I must admit. The route took us through a very unsavory area, and to top it off, the flower markets were closed. Damn. Nick wasn't thrilled about either and I don't blame him. we walked on toward the bus stop that would take us back to the hotel, through the gorgeous historic district. We decided we needed to use a restroom, but instead of a gas station, I suggested we stop at a sukiyaki restaurant for sake and dessert. We shared a large sake, ordered mochi ice cream balls, and watched The Food Network on TV. Very pleasant. After we finished, we caught the transit back to the hotel, arriving around 3:30. We relaxed in the room and called to check on Felix. We read a little, then decided to get dinner. We walked to the strip mall kitty-corner from our hotel and got takeout from a Mexican restaurant. I got a veggie burrito and Nick got nachos. We watched an MST3K movie (Soultaker) on Netflix on Nick's laptop. Called it an early night.

4 Jan - We woke at 4:10 am PT, got ready, and were on our way to the airport around 5. Our flight was at 7, so we got some Starbucks for breakfast. Our seats were near the front of the plan, so we were among the last on. The flight was uneventful (caught a glimpse of the edge of the Grand Canyon) and landed in Chicago at 12:40 ct. We stood in line at the check-in counter to get our receipt for the flight we weren't taking, then got to the car and were on the road by 1:40. We can't wait to get home to see our little man!

{transcribed 1/29/2020}

2007 Capital One Bowl

31 Dec 2006 - This year, our Badgers wen 11-1 and ended up with a Capital One bowl berth. This year, Nick and I made plans to fly down with Cassie and Braden and stay with Mom & Dad at a hotel. we (Nick & I) drove from Madison to Milwaukee at 9 am, driving through rain the entire way. We met Cass & Braden in the parking lot, then spent the next few hours waiting for our direct flight to Orlando. Nothing special about the flight - just your typical annoyances and attempts to sleep through them. We flew in at 5 local time, and got our rental car. We finally made it to the 3-bdrm villa the folks rented around 6:30 pm. we relaxed for a while here before all heading out for dinner. Mom & Dad found an English Pub earlier in the week, so we went there for dinner. I got a yummy chicken curry, a Strongbow, and several coasters to add to my new-found collection. It was a very English pub - cricket, football and rugby on the telly, lots of British accents. Overal, pretty small and nice. From there, we drove to the Orlando Ale House to watch some football (American, this time). The last Packer game of the season (and perhaps Brett Favre's last game) was on, and the Pack defeated the Bears. we had a few beers and nachos. I was the DD for the kids, so I didn't drink too much. We headed back to the villa to count down to the new year. Had a little wine, played some Catchphrase, pretty nice way to quietly ring in the new year.

1 Jan 2007 - We got up around 8, and we were on the road to the stadium around 9. It was nice having done this last year, because we knew our way around this year. We parked pretty close to the stadium and set to work making a poster for nick. We wanted to wear his cow costume and hold up a sign reading "EAT MOR BAKIN", parodying Chick-fil-A ads, since we were playing the Arkansas Razorbacks. It was overcast and cool in the morning, but gradually warmed. Game time was 1 pm, so we had plenty of time to chill prior to it. People started coming over to get their pictures taken with Nick. We found out seats eventually and the game began. In between some minor sprinkles, we played a pretty good first half, leading 17-7 at halftime. The Hogs shut us down in the second half, but at least our defense held them to one touchdown. It was a nerve-wracking final six minutes, but we hung on for the win. We stuck around for 5th Quarter, and then many people in our section stopped by for a photo-op with Nick. Tailgated a bit afterward to let traffic clear, then promptly ran into a lot of it on I-4 as we made our way to the Ale House for dinner and to watch the second half of the Rose Bowl. We finally got there and ordered dinner (delicious blackened mahi-mahi over pasta for me). Michigan blew the game big time, and USC won. After dinner, we all headed back to the villa to chill. Watched more football, drank more beer.

Me, Nick, Braden, Cassie, Mom, Dad

2 Jan - We slept in a bit this morning, then decided what we were going to do for the day. We decided on Disney's Magic Kingdom. We got there around 10:30, paid $71 each to get in, and promptly began our hatred of strollers and inconsiderate people. We pretty much spent the day getting rained on (without ponchos, mind), standing in line for a ride and drying off, and then starting the process over again. We rode (in order) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean (now with Capt Jack Sparrow, Capt Barbossa and Davy Jones' characters), Space Mountain, Stitch's Great Escape, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad one last time before we went back to the villa. For most of the rides, we waited over a half hour, so that took up a big portion of the day. It was nice to get a pair of dry pants and socks on after that. A quick stop at Wal-Mart to pick up some frozen pizza and wine {and a copy of the Daily Mail, apparently}, and then it was back for a nice, relaxing evening.

Found in my travel journal

{transcribed 1/27/2020}

2006 Capital One Bowl

31 Dec 2005 - The Badgers were invited to play in the Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Florida (Barry Alvarez's last game as head coach). A group of us (my boyfriend Nick, Cassie, her boyfriend Braden, his roommate James and his girlfriend Lori) decided to get out of the cold and make the trip down to Florida. I have to ask - why do all these bowl games we go to have to start so inauspiciously for me? Nick and I got up at 4, me the others at Memorial Union to take the Van Galder bus to O'Hare at 5 am. We got down there about 3 hours before our flight left, but as I was attempting to check in automatically, I realized my walled (with the credit card I charged the entire trip on) was missing. After a few panicked phone calls to the cab and bus companies, my wallet was found on the bus. {which was then returned to me when the bus returned.} We were able to check-in and then setting in for a wait at the airport. We flew United ("Ted") direct to Orlando (uneventful flight) and stepped into the Floridian warmth (mid-70s). After an unexpected experience at the car rental place (we reserved two small cars, but somehow managed to get a Taurus and a mini-van, and then the ordeal of dropping the Taurus because everyone fit in the van - Argh!), we found our hotel and settled in. Everybody threw on their suits and headed to the pool. Almost like bathwater. Because it was New Year's Eve, the place was a bit more crowded than usual. Cassie and I took a drive to find a place to buy some beer. First we stopped at one of the scariest super Wal-Marts on the planet (everyone there had carts full of absolutely random stuff), before finding a grocery store. We ordered pizza for dinner, and hung out until a bit after midnight, when the number of hours we'd been up started to catch up with us.

James, Lori, Cassie, Braden, Nick, me

1 Jan 2006 - Got ready and got some breakfast before heading back down to the pool in the morning. After swimming, we went to International Blvd to find lunch and something to do. We found a place called Bahama Breeze that was pretty good. I got a chicken quesadilla, salad and a mojito. After lunch, we walked to a nearby adventure golf place. We had a coupon for half off, so we mini-golfed 36 holes for $8/person. That took a good 3 hours. I got a hole-in-one once. :) After all the mini-golfing, we decided to meet up with Mom and Dad who also came down for the game. We got our suits and headed to their hotel. There were (it felt like) a million preteen cheerleaders staying there, and all of them were in the swimming pool. We carved out a little niche for ourselves and swam a bit. We relaxed a bit after that, then headed out for some dinner. We stumbled upon an authentic English Pub (the Cricketers Arms in the Mercado), judging by the waitstaff and clientele. I had fish and chips, complemented nicely by a pint of Strongbow. We stayed for a while playing darts and talking to other Badger and Auburn Tigers fans. Mom & Dad left to go back to their hotel, and we went to Howl and the Moon, a dueling piano bar. It was a bit less exciting for me as the designated driver, while everyone else got louder and drunker. I had a headache, caffeine tummy ache and a short temper by the time we finally came back and turned off the lights.

{At the pub, we talked to a guy and his wife at the bar. He owned car dealerships in Miami and she had an enormous ring (causing us to recount this part of the tale by not being able to lift our hand from the table). They had Rapids connections. It was on this trip that it started to sink in that Rapids is the Center of the Universe...}

Mini-golfing

Cassie's drink

2 Jan - Owing to the previous night's experiences and the roughly five hours of sleep I got the night before, I wasn't the happiest camper when I woke up this morning. Because the 1st fell on a Sunday (NFL day), all traditionally New Year's Day bowl games were to be played on the 2nd.  As game time approached, my mood improved dramatically. We met up with Mom & Dada at a grocery store, then caravaned up to our parking lot. We got there about 3 1/2 hours before the game. Everyone else was pretty occupied trying to overcome their hangovers. I tried to get a bit of sleep. We met Jerry Fluno (as in the Fluno Center in Madison) and his son Brian. Jerry was originally from Rapids and knew the Dalys. {He invited to pay for us to go to the Alumni tailgate, but my hungover group couldn't be bothered. Still irked about that...} Just another one of those small-world coincidences. We ate some lunch, played Uno, then made our way in to the stadium. We (the 6 of us) were seated in the "student section" and mom & Dad were two sections over. Considering Auburn was ranked in the Top 10 and we have had no luck against SEC teams, I though this game would be a loss. Most of the sportswriters seemed to think likewise. What an extremely pleasant surprise it was when we caused two turnovers and scored 17 points to Auburn's 0 in the first half. {Big Bad Voodoo Daddy played the halftime show, along with way too many cheerleaders.} We had pretty good seats - I'd say they were equivalent to section P row 40 at Camp Randall. We students were loud and obnoxious as usual. I still couldn't believe it when the final score came down to Wisconsin 24, Auburn 10. I'm pretty sure all of us were pretty hoarse. Great 5th Quarter. We tailgated a bit afterward, then bid Mom & Dad adieu as we headed back to our hotel. We tried to find a place to watch the other bowl games, but it was too crowded. Ended up getting subs and heading back to the hotel. A little R&R in the hot tub and having a quiet rest of the evening.

Our view

Badger Fans!

 3 Jan - We slept in a bit more than we intended, but we were all ready in time to catch the early shuttle to  Universal Studios, if we had caught the shuttle, which we didn't. We ended up driving instead. It rained as we got to the park, but soon stopped. We went to Islands of Adventure. It was really nice - the weather ended up being sunny and about 80, and the park wasn't crowded at all. We went on the main roller coaster first (the Hulk) which had a really short line. Over the course of the day, we went on the Spiderman ride, Dueling Dragons twice, the Cat in the Hat ride, and saw the 8th Voyage of Sinbad stunt show. We also went on a Popeye-themed ride, which got us soaking wet. We spent the next few hours drying off. Nick and I bought Thing 1 and Thing 2 (me and him, respectively) t-shirts as souvenirs. We ate dinner at Margartiaville, just outside the park. I had yummy blackened tilapia. We had a little difficulty finding our way back home, but we eventually made it. I opted not to go down to take one last hot tub dip. I got enough water on me today. Nick & I talked a bit, then everyone else came up to watch part of the Penn State-FSU game and pack, because w were leaving the next day.

All wet after a water ride

Cassie and me doing our best Blue Steel.

Having some fun at Universal Studios

4 Jan - We woke up at 4 am, took the rental car back and just caught the airport shuttle that was about to leave. There were Penn State fans (victorious and exhausted) and Ohio State fans on the shuttle as well. We were delayed by ticket lines and baggage problems, but we eventually made it to O'Hare, where we had to wait for the next bus to Madison. I tried to sleep as much as I could on the bus. Finally pulled in around 2, and my roommate Kyle was nice enough to pick us up.

{transcribed 1/27/2020}

2005 Outback Bowl

29 Dec 2004 - The trip started pretty inconspicuously for me, when I bruised the top of my foot, took a huge chunk out of my heel trying to get into the shower {at Nick's house} and nearly fainted as a result. I recovered pretty quickly and got a band-aid from my boyfriend Nick for the wound.

Let me back up a minute. This year, the Badgers started the season 9-0, then lost the last two games to go to the Outback Bowl in Tampa. As I was a student at the university again, I wanted to sit in the student section rather than with my parents and Grandma Kienert. The group I went with was Cassie, her boyfriend Braden, Nick and the guys' roommate James.

We left at 9:15 from Madison and made our way south. We drove straight through, each taking turns at about 3-3 1/2 hours each. I drove through all of Tennessee and had to deal with the only congestion from an accident.

30 Dec - I caught about an hour or two of sleep between Chattanooga and Atlanta. We pulled into the Day's condo in Sarasota around 8 am ET. Had a bit of breakfast with the folks and Grandma, then tried to get some sleep. Went down to the beach to get a few winks by the surf. Very nice day, if a little windy. The high was in the 70s, but in the direct sunlight, it felt a lot warmer. We all ate lunch upstairs, then came down to onto the beach for more relaxation. Later in the afternoon, Mom and I went to the grocery store to buy pizza makings for dinner. I felt like I was going to crash, but held off, or I wouldn't be able to sleep later. After dinner (and a light tiff between Grandma and Mom), we put on the bowl games and played sheepshead for a while. Everyone but Cass played, with James learning how with Dad. I decided I'd had enough of being awake and went to be around 10.

beach bums #1

beach bums #2 (Dalys' condo in the background)

31 Dec - We started to get up around 8:30 this morning. Dad, Grandma and Braden headed down to the beach. Nick and I went to Barnes and Noble. He got a Stephen King book and I got the first three books of the Series of Unfortunate Events. We got back just as Mom was setting out sandwich makings. After lunch, we all watched some bowl games before heading to Tampa around 1:30. We got to our hotel, deep in questionable part of town, just off the Interstate. We unloaded and watched some more football. We were pretty hungry, so we took off towards Ybor City, where the pep rally and parade were being held, by cab. We were dropped off by where the parade started, and got a ton of beads from floats as we walked looking for a place to eat dinner. We ended by asking a police officer for a recommendation, because the place we went to the last time our family was here (Cha-Cha Coconuts) was no more. We found a bar/restaurant just off the parade route. Good food at M.J. Barleyhoppers. We called Mom, Dad and Grandma, who were at the parade, to tell them where we were. They joined us as we were eating dinner. After we were all finished, we said bye to the folks and went in search of a bar. We ended up at the Irish Bar, where a very loud band was playing. We went out to the beer garden in back, where the rest of the crew ran into the parents of a friend of their who passed away a few years ago. we stayed there until about 10:30, then took a cab back to the hotel. We wanted TV until midnight, then called it a night shortly afterwards.

Road trip gang on the beach

Post-dinner in Ybor City

1 Jan 2005 - My first time writing that. :) We got up at 8, and after getting ready and eating the complementary breakfast of tasteless grits and hard pancakes, we left shortly after 9 for the stadium. We found parking just north of the stadium among many Georgia fans. Tailgated a bit before heading into the stadium. James, Nick and I wore cow costumes that the guys had bought and wore during the football season. We got a lot of smiles, laughs, and pictures taken of us. Our seats weren't together, but we still managed to sit in a group. The game was exciting, but bad referring and missed opportunities resulted in a 21-24 loss. At least the weather was nice (almost 80) - I got pretty dehydrated. After the band played 5th Quarter, we met up with Mom, Dad & Grandma for a while. We came back to the hotel to see what was going on in the other ball games. We then drove to Ybor City for dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse. Mmm. We walked around a little while afterwards, then drove back to the hotel. Watched the Rose Bowl and had a few intoxicating beverages. So tired I went to sleep around 9:30.

{I must have been been so tired that I didn't both writing down some of the things I remember about the game to this day. We were seated in the "student section" in the end zone at Raymond James. We found seats together directly across the aisle from rabid (not literally?), drunk Georgia fans. They gave us some crap about our costumes, and the student section in general. They REALLY did not like it when students started passing out newspapers that we could hold up in front of us when the Georgia band played at halftime. One guy in particular was belligerent, but we could not understand half of what he was saying. With Georgia's victory, the drunk Georgia guy decided to be nice, and invited us all to his tailgate after the game. Yeah, pass.}

We three cows

Our view

Rather read the paper than watch Georgia's band (James middle left)

2 Jan - We were all up, packed and fed by 9 eastern, so we checked out and left Tampa shortly after that. The drive back had a lot more areas of congestion, especially north of Tamp and southern Georgia, as us Wisconsin fans, Georgia fans, and those who attended the Iowa-LSU game in Orlando all were using the same roads to get home. My stretch of driving was from Macon to Chattanooga. I got a bit of sleep afterwards, then stayed up with Nick as he took Kentucky and southern Illinois.

3 Jan - We ran into a lot of rain in S IL and it turned into freezing rain as we went north. Braden and Cassie took it slow in the early hours of the morning. We got back to Madison right around 6 am. I slept for a few hours, then drove Cassie home. I was going to pick up my cats, but they didn't want to come, so I left them in my parents' care for a few more weeks. Drove back to Madison and that's enough driving for a while, I think.

{transcribed 1/21/2020}

2003 Music City Bowl

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!

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.

Cass, Braden, Sheri, Brian with the sign Cass & I made

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}

2002 Alamo Bowl

26 Dec 2002 - My first trip as a graduate, no longer a student of any sort. All my new "adult" adventures call for a new travel log. This adventure takes us to San Antonio. For what may be one of our last family road trips, Mom, Dad, Cassie & I packed the day after Christmas to begin the drive to Texas. We got a later start than usual because we had to drop Sadie off at the kennel. Through Wisconsin, the little bit of Minnesota and all of Iowa, we got good weather. Kansas was a different story. We weren't supposed to get any poor weather on the way down. Instead, we got hammered by snow. It made the roads slow and we lost time on the way to our stop for the night, Oklahoma City. When I wasn't driving, I napped, read the 2nd Lord of the Rings book (just saw the movie twice) or looked at the paper. After it got dark, there really wasn't much to do except watch the snow and traffic, and daydream. I made a quick call to the guy I'm seeing (Bob) to say hi. We finally pulled into our hotel at 10:30 pm.

27 Dec - After getting breakfast, we headed south once more. It was pretty foggy for a while. The skies were clear and bright when we got to Texas. It got a lot busier traffic-wise the further south we drove. We finally pulled into San Antonio around 4:30. We had a bit of difficulty finding our hotel. The Embassy Suites here is beautiful inside - lots of tile and iron work. After getting settled, we drove to the downtown Riverwalk. The larger trees had multicolored Christmas lights streaming down from them, twinkling as night fell. We walked along until we came to an Iris pub. It seemed like a fun place, so we stopped for a few pints. I must be becoming a lightweight again, because that beer hit me pretty hard. There was a guy playing the piano and singing songs. He'd play the fight son whenever Colorado or Wisconsin scored a "touchdown" (a tip was put in a marked bucket). He got Cassie up there to do the motions to the Unicorn Song with him and two others. After that, we went in search of a place to eat dinner. Every place had a pretty long wait, because the whole area was packed with people, including lots of fellow Badger fans. We found a place to eat, got margaritas and food. After dinner, I started to feel a little sick and tired, so we headed back to the car. We found one of the Cows on Parade and got a few pictures. I called Bob to say hi and then we went back to the hotel. I crashed pretty well when we returned, but because Cass chose to sleep on the fold-out bed in the other room, I got the double all to myself. Sweet.

28 Dec - (I'm writing this the next morning because I honestly couldn't keep awake any longer). Wow, what a day that was. I don't think I ever thought it would end as it did. We slept in this morning, which was more than nice. Once we got ready to go, we headed out under the cloudless skies to a little artisan's village. It turned out to be a lot less than we expected, so we didn't stay long. We next drove downtown to the Mercado to have a look. Cassie got some neat stuff, like a sun mask to add to her collection, but I didn't find any silver jewelry I was interested in. We then drove over by the stadium to scope out parking and ended up leaving the van there. Since it was around 2 in the afternoon, we walked towards the Riverwalk to a mall where we found a place for lunch and got to watch some of the Eagles-Giants game. You could tell there were a number of Packers fan there because of all the cheering when the Giants won. (If the Pack wins on Sunday, they get home field in the playoffs). Cass and I found a Forever 21 store in the mall, the best source for cheap going out clothes. I got a top for New Year's Eve, but it took quite a while to pay, so we didn't shop much more after that. we walked along the rest of the Riverwalk that we didn't get to before. We stopped at a "British Pub" to kill some time before the game. Cassie and I walked next door where we found a gift shop that sold magazines. I picked up a couple. After a bit, we made our way back to the van. From there, we gathered up our stuff and walked to the stadium. It is a very interesting looking dome... Got in and found our seats - high up on the lower deck, on the goal line, but at least among mostly Badger fans. There were some Colorado fans behind us. Each seat had a pack of inflatable Thunderstix (strange things - they're just tubes of inflated plastic, but if you hit the upper part together, they make a resonant tympanic sound). Cassie & I played with ours a bit. They're so annoying, but really hard to put down. After all the pregame stuff was over, we settled in. Cass & I went down and said hi to Kendra [Kaiser], who was sitting with the rest of the band in the end zone. The "student section" was right next to them. The Badgers got the ball first and were driving well until Bollinger threw an interception that was returned 91 yards. Ugh. After about half of the first quarter, Cassie and I went down to be with the other students. We just went in a row near the back, and right in front of me were two of my ME friends (Hackel & Doyle). And right then, I looked a few rows down and saw Krista [Hongisto] and Jen [Hrycyna] (friends from Rapids and/or the dorm). I got a picture with both groups each. Not only seeing them was neat, but it was amazing how many people I recognized in the small section. I guess it comes from being so old. The Badgers finished the first half with a 21-14 lead over Colorado. Half-time was okay - our band rocked, their band, not so much. Once the band returned to their seats, I grabbed Kendra and brought her over to Krista and Jen. It was nice to sit stand and talk to them. The Badgers decided to leave their game in the locker room and gave away two more touchdowns. We just could not seem to get a break. And we were getting upset because they kept showing the Colorado band, cheerleaders and fans on the Jumbotron and rarely us or ours. Grrr. we finally got into desperation play during the last two minutes. Down by a touchdown and we needed to score. I don't know how it happened, but we made two long 4th down situations. The last one was precluded on 3rd down by an incompletion on the goal line that just slipped through the receiver's arms. Right then, I thought we were done. You don't get two chances like that. But then on 4th and 12, Bollinger threw a completion to Darren Charles at the 2 for a first down. Badger fans went nuts. And then to score the typing points moments later... We went into overtime. We won the toss and elected to defend. Colorado went on offense and to our amazement, missed their field goal attempt. Right then, we new we'd have the game. Our offense went out there and our kicker made the field goal. I was screaming and jumping around with everybody - it was so cool. I really didn't have any expectations for the game. We were 8-point underdogs coming in, playing the #14 ranked team. Ha! 'Bout time they played just above the level of the competition. Cassie & I went back over by Mom & Dad for the award ceremony and 5th Quarter. Oh, that was so much fun! We finally left the stadium after 11:30 to make our way out through traffic and back to the hotel. We then ate dinner (leftovers) and stayed up until 1:30 am to watch the highlights on Sports Center.

29 Dec - We drove a long, long way today. We left San Antonio around 7:15 and headed north. There really wasn't anything eventful during the day's drive. I didn't feel that great and didn't eat much, but I did drive from Tulsa to Rolla, Mo. That was long, and like Mom before me, I was fighting this wind the whole way. We stopped for the night in St. Louis, which will give us a much shorter day tomorrow.

{transcribed 1/6/2020}

1999 Rose Bowl

26 December 1998 - We left home at around 2 pm after a morning of pandemonium and running around. We drove as far as Des Moines, IA. Spent the night in a king-sized suite. Cool! It's so cold outside. I hope it's nice on New Years when we got to the Rose Bowl.

27 Dec - Got not very much sleep last night, because there were people making noise in the pool until around 11:30. I had to ask the front desk to make them leave. We got up early to be on the road. We drove through all of Nebraska, stopping at a Wendy's for dinner. We drove as far as Denver, Colorado. We got a room at a Hampton. We ate dinner at a sports bar and grill.

28 Dec - Another long day in the car. we left Denver around 8 local time. As we started driving through the Rockies, it started snowing. It got pretty bad when we were in the valley, so the going was pretty slow. I wasn't feeling all that well. We stopped once, and I felt like I was almost going to black out. That feeling went away after a while. Driving through Colorado and Utah was really pretty. We drove as far as Las Vegas. It was late and everyone was tired, so we didn't bother to go out to eat for dinner. Tomorrow we hope to do a little sight seeing around here and all that.

29 Dec - We spent half the day cruising the strip. We parked the van down by Treasure Island. We walked all the way down to New York, New York. We stopped at the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace to look at the stores there. My feet were hurting by the time we got as far as NY. I really wanted to drop a quarter in a slot machine to say I gambled in Vegas, but you must be 21. Jeez. I can gamble in Wisconsin, but not in Vegas. I don't get it. We stopped for a drink at the Harley-Davidson Cafe on the way back to the car. After getting back, we drove over by the Sahara and had lunch at Holy Cow!, a little brewery/cafe place. The service was really slow. We walked over to the Sahara after lunch, because they had some kind of racing thing there. It didn't look very exciting, so we left. We drove the rest of the way to Loos Angeles. I slept. We got to our hotel, a little Holiday Inn Express, and watched a bowl game.

30 Dec - Stuck around the hotel this morning for a while. It was a beautiful morning, so while the rest of the family watched a movie, I sat out on the porch in the sun, ate my breakfast and read. We went to a nearby mall to try to get Cassie a replacement pair of contacts. After that, we took a drive to the Rose Bowl Stadium to try and get our bearings. There was a family festival going on, so we parked and walked over. We got some souvenirs. I got a t-shirt and a hat. We walked through a tent to see how the Rose Parade floats are made. Then we went back to the car and drove and drove to find the right way back from the stadium. We got back to the hotel, then went back to the mall to get dinner. We came back and watched Nebraska and Arizona in the Holiday Bowl.

31 Dec - We slept in this morning. Cassie and I tried to use the whirlpool, but it was a little too chilly. We did a few loads of laundry. Then we went over to the mall to pick up Cass's new contacts. I bought a Tom Servo gumball machine head. After that, we all drove to Long Beach. We were going to go the new aquarium, but not if it cost $15 a person. Instead, we walked along the harbor and ate lunch at Tequila Jack's. From there, we walked back to see the Badger Band have a little pep rally by the aquarium. We drove over to Universal Studios where they were having a special Wisconsin New Year's Eve bash at 6:00 pm. We wandered about, taking in all the rides and shows we could. We got especially wet on the Jurassic Park ride. We stayed there until 10 (midnight back home), then left to drive back to the hotel. We went to bed fairly early, because we have to get up at 4:15 am tomorrow morning. Ugh. Happy New Year!

Dad & Car along the Long Beach race route

Cass & Mom polkaing at the pep rally in Long Beach

Cass & Cara at Universal Studios

1 Jan 1999 - We got up at 4:15 as advertised. We drove over to the stadium and got a pretty good parking spot. It was only around 6 am, so I tried to catch a few more winks. The rest of the family had the idea of going up and watching the Rose Parade if we could. We walked up there and found a nice place to stand. Two local girls were friendly and let us occupy the space. We watched about half the parade. It was really interesting to see the floats up close up. You could really see the roses and all the other flowers and seeds they used to decorate them. After that, we went back to the van. I took another nap. After I woke up , I read and then mom and I played some sheepshead. At 1 pm, we went into the stadium. We found ourselves in the midst of many Badger fans. Awesome! The game was a real battle. Both teams played very well. It was a real you-score-one, I-score-one fight. The Badgers managed to hold off the UCLA Bruins just enough to get the upset. There were some really big plays by us and them. Ron Dayne had a career day. In the end, thousands of ecstatic Badger fans celebrated a 38-31 win. We had 5th Quarter and really had fun. My throat hurts from all the screaming I did. Wow. It was just too cool to be there and experience it all. We stuck around the stadium waiting for traffic to clear out, then drove back to the hotel. We ordered pizzas and got sundaes from the McDonald's across the street to feed hungry stomachs and soothe sore throats. Ate our dinner and watched TV before going to bed. A great way to ring in the New Year!

Rose Parade Float

Happy Badgers!

Winners!

2 Jan - We were up and on the road by 8:15 am. We took the southern route this time. We drove all the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was pretty late (9:15 local) when we pulled into a Hampton Inn. Mom and Cassie went to get dinner while Dad and I watched the Orange Bowl.

3 Jan - Another long day on the road. I think everybody's getting a little sick of each other. We drove to Kansas City to overnight. On the way there, we listened to the Packers-49ers wild card playoff game on the radio. The Pack lost the game in the last 3 seconds. Argh! Hopefully, we'll miss the winter storm that went through Wisconsin and Illinois in the last few days.

4 Jan - Drove the last leg home. Since we made good time, we were able to pick Sadie up from the kennel before going home to dig out our driveway. It was a great trip. Who'd have believed that the Badgers would go to the Rose Bowl and win? It sure made my freshman year in college at UW-Madison that much more special. :)

{transcribed 2/6/2020}

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}