Getting Lost in My Own Hometown.....

It is widely known that I am directionally challenged. If I go into a building, I have no idea how to get out. I can't sit in my living room and point to the state park that is across the road from where we live. I can follow directions to get anywhere in the world (well....), but I can't simply leave and go back the way I came. (Thank you, thank you, thank you sites like Google Maps and Mapquest that give you the "reverse directions" option.) My GPS is my best friend.

This past Saturday, I finally made good on my promise to myself that I would take my bicycle to our tailgating spot and burn some of that pre-game energy by riding my bike. It would have made way too much sense to do that on one of those days when kickoff was at 3:30 or 4:00 or 7:30. No, I chose to (finally) take my bike on a day when kickoff was at 1:30. That meant I needed to be back around 12:00 so I could get ready and leave for the walk to the stadium at 12:30. That meant I needed to ride my bike around 10:00 or 10:30. That meant it was around 40 degrees.

I don't DO 40 degrees on my bicycle.

But after I hauled it all the way to Athens, I felt obligated to ride it.

I have been wanting to ride the North Oconee River Greenway, a bicycle/pedestrian trail that I knew was near our tailgating spot. Gus and I left walking one Saturday trying to find it, but while I could find the river (I'm directionally challenged but thankfully not stupid), I couldn't find the greenway. Then Rozmo and I did a ride in Athens about a month ago, and we found the beginning of the greenway. Smug in my new knowledge, I took off on Saturday (40 degrees, remember) for a short ride on the greenway.

My short ride on the greenway turned out to be about three-quarters of a mile. Because that's when I lost the path. I know the town, however, so I didn't feel "lost" so much as "confused" about how I lost the path. And so quickly. Then I became determined to find the path again, and I kept riding.

I wound up on a 4-lane highway that I knew ended at another 4-lane highway. A U.S. highway to boot. The greenway didn't show up on my GPS (see, I was never really lost), but it did show up on my iPhone. It showed up near the intersection where the two 4-lane highways crossed. (Wait...is that redundant?) I kept riding, looking for a gate or a sign or some indication of the greenway, and I found myself inside a huge flea market-type thing where people rent tables and sell their worthless junk items. That wasn't where I wanted to be. Checking the iPhone again, I saw that I had passed the greenway and evidently see it. So I turned around, more alert and observant this time. I noted the name of a road that would indicate I had gone back too far, and yep, there it was. I checked the iPhone again, and what I thought was the greenway on the screen was actually a railroad. An actual railroad. One that trains use. I could have turned on it to get back to town, but I'm really not that good.

I was faced with two unpleasant choices. I could A) turn right on the busy 4-lane U.S. highway; or B) turn around (again) and go back the way I came. For some reason, I am against backtracking on my bike. Ultimately I chose that option, though, and returned to our tailgating location almost the same way I came. (I told you I can't go back the same way.) I got back to the intersection nearest our parking lot, flung my left arm out confidently to indicate a turn, and then realized the lot was straight ahead. (See what I mean?)

It wound up being only about a 13-mile ride, which wasn't bad considering the amount of time I had (some of which I spent stopped on the side of the road, scratching my head and scrolling along a RAILROAD on my iPhone) and the chilly temperatures. I know now where I made my mistake, and we have one more home game this Saturday for me to try again. Maybe I can manage TWO miles before I miss a turn.

And kickoff is at noon. Maybe I should leave tonight.

Busy Day With No Photos.....

It was a busy day for Sweet Girl and me, and I had lots of opportunities to take photographs. Even going back to yesterday, when we were PREPARING for today (a day of football and RVing and tailgating), including completing some tasks I hadn't heretofore (I love that word) done on my own.

• Going to the gas company to get propane put in the RV, arriving promptly at 8:00 just like Hubby said before the trucks left on their regular routes, only to sit there and twiddle my thumbs for half an hour because they actually don't open until 8:30. 
• Emptying the waste water tanks on the RV. I have heretofore allowed that to remain a male-defined and male-centered task. I can be sexist when it is convenient.
• Parking 5 cars in our front yard (it really isn't that big) so I could get the RV out. Hubby took my SUV to Mississippi, and the guys who rode with him left their cars here. And Sweet Girl's car is here. And Hubby has TWO vehicles all by himself. It looks a little like a used car lot at our house.
• Parking in our usual RV tailgating lot, but NOT in our usual spot where we know exactly how to set up the satellite, because Maurice thought he blocked off our usual spot, but an RV slipped in sometime during the night and took our spot. 
• Getting frustrated because I couldn't get the satellite set up. I didn't want to watch television that badly, but I desperately wanted to be able to accomplish the feat.
• Stewing about the satellite for a while, then moving it to the front of the RV and picking up a signal almost immediately. 
• Leaping over the curb in jubilation because I was able to set up the satellite.
• Setting up the television outside, which is what I've wanted to do every. single. week. since we started tailgating, but Hubby always puts it inside and then sits inside with the air conditioner on and we may as well be at home watching television.
• Taking a picture of television sitting outside the RV and texting it to Hubby, not only to let him know I was successful at setting up the satellite all by myself, but also to let him know that when he isn't here, I will basically do whatever the hell I want to.
• Despairing when our team quickly fell behind 10-0 to a team that hasn't beat us since Jimmy Carter was President, then proceeding to win by a final score of 37-10. We were afraid the whole team was asleep at the beginning of the game.
• Cheering loudly when the sun finally, mercifully dipped below the line of trees.
• Choosing (inadvertently) to return to the RV lot by the darkest, scariest, spookiest route possible. Hubby and I don't even go that way when he's with me. What a dork.

Yes, any or all of those would have been photo-worthy. No wonder I can't call myself a photographer.

And I'm almost embarrassed to say my camera was clipped to my belt loop.

Game Day...........

Hubby and I have very different ideas about tailgating. Color me shocked.

Here's how I prefer to tailgate:

Leave home hours before kickoff to get a prime parking space.

Set up the television and satellite outside and share the experience with other tailgaters. Pull for whoever is playing against Florida and South Carolina.

Snack all afternoon, until it's time for the real meal (pulled pork sandwiches this week).

Leave for the stadium an hour ahead of kickoff, to allow for the one-mile walk and to make sure we see all the pre-game ceremonies.

Stay for the whole game, counting off the seconds at the end. Especially if it's a close game.

Come back and celebrate with the other tailgaters.

Hubby's version:

Leave home hours before kickoff to get the preferred satellite spot.

Set up the television and satellite inside the RV with the air conditioner on, even if it IS the first day of fall and it's a nice day outside. Pull for any teams you have bets on. Switch to golf when football games aren't going your way.

Snack all afternoon, until it's time for the real meal (pulled pork sandwiches this week). Okay, so that part is the same.

Leave for the stadium as close to kickoff as possible, because the pre-game stuff can't possibly matter. Actually, it wouldn't be a tragedy to miss kickoff.

Leave the game as soon as the outcome is obvious, even if it's only halftime.

Come back to the RV and head for home as soon as traffic clears, even though your parking pass is good for the whole weekend. Except for days like today, when kickoff isn't until 7:45 PM, so spending the night only makes sense.


Not that I'm complaining. It could be worse - He could be a Florida fan. Oh wait...we would never have been together.

Go Dawgs!!!!

Tailgating Season Comes to an End.....

Today was our last home UGA football game. There is the game next Saturday at Georgia Tech (probably won't go to that one), the SEC Championship game the following game in Atlanta (have applied for tickets to that one, but so far down on the points totem pole that it's doubtful we will get them), and then whatever bowl game UGA gets invited to play in.

It's hard to believe the home season is over, and the regular season is almost over. Didn't we just start playing? Where did the time go?

Our tailgating experience this year was a positive one. This is the first time we've had season tickets, and it's the first time we've had the RV to take to ballgames. Even for games like today's, when we didn't intend to spend the night, it was nice to have A) our own bathroom; B) a television; and C) somewhere to hang out. Even room to take a nap, if we had been so inclined.

It was only about a mile walk from our RV lot to the stadium. The only teeny tiny negative I can think of is that for the two games that ended after dark, it was a little bit spooky walking back along a poorly lit path in a ... questionable ... part of town.

Gus did beautifully as a tailgating dog. He wore his little UGA t-shirt, and he didn't bark obnoxiously. Much. He wasn't crazy about being left in the RV for the duration of a football game, but he got used to it.

I didn't expect to get sunburned on the 19th of November, but I did today. I wore a turtleneck and fleece vest along with my UGA jacket, which turned out to be totally unnecessary. It stayed under my seat the entire game.

We won today's game, but it almost felt like a loss. We were expected to win by more than four touchdowns, but the score was 19-10. I hope that means we were saving up for the two big, big games we have left, and not that our team's swagger was just all a bunch of hot air.

Enough about football for tonight. We're all pretty tuckered out.