Keith and his girlfriend Liz came to Tallahassee for a weekend of fun and hopefully a season opening victory for FSU.
The Meneses Family drove 9 hours from Miami to cheer on the Hurricanes and their Canes gave them something to celebrate as they left on their long drive home at 4 AM on Tuesday morning.
Lulu loves to entertain and all of the above plus Wayne and Shirley had a raucous pool party at noon before the Monday night game. Great food and drink was punctuated by games of volleyball - basketball and badminton that kept the pool stirring. No one seemed to mind that the pool heater failed and they were required suffer the 78 degree pool water.
At 5 o'clock the smoke cleared as the crowd piled into the van - and headed for a tail gate party on the prime spot we staked out that morning at sunrise. Joan and Curt brought along more goodies and we all settled in for the 3 hours of hype before the game.
Near game time - I turned down 4 seats together for $25 each. I was so sure that tickets would be plentiful. After a half hour of holding up 4 fingers - I did not see one person selling 4 together. After about 15 minutes of Lulu giving me the evil eye for turning down the 4 seats together - I landed two pairs of tickets exactly on the 50 yard line. The first pair were $35 each and in row 46. That was not bad since the face value of tickets this year is $65 - highway robbery. As the missing man formation of 4 jets went over - I landed a second pair on the 50 yard line in row 63 for $25 each. We were all set.
The stadium was rocking like I have not seen in a long time. They announced the paid attendance at 81,000 in a stadium that holds 85,000. I did not see anyone paying over face value for tickets - but there were a lot of people outside with fingers in the air - buying tickets at kickoff. One of the things that keeps ticket prices low is that in Florida - anyone can openly buy or sell tickets at whatever price the market will support. The only worry is counterfeit tickets - I have not seen any yet - but I am sure there are some. Each ticket is scanned as you enter the turnstile.
The game was exciting - back and forth with 6 lead changes. It ended on the 2 yard line with an incomplete pass and Miami fans roaring.
On Tuesday - we took Liz and Keith to Wakulla Springs on the Jungle Cruise and then lunch at the Riverside Cafe on the Gulf. The day flew by and pretty soon it was time to take them to the airport. Just like that Lulu and I were empty nesters again.
This was the first time we met Liz. She is pretty - funny and very bright. She graduated from Duke and Princeton - but was such a good sport buying an FSU garnet and gold shirt for the game. She works and lives very close to Keith in downtown Washington DC.
The weekend went way too quickly. As I get older - the FSU wins and losses do not mean as much to me. Lulu still gets all wound up after a game - and insists on watching the recording of the game right away. Now - to me - football weekends are simply a good time to gather family and friends together in a common cause.
Next month - we all plan to meet in Boston for the FSU at BC game. Drew - Robin - and Jack live in Providence a few miles from Boston - so we all plan to do it again there. Lulu has a few speaking engagements there - we are lucky to have an FSU event nearby.
Pictures - Harry - Lulu - Liz - Keith by the pool. Liz - Keith - and a gator at Wakulla Springs Jungle Cruise. Keith and Liz at the tailgate. The Meneses Family came a long way to cheer their Canes.
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