Wrap It Up

We pulled the ol' Suburban into the driveway last night around 6pm.  After 11 days, 3 states, and over 2,700 miles this was the biggest trip that we've ever taken as an entire family.  Looking back, it all went so well that I know I'd do it all over again.  We learned that our girls are just spectacular travelers; there wasn't one breakdown or crying fit to be had on the road, and as soon as we hit a destination they were just so happy to play and have fun together.  It really makes me look forward to the next road trip, where ever that may be.

Morning drinks...why not?!?

OK, so let's get down the the big game!  What an EXPERIENCE!  It was like the Rose Bowl atmosphere magnified by 50.  There is just no way to describe the feeling of being in a plaza with 16,000 Duck fans during the pep rally, or tailgating in the parking lot of the National Championship game!  Just amazing...

Tailgate Time.  Whiskey shots?  Really?!?

So on game day we headed out early to the stadium to meet up with our group of friends.  We left at 10:30 and were having the first beer of the morning at the Saddleback Ranch Chop House by 11:00am.  After breakfast there we walked by the designated ticket scalping area to get a feel of prices.  Upper level seats were going for $2,000 to $3,000 per ticket, so we moseyed into the parking lot and began to tailgate and meet lots of other Duck fans from Oregon and abroad. Even cam newton couldn't afford THOSE prices!

We partied it up until about 90 minutes before game time and then went back to the scalpers area.  I was really expecting prices to dive as kickoff approached, but not this time.  As we waited and watched, NO ONE was buying and the scalpers were still asking $1,800 a ticket for uppers.  As we reached 10 minutes before kickoff, we decided to head into the Westgate plaza area to watch the game on their HUGE HDTV.  This thing must have been a 50 foot screen that is normally a billboard but became the viewing screen for the game.  It was all we needed...there were fans of both teams everywhere and it was just like standing in the stadium.

 

 

My Aunt & Uncle live on Cameron Street. 

Our "seats" for the game.

Afterwards, most AU fans were pretty gracious, but we were in no mood to stick around.  We headed back to Phoenix and called it a night.  Tuesday morning we woke up and headed back to Rancho to pick up the kids.  After a quick night out with the family for dinner at the Cheesecake Factory we were back to bed to head to Windsor in the morning.  All day on the road Wednesday led us to Windsor and an improvised home cooked meal.  A quick breakfast on Thursday and it was a LONG drive home in the rain on Thursday. 

Happy to be on the road! Amazing!

Leaving Southern California.

So while I would have loved to have come home with the big trophy, it was a fantastic trip nonetheless!  A great time with family, friends, and fellow Ducks!  Can't wait to do it again!