Warm Weather is Better for Marathon Training!

As we drive the A1A-Beach Front Avenue (eastern coast of Florida), still sore from the marathon training, we have come to the realization that our trip is almost over. Last Friday, Christmas, signified the inevitable. Nolan and I dropped Aaron off at the Nashville airport on Christmas day before the Titans / Chargers game. He had to get back to do some work and go to the Holiday Bowl to see his beloved Wildcats battle the Nebraska Cornhuskers. It was strange to drop him off and lose a member of the trip for good, but it was his decision and he helped us out a lot by coming on the trip. It makes it more difficult to blog with only two people, since Nolan has to do some work and that leaves me to drive. So after dropping him off, Nolan and I went to LP Field and checked out other tailgates. We were the only car in our parking lot for over an hour, so we decided it was too difficult to set everything up especially since we didn’t have anybody stopping by, and we walked around prior to the game seeing what Nashville and the Titans fans had to offer. It was a difficult game to tailgate at because there was a bitterly cold wind and it was Christmas. At least that was why I thought there was so few tailgates and people.

The game itself was all San Diego. The Titans fans in section 308 were lively for the first half, but the enthusiasm died down rather quickly after the half. With the poor play of the Titans and the cold wind, the “First Down” cheers dwindled and the fans left early with their playoff hopes smashed by the lightning-hot Chargers! After the game, we decided to check out how Nashville celebrates Christmas night. The best place we went to was an awesome Karaoke Bar called Lonnie’s, where we saw a Santa rap free-style. It was quite impressive and hilarious! We didn’t sing, however. Our throats were still sore from all the Rock Band singing in DC. The next day, we hit up some other Nashville classics, Pancake Pantry, Dan McGuinness, and the Parthenon replica.

On the way to Atlanta, we made the decision again not to tailgate. We got started a little later than we wanted and the parking was not secured so we took the MARTA to the game. With no playoff hopes for either team, the Georgia Dome was rather empty. The Falcons fans only ask for a non-losing season and the Falcons pulled off the win pretty easily. The best play of the game was right before the half when Atlanta tried a 55-yard field goal and had it blocked. The Bills returned it and lateraled the ball a few times and ended up scoring, but on one of the laterals, the Bills player was actually down, so they called it halftime luckily for the Falcons. After the game, we took off for warmer weather in Florida.

We are excited to be out of the cold finally and wanted to check out some of Florida before New Years and our last game in Tampa, so on the to-do list: St. Augustine (oldest town in the US), Cape Canaveral (I always wanted to be an Astronaut), and Jacksonville. We have decided to add a game to the list and go to the Gator Bowl to say goodbye to Bobby Bowden and see Florida State battle West Virginia. Jacksonville will be an exciting place for New Years.

On another note, I captured the Fantasy Football Championship for my league last night. I was up 153 – 148 and had no players for Monday Night Football. My opponent had Percy Harvin from the Vikings, who is a threat whenever he touches the ball. All he had to do was score a touchdown or have over 60 yards receiving. Fortunately for me, he only had 40 yards receiving and no touchdowns, so I won 153 – 152. It was an epic championship game that I thought I had no chance of winning since my opponent had both Tom Brady (5 TD passes) and Randy Moss (3 TD). But luckily, I had some power performances from my players. It is only fitting that I won since I have been watching football since Sept. 7th. Aaron and Nolan have no excuses.