Trip to the Swamp

We celebrated my Dad's birthday last Tuesday with dinner at Fire & Sticks...and then with a trip to Florida! Ok, so the trip to Florida wasn't just for my Dad's birthday, but it just so happened to coincide within the same week of our celebrations. The plans for the Florida trip started over the summer when the football schedule was released. On the schedule was a matchup between the Gators and the UNC Charlotte 49ers. With Zack an alum of UNCC, and of course our family's love of the Gators, my Dad started cooking up a plan to go to the game. I was on the fence about it for awhile, mainly because of my schedule with my internship and other work duties. However, things aligned that I had a Teacher Workday on Friday, the 22nd, and Triad was also closed for a workday, so Eli was out of school and Emmy did not have anywhere to go for after school. With all these circumstances, it worked out for the kids and I to tag along for the trip south. Boomer stayed behind in North Carolina and tackled our to-do list, which included painting the upstairs guest bathroom, and watched Burke. We left on Friday around 7AM, and we stopped in Savannah to see my Great Uncle Scott and Great Aunt Barbara. It was their first time meeting the kids, and I am glad that I was able to introduce them. After leaving Savannah, we had three more hours in the car. The day ended with some pool time and then Domino's pizza in the hotel room. The kids were definitely living their best lives!

Saturday was a FULL day. After eating breakfast at the hotel, we drove about 45 minutes south towards Gainesville. Before driving to campus for the game though, we stopped to visit my Grandma in Hawthorne. We had picked up BBQ from one of Dad's favorite places, Sonny's, and brought it to her house. We enjoyed eating together, and she couldn't believe how big the kids are getting. She especially couldn't get over how much Eli was talking and what a chatterbox he is. The kids loved all the race car memorabilia and exploring outside with Uncle Zack. Around 3PM, we headed to downtown Gainesville and then rode the Gator Aider shuttle to the stadium. Despite Eli's pout in the picture, he actually really liked riding the bus. The shuttle dropped us off right in the middle of all the action of Ben Griffin Stadium, Fan Fest, the O'Connell Center, and the Heisman and gator statutes. We made our way to our seats around 6PM and enjoyed all the pre-game action. The kids were mesmerized by the band, the bursts of fireworks, and all the crowd chants. It was a late kickoff for the kids, so by halftime, they were sliding lower into their seats, with Eli laying on my lap and Emmy starting to draw. We hung in there through the end of the 3rd Quarter with "We are the Boys" and Tom Petty's "Won't Back Down." Florida pulled off a 22-7 win, and we made it back to our hotel around midnight. What an action-packed day!

We were up and at 'em on Sunday morning to head back north again. I packed a hand-me-down UNC Charlotte shirt for Eli to wear on the way home in support of Uncle Zack's team. The Houston boys wanted to stop at Buc-ee's, and there was one along our route in Florence, SC. What an experience! It is a huge gas station / travel center / grocery store / restaurant / retail outlet. They have anything you can think of. We bought the famous sugary corn pops called Beaver nuggets, some pralines, and a fudge sampler. It's safe to say that there were plenty of treats the entire weekend! The kids sure had a lot of fun and even tonight, they asked to put on their "uniforms like at the football game." I think we may have some future Gators in our household!