Morgantown, WV (USA)

[since the beginning of the year, I had been planning to attend the Notre Dame - Navy football game at FedEx Field this weekend - I had won the ticket lottery and purchased four (good) seats, thinking this would be the chance of a lifetime for the kids to see the Fighting Irish play - however, lots of events conspired to ensure none of the plans took place - first, Brenna and Erin were asked to present at a Writing Center in Orlando, Florida - that was an outstanding opportunity that could not be missed, so I understood - second, Nicky wanted to use the tickets with Mollie and some friends - at that point, I was the odd man out - by September, I was convinced this weekend would involve a hike - however, I didn't count on the outstanding memory of my friend, Mary, who worked at our company until May - she had remembered (back in 2012) that Mollie liked the TCU Horned Frogs and that we would want to see them play the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown - I received a call that she had tickets ("did I want to come?" - "of course!") - so, by the time I left Alexandria this morning, I felt really good about my prospects for a great college football experience - I departed around 0700, using I-495, I-270, I-70 and I-68 - I made it (even with a fuel stop near Cumberland, Maryland) by around 1200 - no problem finding the place (near WVU campus) - Mary and her fiance, Jimmy, and lots of her college friends were there, prepping for the big tailgate: drinks, pepperoni rolls, sandwiches, etc. - around 1330, we walked about four blocks down the street to the parking lot outside Milan Puskar Stadium - the area was awash in blue and gold (not the kind I was used to, but it looked familiar) - people were very friendly - at one point, Jimmy nearly took Mary out with a falling cooler but she was rescued by a passer-by, who was happy to take a can of beer for being helpful - we arrived at the tailgate (run by Mary's brother-in-law, a Fraternity President at WVU several years back) - there was lots of alumni and frat-house business while we all drank and stayed out of the drizzle and wind (brrrrrr) - at one point, just before kickoff, the sun actually came out and we all hoped it would last (but it didn't) - we went inside the stadium and parted ways (tickets spread out) - Mary and Jimmy were in the endzone (up high) but I was about eight rows up near the Goal Line - I had some amazing views of several scoring plays and the band ("Pride of West Virginia") - it was FREEZING by half time - I had on about three layers of coats, a hoodie, gloves, winter had and a rain poncho but it didn't really help - I guess I've become a wuss since I attended four years' worth of home games in South Bend... - I marveled at the band as they played in the cold and we watched a series of West Virginia turnovers keep TCU in the game until a last second field goal destroyed the crowd's mood (loss) - we went back to the tailgater and spent another 45 minutes there before the cold drove us back to the house - the traffic was so nightmarish by this point that I waited it out with Mary, Jimmy and all her friends - helped to clean up and polish off some food that otherwise would have spoiled :-) - around 2100, I got on the road again - the traffic had died down a lot and I had no problem getting back to I-68 - on the big hill east of town, I saw a runaway truck grinding brakes off (hot sparks) all the way down and encountered my first taste of the snowy weather that could derail my plans to return home - I almost hit a deer after I got back into Maryland and started to worry about getting stuck in snow every time I went uphill into the clouds - one of my friends texted me around 2330 and scolded me when I answered (weather, late, texting while driving - I deserved it) - by the time I reached Cumberland, the weather improved and I just had to worry about whether I might fall asleep - did OK, though, and was home by 0100 on November 2nd (getting an hour of sleep back)... - what a great trip - thanks Mary!]