Durham, NC (USA)

I've gotten tickets for a Notre Dame football game every year for about six years now.  As usual, I had trouble finding someone who could go (after Mollie canceled on me at the last minute).  Oh well...  I got up early and left home at around 0830.  Drove south via I-95 and I-85, stopping for gas at Love's in South Hill (1100) - I also got some lunch at McDonalds nearby (1110).  After I was back on I-85, I made several phone calls - I talked to Eileen, Kevin H and Greta (she was actually in Raleigh).  The drive went very well and I arrived in Durham by 1230.  It didn't take long for me to locate the Duke Campus but I had to ask for help to find a good (free) place to park.  Eventually, I located a lot with lots of ND Tailgaters - wish I'd brought my portable grill!  I worked on eulogy for a couple of hours and then walked around several parking lots.  I figured out that I was near a small shopping center so I walked over there to get a late lunch at Noodles & Company (1515).  I then took a walk on the Duke University Campus and took pictures of the architecture.  Back at my car (as it was getting dark), I hung out with more tailgaters in the parking lot.  At 1800, I walked to the Stadium with many other ND fans.  One dad (my age) saw my ND Apex jacket and freaked out - he knew when I'd got it (1991) because he had one too!  After exploring the vendor tents outside, I went into the stadium at 1830 and walked all around, looking for beer (there was none).  After giving up, I got some food at Duke Blue Devil Concessions (1830) and ate nearby.  I ended up talking to a young guy from the Richmond area (ND fan and Cop from Binghamton).  Actually, it was a great chat and I met his girlfriend (also a Cop).  By about 1915, I found my seat.  By then, it had gotten REALLY cold.  The good news, though, was that the game was great - there were many exciting plays and I really enjoyed the ND fan atmosphere.  I stayed in my seat until halftime and then started walking around to get warm.  I watched half time festivities (including the parachute team) and then looked for good places to watch the 3rd Quarter.  I found a spot where I could see the end-zone up close and got to witness one more ND touchdown.  With about three minutes until the start of the 4th Quarter, I left the stadium.  Someone handed me some Bojangles gift cards on the way out!  I made my way back to the car (brrrrr!).  Fortunately, it wasn't too hard to get out of the campus but it was after 2200 by the time I reached I-85 again.  At that point, I was in "find lodging" mode but I was also mindful of my opportunity to hike in the morning and wanted to get closer to the AT.  I drove west until reaching I-40 and then continued on to Winston-Salem.  I listened to the ND game until I lost the signal, then switched to the NC State versus Clemson game (boring).  Eventually, I picked up the Appalachian State versus South Carolina game and it was very exciting.  All of this kept me from falling asleep as I drove into the night.  I switched to US-441 and drove all the way to Yadkinville, where I checked out the only hotel (Days Inn) in the area - fortunately, they had reasonable rates and I got a room by about 2345.  After all the excitement and "go, go, go", I found it hard to fall asleep...