Bobby Bowden + Intestinal Pyrotechnics = Quite the Roadtrip

The boyfriend came home late on Friday night - we left just after midnight for Pensacola, arriving at Mom's around 3:00 AM. We left for Jacksonville at 6:15 AM, having left the collie behind to romp around the parental backyard.

Jacksonville was great - I've never seen such camaraderie. There was a fairly even split of fans - the tailgating lots were full of garnet & gold, and crimson & houndstooth. The strains of Lynyrd Skynyrd and Marching Chiefs filled the air, and the beer was plentiful. Fans shucked oysters, set up satellite TV to watch the early games, and generally interacted pleasantly with rival fans.

None of us knew what to expect, really, but I fully expected FSU to blow the game. Cynical, I know, but FSU's offensive inconsistencies worried me. And true to form, the first half was pitiful and scoreless. At least our defense was scarily strong. :)

85,412 fans filled the stadium to watch the 'Noles take down the Crimson Tide, sparked by Xavier Lee's off-the-bench performance. (It was even better to see the boyfriend in his garnet shirt, avidly doing the Chop.)

Just beautiful. Add in K-State's upset of Texas, and Auburn's upset of Florida, and it was a solid night. (Alas, Air Force lost to Navy.)

The only thing better was getting to see friends - Chris & Rebecca, Fudge, The Hulk, Dakine Phoenix, Becca and Robbie. I've missed all of them SO much. I honestly can't remember smiling as much in the past 9 months as I did on Saturday. Here's a great article about the game from the Miami Herald:

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/story/255597.html

Sunday started out gorgeously - a lazy brunch and intense discussion over the polls. We hit the road, stopped in Tallahassee, and introduced Dave to the joys of the Gut Box.

Yes, the Gut Box.

If you've never been to Guthrie's, you've been missing out on a culinary experience unrivaled by Raisin' Cane, Zaxby's, etc.

We saw my brother for a bit, and then made it over to Pensacola for dinner with Mom. Around 9:00 PM, we finally loaded the Monster in the car for the trip home. Now here's where the weekend takes a nasty turn.

Traffic slowed to a crawl around Gulfport. It ultimately took more than 5 hours to get from Pensacola to NOLA, because of construction, and I was battling a major migraine.

Somewhere around the Bay St. Louis exit, Jake flipped out and had diarrhea alllllllll over the backseat. Seriously, it was like a splatter pattern.

Because of construction, we were trapped in the car for 20 miles with smelly dog crap.

Ew.

We eventually got to Slidell. Feeling like crap myself, I spent thirty minutes cleaning the boyfriend's car with a combination of dishwasher detergent, handi-wipes, and gas station paper towels. We then used a bottle of water and some Joy to wash the collie's butt.

Awesome.

An hour later, we got home, and I showered off the dried dog crap that remained on me from our little adventure. I found that I couldn't sleep because my head was hurting so badly. Finally, around 4, the Excedrin gave me enough sweet relief that I could kind of doze off. Fast-forward to 7:00 AM - I woke up and smelled something hideous.

Sure enough, the back hallway, near the back door, was covered in blood and dog crap (and not for the last time today).

Maybe God is an Alabama fan, and is demonstrating his wrath? I'm not sure, but I do know that I've had 3 hours of half-sleep, a migraine, and a collie with digestive pyrotechnics.

You really have to love Mondays.

(And no, FSU didn't end up ranked. But K-State did!)