Mon, 07 Nov 2005

Gainesville hasn't changed.
Much. We went up there this weekend to see the Gators take on Vanderbilt. Jenni and Charles let us stay at there house yet again. We met the three new cats on Saturday morning, and had a long, slow breakfast.

Then we went into town for lunch at Cafe Gardens. It hasn't changed much either. They did expand into the building to the west, but it's essentially the same place. Even though the game was scheduled for 7:15 pm there were still hundreds of older people in orange and blue everywhere. Not too many students, though.

We split up after lunch, with Linda and Jenni heading over to the Harn museum in the Cobra to see some art. I got on my bike and started riding around town and campus. Campus is still about the same; I was surprised just how much I remembered about how to get around. The new bookstore is part of the student union, and is really big. There are some other new buildings too. I cruised the used music and book places, and got some more food. I also rode past my old house at 703 SW 9th St. It has curbs around it, and the grass looks a little better, but otherwise it's unchanged. There was a girl studying at a picnic table in the carport where we used to wrench on the old VWs. I didn't bother her.
   "Hi, you don't know me, but I used to live here and..."
   "Get away from me, pervert! Help, police! Stalker!"
Just like old times. The cars in the driveway were definitely a step up from what we used to drive, though.

Then it was time for some real fun. I met Lisa and her sister and brother-in-law at Christian's fraternity house. I had seen the house for years on 13th St. It's three stories tall, with a big lawn and imposing white columns (now do you know which one I mean?). But this was the first time I had been inside. The first floor wasn't too bad, and they had a great barbecue. Then we made our way upstairs to the third floor, where Christian lives in "The Palace". It didn't really match the imposing facade out front. Let's just say the place looks like 61 young men live there. But they sure have some fun. Christian shares the Palace with three other guys, and it was standing room only. Or standing while leaning back and having tequila and margarita mix poured in your mouth room only. It was good tequila, too. I was disappointed that the photo of Lisa imbibing didn't come out. It would have made a great Xmas card shot. I think someone else fired a flash while my camera phone was making its exposure. We also got to see Christian's tiny (tiny!) bedroom off the side of the Palace, and his immaculate study area. And then Linda joined us in time for a margarita of her own.


Eventually it was time to go to the game. The spread was 19 points, and the over/under was 49. Julie and Lee had gotten us tickets (thanks!) and at first we sat with them in the 7th row in the northeast corner. It was like being on the field. Eventually, though, the people who sit next to them showed up, and Linda and I had to move to our real seats up high in the northwest corner. The view was actually better from up there, although with not as much detail. Vanderbilt was in the game the whole time, although the Gators did extend their lead to 28-14 at one point. With about four minutes left we were up 35-21, when Vandy scored, recovered an onside kick, and scored again. They were penalized for celebrating after the second score, so they had to go for a kick instead of two points, which left the game tied up at 35-35 at the end.

Time for overtime. Both UF and Vanderbilt scored TDs in the first overtime period. In the second period Vandy won the toss, so the Gators went first and scored a TD. Then Vandy was on a strong drive, when they threw an interception. Game over. Finally. Final score 49-42. We definitely got our money's worth.

The next morning I was scheduled to ride at San Felasco with Lisa, but motivation problems prevented it. So instead we hung at the C&J household for awhile longer, and were menaced by Captain Underpants, and then went geocaching. We did one at Bear Archery, which turned out to be a virtual cache. Then one at Lake Wauberg(?) which turned out to be guarded by mosquitos, and left us 0-2 for the day. Finally we all had lunch in Ocala, and then did the long drive home. All in all a really good weekend.

posted at: 07:43 | permalink |