A Quick Trip to Miami

We got up early Tuesday to head to Miami to watch Georgia Tech take on Iowa in the Orange Bowl. The temperatures were in the 50s during the day and fell into the 40s during the game. We got into West Palm Beach around noon. After an eternity at the rental car facility, which catered to older travelers--I guess they know their audience, we had a nice lunch at Charlie's Crab in Fort Lauderdale. I think that was the most either of us have ever spent on lunch, but it was a special occasion--an early birthday celebration. The crab cake sandwich was well worth it.

After lunch, we stopped for just a few minutes to get our feet in the sand.

This would have been a good picture, except for the lady in the background. The palm shadow is nice. Oh, well.

I guess I have finally converted Dave to a beach comber, he was quick to take his shoes off and get his feet in the water.

We met up with some friends and headed to the game. There, we found more friends. It was great to catch up with friends we haven't seen in a long time. As the sun went down, it got cold. We were bundled up with tshirts, long sleeved tshirts, sweatshirts, hats, and gloves. And, we couldn't get enough hot chocolate. We weren't the only ones who were cold. The concession stands sold out of hot chocolate. Some Iowa fans must not have kept an eye on the forecast or simply wanted to show how "tough" they were. This was the girl standing in front of us. I know she was cold and would have gladly put on jeans if she had them.

The Ramblin' Wreck blasts on to the field.

Dave says I was the most mis-matched Tech fan. I didn't care. I needed that green fleece. I'll be buying a gold one soon.

We had great seats in one of the end zone, corner sections. We were in Hawkeye Country, but most of the Iowa fans were nice.

Nice enough that when we turned around and Dave extended his arm to take our picture, the guy behind us took our camera, without us asking and snapped this picture.

While it was cold and the game didn't turn out the way we wanted it to, we had a good time. Just wish it were warmer and that we hadn't had such an early return flight.

Gavin stayed at home. It was my first night away from him. I was too cold to miss him. And, we had to get up super early to get back home, so I didn't have any time to miss him. Our dear friend Glenda picked him up after school and took him to her house. Then at bedtime, they came to our house so he could sleep in his own bed. She says he did great, and I don't doubt it. He certainly was glad to see us when we picked him up this afternoon. He couldn't decide if he wanted Mama or Dad to hold him. He certainly didn't want anyone else to hold him when we stopped by Dave's office.