Some highlights of the trip:
*Cheap college drinks
I forgot how cheap it would be to drink on a college campus. Compared to Chicago, it was great! These big blue drinks we got at the Upstairs Pub on Friday night were pretty sweet and had like 6 large shots of alcohol in them... all for about $7.
Matt and his typical pose
Now, that's better
A couple of random pics Matt took... Michelle and Lauren at the Upstairs Pub
When we were at Nick's on Saturday night, a group of us drank for 3.5/4 hours and ate two large pizzas all for about $185 with tip.
*Tailgating at the crack of dawn and watching Iowa stomp on Indiana
The tailgate started off with a call to Fubar and the guys all shotgunning beers. It was still dark outside! We were just about the first people in the parking lot.
Matt grilled out our favorite hot dogs (Hebrew National = the best!) and we played bags and tossed around a football. One of the best things about the parking lot we tailgated at was that they opened the Assembly Hall so we could use actual bathrooms (not the typical port-a-potty tailgate I was used to). Very awesome.
Random group shot of everyone
Knowles missed out on the first shotgun, so Reuter did another one with him
Grillin' out the dogs
Tossing the pigskin around
I thought this sign was funny at the exit of the Assembly Hall
We watched the first half of the game in the stadium, but it was SOOOOOO hot. We ended up going back out to the cars at half-time so we could sit in the shade and cool off.
The Iowa Marching Band
Inside the stadium
Matt and me cooking at the game
*Napping after the game
Yep, I'm old. After being in the heat and drinking a little too much vodka, a nap was the perfect way to spend the rest of the afternoon. Even the crappy bed at the Motel 6 couldn't stop me from snoozin' at that point!
*Sink the Biz
April took us to Nick's English Hut on Saturday night for pizza, beer and a few too many games of Sink the Biz for the boys.
I didn't play this game, but it was really entertaining to watch. You have a bucket of beer and a small glass that floats in the bucket. Everyone takes a turn at slowly pouring beer into the glass. Whoever sinks the glass has to drink a glassful of the beer from the bucket like a shot.
There are some rules, though. When you are slowly pouring beer into the glass, it has to be a steady stream, not just drops. You also have to hold the glass up high enough that the handle of the bucket will not hit the glass if flipped from side to side. If the glass does not sink for 3 seconds after you finish your pour, you are safe and the next person has to shoot the beer if the glass sinks before they take their turn. Matt, Andy, Lee, Mike and others played this game for most of the night. It became sort of a science for them.
Round 1
Reuter concentrating
Lee mastered the perfect pour
After a while, it became sort of no-holds-barred and a rule was made that you can do whatever you want to distract a player... as long as there was no touching involved.
Lee trying to distract Reuter
Lee trying to distract Matt by getting in his line of vision
*Double dose of Steak-n-Shake
Matt was in heaven when he heard our hotel (the Motel 6) was right across the street from Steak-n-Shake. This is definitely not part of the healthy diet plan, but so great nonetheless. We went both nights after being out at the bars. The second night, one of the waitresses recognized us and said "man, you just can't get enough of this place, huh!?!" True... so true.
Not another one?!?!
I can't believe this... Bar Louie was closed down on Thursday by the Board of Health.
From the article... The bar and eatery, at 741 W. Randolph St., was closed after inspectors found over 1,000 rat feces in a basement storage area, according to a news release from the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Matt and I just ate there on Tuesday night. Yuck! : (
There is a website you can check out to see how restaurants fared in their inspections.
From the article... The bar and eatery, at 741 W. Randolph St., was closed after inspectors found over 1,000 rat feces in a basement storage area, according to a news release from the Chicago Department of Public Health.
Matt and I just ate there on Tuesday night. Yuck! : (
There is a website you can check out to see how restaurants fared in their inspections.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Another night of bowling and karaoke
Thursday night, DeezNuts had a poor showing... we lost all three games. We were missing the little chihuahua who is on vacation in Malaysia. I bowled like total crap. I didn't even break 100 in two of the games... how bad is that?!?!
We finished off the night with a couple of drinks in the bar and few karaoke songs. Our favorite team in the league also joined us in the bar. Always a good time!
Chris and Brandon singing "Thunder Road"
Brandon still has the hat from Erin's b-day
We finished off the night with a couple of drinks in the bar and few karaoke songs. Our favorite team in the league also joined us in the bar. Always a good time!
Chris and Brandon singing "Thunder Road"
Brandon still has the hat from Erin's b-day
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Volleyball
Tonight at volleyball (which, by the way, we won all three games!), something a little strange happened. I noticed a TV camera guy filming everyone playing volleyball... there are 3 courts in the area we play. Then, he picked our court and asked if we would let this high school kid play with us so they could get some footage of him playing volleyball. Huh??? Kind of an odd request, but we said ok. His mom was with him and she said the footage was going to be used on Inside Edition.
I'm not sure if anyone saw this in the news, but it turns out that he is that student, Bruce Zayas, that was paddled by his coach for missing serves in a volleyball game. He went to Simeon High School.
When I asked him what was going on, he basically told me that he got paddled and his mom is making a big deal of it. I had no idea what that meant... and I was really confused as to why he was playing v-ball with us. But, a guy on our team talked with Bruce's mom while we were out playing and she gave him the whole scoop. I'm glad I didn't go to that school... geesh.
Anyway, I'm going to have to check out Inside Edition and see if any of the footage gets used! I'm assuming it will be on in the next few days.
I'm not sure if anyone saw this in the news, but it turns out that he is that student, Bruce Zayas, that was paddled by his coach for missing serves in a volleyball game. He went to Simeon High School.
When I asked him what was going on, he basically told me that he got paddled and his mom is making a big deal of it. I had no idea what that meant... and I was really confused as to why he was playing v-ball with us. But, a guy on our team talked with Bruce's mom while we were out playing and she gave him the whole scoop. I'm glad I didn't go to that school... geesh.
Anyway, I'm going to have to check out Inside Edition and see if any of the footage gets used! I'm assuming it will be on in the next few days.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Trip to Utah
Matt and I flew to Utah Wednesday afternoon to visit his family for the weekend... they live outside of Salt Lake City. The scenery was beautiful. I took tons of pics (big surprise!)
Some highlights from the trip:
*Tyler getting arrested
Ok, this isn't a highlight per se, but it was pretty strange. Some teenager was traveling with his parents on our flight out to SLC. When we were getting off the plane in SLC, the flight attendant said "Tyler so-and-so, please come up to the front of the plane immediately". By the time we made it to the front of the plane, he was being handcuffed and arrested right there on the jetway. They were searching his pockets, etc. and his parents were standing there in shock. Weird.
*Visiting Temple Square
On Thursday, Matt's Dad took us to Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City to see the buildings and to hear an organ concert at the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle organ was pretty cool... over 11,000 pipes (huge!) and they had lighting behind it that changed colors with the different songs. The acoustics in the place were amazing. You could hear a pin drop on the stage throughout the place without the help of a microphone (they demonstrated this at the beginning of the concert).
Just to give you an idea of how big this was, you can barely see the guy playing the organ in the bottom of the pics
Then we went to the conference center, which holds 21,000+ people. The Mormon Tabernacle choir performs at Christmastime there and lots of other events also take place there. I think the Olympics held some events in the conference center as well. It's hard to get a picture of just how huge this place is. And it was built so that there are no posts to block anyone's view.
Inside... another organ!
Matt and I on the roof
I was all about the reflection pics
We ate lunch at an old hotel that was converted into an office building. The restaurant is on the top floor and the food was really good. I got a good shot of the Temple from the window.
After lunch, we walked around the grounds for a little bit because it was such a nice day. There were lots of flowers and reflecting pools... all very pretty.
Flowers everywhere
Another reflection pic (inverted)
*Visiting Park City, Utah
We took a drive to Park City, Utah to check out the area and see where the Olympics were held. Unfortunately, the bobsled was closed so Matt couldn't do that. In the summer, you can go down the bobsled track on wheels (for $60) and in the winter, you can go down on ice (for $200). We were there between the two seasons. The zip line was only open on the weekends, so we didn't get to do that either.
We walked around Main Street in Park City and bought some chocolates. I got a caramel covered marshmallow... super delish!
*Hiking up Timpanogos and the cave tour
On Friday, Matt's neice, Jentri, ditched school and took us on a hike up Timpanogos mountain (about 6,700 feet up). You hike up this 2 mile paved path and at the end of the path, there is an hour long tour of the caves in the mountain. The hike was awesome and the views were amazing. The leaves were already changing colors. By the time I got to the top, I was definitely feeling the altitude. And it was really dry, so I was totally thirsty.
Jentri and Matt at the entrance to the path
The warning... some people on the trail looked like they should have heeded this warning!
Matt and I on the path
Me and Jentri
Jentri and Matt stopping for a rest
Another warning... this time about falling rocks
And yet another warning... this time about rattlesnakes... huh?!?
The view of the path down below us
Jentri looking over the side... no railings, just drop-offs!
We made it to the top!
Awesome views... the pictures don't do it justice!!!
I was a little bit worried about the cave tour. I am slightly claustrophobic, but I've been on cave tours before and been ok. I just don't like going through caves where it's dark and very narrow with low ceilings, especially with a big group of people. When they get stopped in front of me waiting for people to go in front of them... totally makes me feel trapped and that's when I get that "I'm gonna freak out" feeling. But, I made it through the tour just fine and we saw a lot of interesting formations in the cave.
The diagram of the cave tour
Matt and Jentri inside the cave
Me and Matt... this is one of those narrow hallways I'm talking about
The hike back down the mountain after the cave tour was a lot easier! We made it back down in 1/4th of the time it took us to get up there.
*Watching the Payson HS football game
Matt's brother-in-law, Brett, is the assistant principal at Payson High School and he was supervising the football game on Friday night. So, we went to check it out. It was their big homecoming weekend and they managed to pull off a 15-0 victory. Apparently, they are pretty bad, so this was a big deal for them. Matt scored a Payson HS Bleacher Creature t-shirt. Actually, the cheerleaders were throwing the shirts into the crowd and he was looking at one cheerleader while another one threw a shirt at him. It knocked him upside the head and I picked it up and handed it to him.
*Boutique shopping with Matt's sister Jeri
On Saturday, while Matt veg'd out on the couch watching some college football, his sister took me shopping around the area to some of her favorite boutique stores. I bought some really cool jewelry from a friend of hers that makes her own jewelry. I saw lots of other stuff I wanted to buy, but I didn't want to have to check my bag on the way home, so I restrained myself.
*****************************************
Our flight home was delayed for no good reason... they just didn't bring the plane out of the hangar until about an hour after we were supposed to take off. Awesome.
Here's a link to the rest of the pics.
Some highlights from the trip:
*Tyler getting arrested
Ok, this isn't a highlight per se, but it was pretty strange. Some teenager was traveling with his parents on our flight out to SLC. When we were getting off the plane in SLC, the flight attendant said "Tyler so-and-so, please come up to the front of the plane immediately". By the time we made it to the front of the plane, he was being handcuffed and arrested right there on the jetway. They were searching his pockets, etc. and his parents were standing there in shock. Weird.
*Visiting Temple Square
On Thursday, Matt's Dad took us to Temple Square in downtown Salt Lake City to see the buildings and to hear an organ concert at the Tabernacle. The Tabernacle organ was pretty cool... over 11,000 pipes (huge!) and they had lighting behind it that changed colors with the different songs. The acoustics in the place were amazing. You could hear a pin drop on the stage throughout the place without the help of a microphone (they demonstrated this at the beginning of the concert).
Just to give you an idea of how big this was, you can barely see the guy playing the organ in the bottom of the pics
Then we went to the conference center, which holds 21,000+ people. The Mormon Tabernacle choir performs at Christmastime there and lots of other events also take place there. I think the Olympics held some events in the conference center as well. It's hard to get a picture of just how huge this place is. And it was built so that there are no posts to block anyone's view.
Inside... another organ!
Matt and I on the roof
I was all about the reflection pics
We ate lunch at an old hotel that was converted into an office building. The restaurant is on the top floor and the food was really good. I got a good shot of the Temple from the window.
After lunch, we walked around the grounds for a little bit because it was such a nice day. There were lots of flowers and reflecting pools... all very pretty.
Flowers everywhere
Another reflection pic (inverted)
*Visiting Park City, Utah
We took a drive to Park City, Utah to check out the area and see where the Olympics were held. Unfortunately, the bobsled was closed so Matt couldn't do that. In the summer, you can go down the bobsled track on wheels (for $60) and in the winter, you can go down on ice (for $200). We were there between the two seasons. The zip line was only open on the weekends, so we didn't get to do that either.
We walked around Main Street in Park City and bought some chocolates. I got a caramel covered marshmallow... super delish!
*Hiking up Timpanogos and the cave tour
On Friday, Matt's neice, Jentri, ditched school and took us on a hike up Timpanogos mountain (about 6,700 feet up). You hike up this 2 mile paved path and at the end of the path, there is an hour long tour of the caves in the mountain. The hike was awesome and the views were amazing. The leaves were already changing colors. By the time I got to the top, I was definitely feeling the altitude. And it was really dry, so I was totally thirsty.
Jentri and Matt at the entrance to the path
The warning... some people on the trail looked like they should have heeded this warning!
Matt and I on the path
Me and Jentri
Jentri and Matt stopping for a rest
Another warning... this time about falling rocks
And yet another warning... this time about rattlesnakes... huh?!?
The view of the path down below us
Jentri looking over the side... no railings, just drop-offs!
We made it to the top!
Awesome views... the pictures don't do it justice!!!
I was a little bit worried about the cave tour. I am slightly claustrophobic, but I've been on cave tours before and been ok. I just don't like going through caves where it's dark and very narrow with low ceilings, especially with a big group of people. When they get stopped in front of me waiting for people to go in front of them... totally makes me feel trapped and that's when I get that "I'm gonna freak out" feeling. But, I made it through the tour just fine and we saw a lot of interesting formations in the cave.
The diagram of the cave tour
Matt and Jentri inside the cave
Me and Matt... this is one of those narrow hallways I'm talking about
The hike back down the mountain after the cave tour was a lot easier! We made it back down in 1/4th of the time it took us to get up there.
*Watching the Payson HS football game
Matt's brother-in-law, Brett, is the assistant principal at Payson High School and he was supervising the football game on Friday night. So, we went to check it out. It was their big homecoming weekend and they managed to pull off a 15-0 victory. Apparently, they are pretty bad, so this was a big deal for them. Matt scored a Payson HS Bleacher Creature t-shirt. Actually, the cheerleaders were throwing the shirts into the crowd and he was looking at one cheerleader while another one threw a shirt at him. It knocked him upside the head and I picked it up and handed it to him.
*Boutique shopping with Matt's sister Jeri
On Saturday, while Matt veg'd out on the couch watching some college football, his sister took me shopping around the area to some of her favorite boutique stores. I bought some really cool jewelry from a friend of hers that makes her own jewelry. I saw lots of other stuff I wanted to buy, but I didn't want to have to check my bag on the way home, so I restrained myself.
*****************************************
Our flight home was delayed for no good reason... they just didn't bring the plane out of the hangar until about an hour after we were supposed to take off. Awesome.
Here's a link to the rest of the pics.
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