Nebraska

Friday

Saturday

A nice crowd of about 25 came together shortly after lunch time, and everyone - including the nearly-hairless Chalupa (who wasn't even shivering) - enjoyed the warmth provided by our questionably-legal fire. Keeping the wind out was quite a struggle at times, as there were some pretty strong gusts throughout the day. Even so, it was at least twenty degrees warmer inside than out.

Those with tickets started heading into the game around 1430 hrs. so as to be in place for the Senior Day recognition festivities. Not surprisingly, it was bitterly cold in Beaver Stadium also, especially during the near white-out but short-lasting mini blizzards at the start of the first and third quarters. A missed extra point by Ficken on the Lions' first touchdown seemed to come back to haunt us later in the game. The Blue Band's halftime show was a look back at all the previous shows this season, which was a double deja-vu for Rob and Chad who had seen all the same at Bandorama last weekend - but still enjoyable to see the Blueband nonetheless. Feature Twirler Matt Freeman put on an excellent display as usually, including twirling four flaming batons.

Hackenberg's third-quarter sneak-for-touchdown was reminiscent of his same play last week against Purdue, as was the Huskers' 99-yard kickoff return just as Purdue did for 100 yards last week. The Lions battled hard, and Ficken came through with a field goal to tie the game at 20 with just a few minutes remaining. Thinking he was going to miss volleyball again due to overtime just as happened at Homecoming, Chad was really looking for a score to end the game in regulation. Such was not to be the case however, as time ran out still tied at 20.

Penn State	Nebraska
20	23 (OT)

Unfortunately, things didn't play out as well for us in this overtime as they have each of the other five quarters BOB has led us there. Ficken just wasn't on the top of his game this week, as he missed a field goal opportunity that would have given us the lead. Full responsibility for the loss cannot be place solely on Ficken's foot, however, because the Lions' defense was unable to stop Nebraska from kicking the game-winning field goal just as they had been unable to stop them on their other drives throughout the game.

Chad bolted from the stadium as soon as the game was over for a brisk 20-minute hike to Rec Hall to see the Women's Volleyball team take down the Fighting Illini 3-1 and secure their place in the B1G Championship while Rob and the others returned to find a slightly wind-damaged tailgate. Rob's beloved canopy, which has been with him since the Dual Diesel Tailgate days of 2003, succumbed to Mother Nature's windy wrath and was quietly laid to rest amongst the pile of other bent, broken, and destroyed canopies.

The fireplace provided much-needed warmth to defrost the chilled bodies who had braved the elements for a disheartening loss on Senior Day. Bacon-wrapped steaks and chicken on the grill warmed up the remaining half-dozen or so tailgaters. Wind and cold brought forth an earlier-than-usual end to the parking lot party. Suzanne was kind enough to give Nick and Oz a ride to their cars, although finding Oz's car apparently turned out to be a "Where's Waldo?" sort of adventure. Turns out, it was directly in line with the water tower all along. Chad made it back from volleyball just as the others were tearing down, having ran into Larry and Carol as they all left Rec Hall and walking back with them until they turned off at Eisenhower Parking Deck to pick up their car. About an hour of tearing down, cleaning up, and packing once Suzanne returned with car, and everyone was clear from the lot shortly after 2300 hrs.

Rob and Chad rolled back to a toasty-warm RV and a dog who was grateful to have spent the afternoon inside. Fortunately for us, hot showers were enjoyed before turning in for the night, because we awoke Sunday to frozen water lines.

Sunday

Hitched up and rolling out of the overnight RV lot shortly after 1300 hrs., Rob and Chad looked forward to an uneventful ride home and quiet evening, especially after the mudfest when we got home last weekend. Murphy's Law got the best of us - "anything that can go wrong will go wrong." We stopped at the Flying J in Brookville to dump the wastewater tanks, but their system was frozen due to the snow and cold weather. No problem, we thought, and continued on to Rob's house. Not sure if the yard was frozen enough to permit driving through and wanting to avoid getting stuck a second time (not sure the AAA guys would have been too pleased with a repeat performance), Rob opted to use the sewer connection at the top of the driveway. Everything seemed to be going smoothly - until we realized the valves were frozen shut. Attempts to thaw them with the electric heater and propane torch were unsuccessful, and we quickly realized the only option was to take the rig to Chad's to put inside the barn for thawing. After a couple hours in the heat and with Chad's torpedo heating directed at the valves, everything thawed out and was flowing again. Fortunately, it wasn't wasted time, as Rob was able to clean out and winterize the RV in the warmth of the barn. With Rob finally heading for home around 2100 hrs., we considered it another successful tailgate and an overall terrific tailgating season. With plans already in the works for 2014,

We are… PENN STATE!

For the Glory,
-Chad, Tailgating Logistics

Purdon't

Thursday

Chad and Rob got a late start, heading out from Rob's house about 1800 hrs. An unusual after-dark trip across I-80 landed us at the Overnight RV lot about 2200 hrs. As we were setting up, we could hear the neighbors in their giant home-on-wheels banging on something, only to discover they were having problems with their self-levelers. Apparently these experienced RV owners failed to recognize the necessity of putting wood blocks under the self-leveling cylinders, and actually pushed the end of the cylinders through the steel pads welded to them. We loaned them to wood blocks to help them out, and that got us a free hookup to their generator - until Friday when Rob decided to try turning on the electric water heater and blew their breaker. Once set up and inside, we decided it was too late to head out for the usual Thursday night Yuengs and Wings at Darkhorse so we called it a night.

Official Stats

Guests:	20
RVs:	1

Friday

Friday got off to the usual start with a trip to Meat Lab, which wasn't as busy as expected. Rob bought four bags of meat, racking up a personal best of $234, which prompted the meat man to comment, "Man, we need more customers like you!" A quick trip back to the RV to refrigerate our PETA-be-damned purchase, and then we headed off to the Creamery for some wholesome dairy delights.

Enroute to the Creamery, Chad remembered that we infrequently get to visit Lion Surplus, so we detoured slightly to see what previously-loved treasures the University was dispersing. Who could pass up a $60 computer for Chad's barn? We left it there to pick up on our way back from the Creamery - which seemed like a great idea until we loaded up on ice cream, milk, and cheese then had to figure out how to also carry a desktop PC and flat panel monitor. I'm not sure either of us could feel our arms upon return to the RV lot. After a brief recovery, Rob met up with Mad and Suz to head over to Seven Mountains Winery while Chad stayed in the RV to prepare for a Cheesy night at Saloon. Upon Rob's return, we ordered pizza (delivered hot and fresh to the RV lot), then headed out for Bandorama at Eisenhower Auditorium. The show was great - it was nice to see the entire Blue Band perform as well as the concert band. The Blue Band's show was a recap of all the season's half-time shows, including the one planned for the game the following afternoon. The show lasted about two hours, and when it was over we made it to Saloon just in time to catch the end of Happy Hour. Shawn and Shari met up with us there for a while to enjoy some Monkey Boy and 80's Cheese. Of course, no night downtown would be complete without a stop at Canyon Pizza. We sat down atop some landscaping to enjoy our $1 slices and later realized that is the exact spot we were in during the '98 riot…it seems like ages ago. The walk back to the RV lot gave us a total of 10.2 walking miles for the day - not a bad bit of exercise for the weekend!

Saturday

Apparently four pitchers of Monkey Boy put Rob down for the count - having promised Mad and Suz he would be in the day lot at 0800 hrs. sharp, they began texting and calling to see if he was still alive. Finally arriving around 0930 hrs., they were glad to see he hadn't suffered some ill fate. Chad finally rolled into the tailgate around 1100 hrs., just in time to enjoy some of the delicious food and head into the game for Military Appreciation Day.

The game seems like it was going to be a cake walk, but Purdue made it interesting late in the game before Penn State scored 17 unanswered points. Final score 45-21

After the game, Rob returned to the RV to get Chalupa. Apparently Shawn misunderstood, having told someone that Rob went to "get food to grill." It was quickly pointed out that there would be no grilled chalupas, only the four-legged furry (ok, I guess he is really pretty much hairless) one wrapped in a blanket.

Penn State	Purdue
45	21

The pigs game made a reappearance this week and it was much drier this week.

The post-game tailgate lasted until about 2330, when Rob, Chad, Mad, and Suz decided to pack it in for the night. We decided to be nostalgic and take US-22 home (instead of I-80) and stopped at Clem's BBQ for lunch. Neither of us have been there since it was in its original location just outside of Blairsville (that was torn down several years ago to permit widening of the roadway). The new place lacked some of the charm of the old shack, but the food was just as delicious as ever! The rest of the ride home was uneventful, having listened to a 37-27 Steelers win over the Lions just as we turned into Rob's road. We unloaded and dumped the wastewater tanks, and the evening went drastically downhill from there. The day's rain had softened Rob's yard more than we had anticipated, and Rob's truck got stuck trying to move the RV to its parking spot. Being about 40 yards off the road, Chad's truck wasn't able to lend much assistance, itself nearly getting stuck trying to pull Rob out. After some contemplation, we decided it best to call AAA. The first AAA truck showed up - a flatbed. The driver seemed inexperienced and not sure how to fix our dilemma, so fortunately he called for another driver. Between the winch on the tow truck, chains from both tow trucks, 2 of Rob's tow straps, and 1 of Chad's tow straps, we were able to hook up to the RV. It took quite a bit of winching and repositioning, but after and hour or so the truck and RV finally made it back to pavement (well, gravel, anyway). What we both expected to be a quiet evening turned into Rob's truck and RV covered in mud, both of us wet from the pouring rain, and Rob's yard in need of some spring landscaping.

For the Glory,
-Rob and Chad, Tailgating Coordinator and Logistics

Illinois

The first November game of the year had much nicer weather than we had just a week before in Columbus. Because of the noon kick off, the girls arrived at 7. I followed shortly afterwards.

Official Stats

Guests:	20
RVs:	0

This week’s theme was Cup o' Joe (AKA coffee shop). In addition to a Coffee bar with various coffees and various additions (including Ghost whiskey), there were also plenty of interesting sandwich choices. We sampled breakfast sandwiches with Homemade English muffins and Penn State Meat Lab Cottage bacon.

On a sadder note, this was the first time that the full tailgate had been together, so we spent some time discussing the pass of Vaughn Shope. While he did have his fault’s, Vaughn was one of the first tailgaters that I met as a student. Vaughn was also responsible for introducing us to mad and Suz back in 2004. R.I.P.

It was quickly time to go into the game. Penn State got off to a good start in the first half and climbed on a 14-0 lead in the first half. Unfortunately, they couldn’t make anything happen in the 2nd half and fell to a 14-17 deficit with only a few minutes left in the game. Intermittent rain started in the 4th quarter, but it held off. The lions were unable to put the game away in regulation and a field goal from Sam Ficken launched overtime for the 2nd time this season.

Penn State got a touchdown on their first OT to make in 24-17. The lllini opted for an end zone attempt on their first play. It was knocked and intercepted by PSU to abruptly end the game with a win.

There apparently was a “Gold out” for pediatric cancer awareness, but I didn’t see anything about this before gameday:

Back at the tailgate, we enjoyed many other coffee shop type foods such as Paninis, Chili with cornbread. The old tailgate favorite, burnt kielbasa was also enjoyed.

As the evening progress, the temperature continued to drop and the fire place was turned on. The rain that made a brief visit during the game intermittently appeared.

Unfortunately, due to a logistical mishap, we only had one canopy. All of us, the table and the fireplace were squeezed under the edge. Perhaps partially to keep warm, we started playing the Pigs game. It uses a small set of plastic pigs. Depending on how they land, the roller gets to pass out drinks to the other players.

After some time, a motorcycle drove by and slowed down. It was Jeremy, who came to join us. We stayed out until 11:30, and were the only ones in the parking lot.

Penn State	Illinois
24	17 (OT)

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator

@OSU

Thursday

We stopped and Walmart and tractor supply in west Columbus to get some supplies and then headed to the OSU fairgrounds. It was the last weekend of the American Quarter Horse congress, so the fairgrounds was stuffed full of both RVS and horse trailers. In typical years, there have been 15 RVs at the fairgrounds for a game. This year, it was horse trailers as far as the eye could see. After getting set up, we got pizza at Adriatico's. It was great. We went for a brief walk downtown. Everything was dead, so we head back and called it a night.

Friday

We then headed downtown to visit the Santa Maria replica ship, but it was closed for the season. So instead, we went to COSI, the center of science and industry AKA science museum. As usual for some of our Friday tailgating activities (like the Penn's Cave Tour) Chad and I were probably the only people there without kids.

Next, we met up with Jen and her family at Buca Di Beppo for her birthday dinner. There were twenty of us and we got the "pope" room, which had a bust of the pope in the center of the giant lazy susan in the middle of the table. Dinner was great and our group finished everything that was brought out.

Afterwards, we headed back to the RV. Chad had been in contact with Lisa, from PSU Beaver. She was heading to the corral bar at the quarter horse congress. This was great for us as we didn't have to drive there. After we found it, we were able to find Lisa. It was a little unsettling, as it was a bar full of Redneck Chad's. He was really hard to spot in the crowd. The band was really good and we stayed until 2 AM.

Saturday

I made biscuits to go with the bacon jam for breakfast.

My half-sister Rachel came out for the Congress and joined us for a while. She and Chad headed over to visit the congress for a bit. Jen and her boyfriend Josh were next to join. They brought cheese, wine and more crock pots to complete our huge collection of crock pots for the day.

Mandy's friend Heather stopped by and brought spinach dip. Steve the Michigan guy and Kim? Joined us too. We took the group picture and then I took my bike and headed over to the Fawcett center to find the alumni association tailgate and our tickets. When I finally got over there, I was cooking hot from the bike ride. I was able to quickly find the girl with my tickets. I played a few rounds of a game called "Pole-ish" and then rode back to our tailgate on the other side of town.

When I got back, the food was ready. I had a delicious bowl of chili-mac. Jen and company headed over the see the skull session. Mandy and I played her new slyder football game. It was cold enough outside and the tailgate small enough, that everyone was able to find a place inside. We had a nice chill time until it was time to head over the Stadium.

We caught the bus from Crew Stadium. It took forever to get into the stadium. We also found out that our seats were under the upper deck. Since they were the next to last row, it was pitch black and the view was blocked because of the stadium's columns. The up side was that was no wind, so it was super warm.

The game started well enough. OSU was able to drive for a touchdown on their first possession. Next our offense got the ball into the red zone, but it was intercepted by OSU in the end zone. The game didn't go so well from there. Ohio was pretty much able to do whatever they wanted and kept racking up touchdowns. We only had 7 points by half time.

Both the blue band and the Ohio state bands performed during half time. Ohio's band played movie themes complete with accompanying drills. There was Jurassic park with a T-rex eating a Michigan player. There was Pirates of the Caribbean with pirate ships and cannons. There was also a superman theme complete with superman leaving a phone booth.

The second half of the game wasn't much better. Our defense was very porous and let Braxton Miller make big throws and big runs. During the 3rd quarter Chad and I went to the upper deck, so, could finally see the game and the sky. One of the stadium attendants was nice enough to point out some open seats for us on the 50. Final score 14-63.

Penn State	tosu
14	63

We caught the bus back to the RV and got back slightly after mid night. Rachel was still up and watching TV. We heated at up a little bit of food and then headed to bed.

Sunday

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator

Life of Pie

Thursday

We caught the bus to the Darkhorse for Yuengs and Wings. We were able to grab a table, thanks to Jessie for Swarming for us. Jeremey joined us a little while later. We wanted to go somewhere else, but it was already 10:30 and it started raining harder, so we stayed. Kara and Nell headed back early. Rich surprised Nell and bought a dark horse onsies for their baby.

Chad showed up around 1:30 AM with his RV due to a sheriff's office exam. When he went to the spot that was supposed to be saved for him, someone else parked in his spot. He ended up in a different row about 18 RV's from us.

Friday:

We grabbed the bus and headed downtown for some flair shopping. We stopped at the Farmers Market and picked up some cider for the tailgate. Rob went off to get his buttons and met the rest of the crew at the HUB to purchase his Homecoming 2013 T-shirt. We found out that the HUB no longer sells the shirts so Rob and Chad went over to the alumni center to get homecoming t-shirts and free ice cream.

Everyone else walked up the creamery. We re-united and headed back the RVs.

After some downtime, we gathered together and headed to parade. It stopped raining as well. The floats were a little sad because of the rain, and there was a lot of space between them. We are not sure if that is due to bad planning or the staging area was flooded. The Toy story float was really good.

Alaina finally arrived in Happy Valley and met us at the Parade. When the parade was over, we headed back to RVs, cooked up some steaks, played polish horseshoes and relaxed for the evening. Rich brought out his homemade Apple Pie moon shine and Jim Beam hard cider. It was an early night for everyone.

Saturday: Game Day Kids

Around Noon, Kara and Nell decided to start round one of Deep Frying. We had mozzarella sticks, pierogies, mac n cheese bites and fresh cut fries. After a little while, the neighbors called some of our tailgaters over to play Flip cup. Even Maddy played.

The pie eating contest was supposed to happen around 2 pm but with the abundance of amazing food, we decided to postpone it until after the game.

It was finally game time. The majority of the tailgate had tickets and only a few stayed back to watch it on TV. The game was intense and exciting. PSU started off strong and had a 7-0 lead, which led to being behind by 10. After many turnovers and one hell of a 4th quarter ending with 50 sec left, PSU ended up tying the game at 37. Overtime 1: PSU was stopped and had to go for a field goal, Ficken missed. Michigan was also stopped and tried for a field goal and missed. Overtime 2: PSU fumbled on the second play. (I thought for sure that was the game ender) Michigan has the chance to take the win. PSU stopped Michigan and had to kick a Field Goal. BLOCKED!!!!! The crowd goes wild! Overtime 3: PSU and Michigan both scored a field goal. We are now tied at 40. Overtime 4: PSU holds Michigan to a Field Goal, they make it. PSU needs at least a field goal to stay in the game. It's 4thdown and there is a flag on the play. Pass Interference on Michigan. 1st and 10 for PSU. TOUCHDOWN LIONS!!!!!!!!! We win. 43-40! The stadium goes insane.

Penn State	Meat Chicken
43	40 (4 OT)

We head back to the tailgate, to find out a lot has happened while we were gone. Some tailgaters brought an inflatable couch, Alaina and Shawn finish the vintage wine, someone stole a phone charger, someone gets punched in the face, and Shawn eats a whoopie pie with the plastic wrap on.

We fire up the grills for Empandas, spaghetti pie and Cheeseburger pie bites. Chad and Kara were deep frying as well. It was finally time for the Pie eating contest. Rich wins.

The neighbors come over and Rob sells his hat(homemade from a PBR beer box) to the neighbors for $20. We also sold them a case of beer.

The majority of the tailgate either left or headed to bed. A tailgate down the road had DJ dance party so, Rich, Rob and Jessi stayed up for a while and hung out over there until there were shut down by the police around 1 am.

Sunday

For the Glory,
-Janelle, Editor-in-chief

Kent State

Thursday Sept 19, 2013

Friday Sept 20, 2013

Tailgate Saturday, Sept 21, 2013

All of us stayed dry under Rich's tarps with the sides up to keep the rain and wind out. This was our Oktoberst tailgate. We had plenty of German favorites like pork and beef sliders. We also had German candies from Suz's travels.

Chad ran the deep fryer and Jessi passed stuff out to all of the hungry tailgaters.

Penn State	Kent State
34	0

It continued to rain until game time, then the heavens opened up, and it began to pour!

When it was time to hook up the TV's, we walked next door to the guy was the gigantic Raptor RV. He actually remembered our group from tailgating next to us in 2006.

Penn State rolled over Kent State: 34-0.

We were visited by plenty of people at this tailgate. My Mom and Claire came with Rob and Alaina. Clare was much better behaved this time. Andy came in from Chicago and brought his girlfriend Shari. Rob was also surprised when one of Rich's friends, Mike, was actually an RA with Rob in Pinchot.

Lights were out at midnight and everyone was able to sleep peacefully.

For the Glory,
-Janelle, Editor-in-chief

UCF

Saturday

UCF was our first night game of the season with a 6 PM kickoff. This allowed plenty of time for tailgating before the game. This tailgate was Irish themed for next year’s game against UCF in Ireland. The morning was chilly, overcast and windy. I was the first to arrive at a few minutes past 8 AM. I set up the tables and chairs that I had brought. Chalupa and I sat down in one of my zero gravity chairs and I started to read a book when Mad and Suz arrived at about 8:15.

Official Stats

Guests:	20
RVs:	1 (sorta)
dogs:	1

We set up the rest of the tailgate and Suz made breakfast pancake bites with a maple bourbon walnut glaze. They were delicious. It was a very relaxing tailgate with plenty of time to carry on a conversation.

Larry and Carol were the first of the guests to arrive. Larry brought some persimmons for me to try. The weather stayed cool until about noon, which is when most of the other guests arrived. The sun also made its first appearance of the day. To go along with the Irish theme, we have black velvets. They were a mix of Guinness and Champagne. We ate chicken and corned beef.

There were plenty of Black Shoe Diaries writers in attendance today, as the author of the book “4th and Long” was also doing a book signing today.

Our tailgating neighbors didn’t bother to arrive until 2 and 4 PM, respectively. By that time, we’d already had a full shift of tailgating.

We took the group picture before the game. The game itself was a bit of a disappointment. The knights pulled ahead in the first half to lead 21-10 at half time. The Lions attempted to rally in the 4th quarter, but just weren’t able to get in gear and we were handed our first loss of the season. Final score: 31-34.

Penn State	UCF
31	34

Because the generator ban was overturned this season, I brought over the Honda generator for this game. We had Christmas lights at the tailgate when we returned.

We enjoyed some Irish onion soup post game and finally packed up around 11:30 PM.

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator

2013 Tailgate schedule

Date	Game	Game time	Size	Arrival Day	Theme	Equipment Stuff to bring general link	RV driver info general link	Location Where to find us general link
09-14-2013	UCF	6 PM	small	TBA	Irish	Email for info	-	Green lot 2678

Directional Michigan

Friday night...

This tailgate was a small tailgate, with the RV crew of Rob, Jen, Mandy and Dave. We met at Walmart in State College to pick up Mandy and Dave. I also picked up stuff to make s’mores at Jen’s request. Once at the RV lot, the attendants remembered me and Chalupa. We got the RV set up and were visited by Jeremy. We turned on the grill and enjoyed some Bubba burgers, fruit, veggies, hummus, broccoli salad and Pringles for a late dinner. Dave hated the kiwi! Maddy and Suzanne visited to drop off parking passes. We packed the truck for Saturday morning.

Official Stats

Guests:	20
RVs:	1

Saturday...

The morning was chilly for early September. Jen and Mandy shivered while helping Maddy and Suzanne set up across the row from their car. Three other tents were set up nearby, but no one was there.

This week’s theme was southern France to go along with our directional opponent. We enjoyed eggs Benedict flatbread with asparagus and grape on grape Mimosas. Cheese, crackers and a meat tray followed. Larry and carol showed up. Scott, Michelle and Elizabeth stopped by. Rich and his dad visited. Mary Anne brought French toast cupcakes. Maddy made a creamed spinach flatbread. Dave didn't like spinach, but liked the flatbread!

The sunshine and summer-like heat appeared later in the morning. For a laugh, I put the Doggles on Chalupa before it was time to go into the game.

The Eagles of Eastern Michigan didn’t put up much of a fight. The only scary moment was Hackenberg’s fumble in the 1st quarter that resulted in the only E.Mich points of the day. The 1973 undefeated team was on hand to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their remarkable season. Also announced, #22 will be retired (after the redshirt freshman, Akeel Lynch, currently wearing the number competes his college career). This is the first number ever retired at PSU. Final Score: 45-7

Penn State	E. Mich
45	7

After the game, we headed back to the tailgate. We enjoyed more foods and drinks such as

• wine sprinters
• cheese, crackers and meats
• Slices of baguettes
• Veggies grown in Larry’s garden.
• Chicken wraps and kielbasa.

Sunday...

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator with notes from Jen

2013 Tailgate schedule

Date	Game	Game time	Size	Arrival Day	Theme	Equipment Stuff to bring general link	RV driver info general link	Location Where to find us general link
09-07-2013	Eastern Michigan	TBA	small	TBA	Southern France	Email for info	-	TBA

BWW 13

BWW was a much smaller crew than usual. Chris and Kara were busy getting ready for their wedding the following weekend. Kori and Matt just had a baby, so we were already down 2 RVs. Even thought the week before was in the 70's and 80's after a misable and long winter, the weekend forecase didn't promise much. The crew was subject to the coldest BWW to date.

Thursday

Team Pittsburgh left home at 80 degrees and it was 60 degrees when they got there. The change for the Allentown crew wasn't as big. Chad and Andrew were the first to arrive at Walmart. Rob and Alaina and Rich and Janelle arrived within ten minutes of each other. We circled up the RVs into a U-shape and got ready to head downtown.

We took a cab down to the Darkhorse. The place was really packed for a Thursday night. We got Yuengs and wings. Ate and high tailed it to Saloon. The line was already around the corner. Outside is where Chad first spotted his doppelganger. There was another guy wearing almost the same shirt and a cowboy hat. Chad called him "My people."

Inside the Saloon, they were passing out Miller Lite freebies. My Hero Zero was playing. We eventually got a booth. Janelle was smart enough to tell us to leave at midnight before we got more drinks. We went to College Pizza and then cabbed it home. Rob was still eating pizza in the cab.

Friday

Back at the RVs, we cooked brunch of cheesy potatoes, freedom toast and bacon. Just as we finished up, Jesse arrived. The girls walked over to TJ MAXX to kill some time until the winery opened. Mad and Suz dropped by and we all headed to Mt. Nittany Winery for a wine tasting. Jeremy met us there. After the tasting, we sat on the patio by the pond and finished 3 bottles with some creamery cheese, crackers, hummus and artichoke dip.

There were fish in the pond and everyone was worried that Rob was going to fall in. It started to cloud up when we headed home. We accidently left Jeremy in the bathroom without saying good bye.

The skies opened up when we got back to Wal-mart. Jessi, Rob and Alaina went downtown to do some flair shopping. Rob was able to find a spare tire cover for his RV at McLanahans. Rich and Janelle took a nap.

The evening was much colder and windy, so we decided to go to Champs for dinner instead of grilling out. We sat at the bar for a while and got a table. After that, we headed over to Wal-mart for a few last minute items and then hung out in Rob and Alaina's trailer before calling it a night. Rob showed everyone the novelty exhaust whistle video.

Official Stats

Guests:	30
RVs:	3
dogs:	2
bacon products:	too many to count
bottles of wine:	12

Saturday

We started setting up our gear next to Rob's RV. We set up the 10 x 20 canopy right next to the RV so that it could be securely tethered down, especially after the walls went up.

Mad and Suz started making breakfast slider sandwiches on homemade rolls and stuffin' muffins. There were bacon donuts and bacon cupcakes with maple icing.

The temperature was really low and it snowed and hailed noticeably several times during the day. A stiff wind meant that tailgaters needed heavy jackets, hats and gloves. The fireplace was definitely needed.

This was the first tailgate for Rob's mom's dog, Clare. She's learning how to be more social like Chalupa. She did pretty well, in spite of the cold and only nipped at a few people who disregard the posted warning about not petting her.

The noon game time came very quickly. Due to the cold weather, not everyone wanted to go into the game and sit on wet bleachers. Those of us who did, didn't stay long.

The Blue-White game scoring system again added an intriguing dimension to the culmination of spring practice, as the Blue (defense) knocked off the White (offense), 67-47, before an estimated 28,000 fans on a Saturday that featured snow, rain, wind and sunshine in Beaver Stadium. Read the full story.

Blue	White
67	47

We had polish horseshoes set up in the aisle and people were playing. Nicole's daughter threw 5 ringers in a row. The tailgate above us had a game of throwing sticks at bigger blocks of wood, which was constantly rolling down into our tailgate. There was a guy that tried to drive thru the lot going way too fast and nearly ran over a neighboring tailgater after we tried to tell him to slow down.

Chad was our Fry Master for this tailgate. Cari made deep fried mac and cheese balls. Chad made some Shorties's wings. Janelle made hamburger dip. Mad and Suz made a duck bowl punch and slider bar. There were many different kinds of little sandwiches and buns. Alaina and Janelle called Kori and Kara to let them know that we were thinking about them. They also went to get our stuff for the charity walk and got free light bulbs. Rob had 15 bulbs by the end of the weekend.

We took the group picture and slightly after that the group went from 30 people to about 7. The stragglers of the group set up a projector and we watched the Hangover" on the side of Rob's trailer.

Sunday

We headed to the baseball field to get ready for the 1 mile walk for Special Olympics. Franco Harris was there to get us started. It was a really quick walk around the stadium and it finished on the 50 yard line, where Franco shook everyone's hands. Rob was the only one to notice SuePA. We got a picture of the group on the field and then headed back to the trailers.

We had a quick snack of meat sticks, pasta salad and cheese and then headed home.

For the Glory,
-Janelle, Editor-in-chief with help from Rich, Rob and Alaina while returning from Chris and Kara's wedding.

Diesel Tailgate: Get Big! ^TM