Nebraska

For the final home game of the season, the weather was forecast to be warmer than the previous game, but it still didn’t look good. The forecast for Saturday was 35 degrees with rain.

We had a Friday arrival at Suz's with the RV. Chad left from Charleston, WV and we both arrived around 7:15 PM. We helped load up Suz’s car and had pizza. Cari, Mari, Marjea, Maddy and her mom stopped down to visit.

Carol was feeling better this week. Chad and I were both exhausted and went to sleep around 11

Saturday

We woke up to heavy cold rain just after 7 am.

After discussing with the the group and looking at the weather radar, we decided to stay at Suz’s house until just before gametime. The night time forecast didn’t look good and sitting outside all day in the elements before going into the stadium just didn’t sound appealing.

Official Stats

Guests:	15
RVs:	1

We enjoyed scones with egg and cottage bacon for breakfast. around 9 AM, we had a discussion about whether to stay at the house or go. While we all knew that we could go over to the lot and tailgate, it was much easier to just stay at the house.

Eric and his friends stopped by and the whole group played pass-the-pig and version of password with Suz’s phone.

We unloaded the car and brought the cooler in. The Michigan/Wisconsin game was on downstairs. We munched on wings, chips, meat sticks, mac and cheese, and spicy meatball for lunch. We took the group photo. Suz and Chad thought it would be funny if they were lurking outside in the window.

Everyone donned their winter time rain gear and we left the house a little before 3. Suz backed into the parking spot because there was no gear to unload. Someone had set up a tent in our island. They offered us hot chocolate.

I got into the game with about 40 minute left until kick off. Chad ended up parking the the RV lot and said that it was muddy mess. The low spot near the clean off pad was a small lake that was 3 times the size of the pad.

The rain went from almost none to heavy downpour through the evening. At one point, it looked like we were getting fog too.

The first quarter was no good. The Nittany LIons scored on the 2nd play of the game, but a mishandled punt allowed the huskers to score. They pulled ahead for a bit until to be left in the dust by halftime 42-10. This could have been the final score.

Penn State	Nebraska
56	44

The Lions didn’t seem to play in the 3rd quarter, allowing 2 nebraska touchdowns. The final score was 56-44, which made it seem like Nebraska really had a chance. Once again, I felt like my cold weather rain gear held up to the task.

After the game, Chad started his trek home and we returned to Suz’s. We snacked on some lamb chops and meat pies while watching the Tennessee/LSU game on TV.

Suz drove Nick back home and we called it a night.

Sunday

We enjoyed some tailgate leftovers for breakfast and went thought leftover tailgate beverages to take some home for the off season before departing State College.

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator

FRIENDS homecoming

Thursday

Matt and I went to Otto’s and Jessie met us there. Rich and Janelle arrived a while later and parked their camper on the street. We all hung out at suz’s until bedtime.

Official Stats

Guests:	40
RVs:	2
Carrot dogs:	3

Friday

The temperature was just below freezing and there were snow flurries as we leveled out the campers and moved trucks. The group headed to the Meat lab at 9:30. It was Matt and Cari’s first time.

We returned to the RV lot and finished setting up the 12x26 canopy and other gear for tomorrow.

Around lunchtime, Shari picked us up at the RV lot and gave us a lift downtown. She nearly killed us in the parking garage. We went to cafe and got a very young looking waitress

We did some flair shopping, then had a drink at the Skeller and Liberty Tap Room. We finished our outing at the creamery and walked back.

For the rest of the day, we hung out in the camper. Shari and her girls stopped out to visit. We ate tacos and drank a lot of fireball. Everyone was taking random pics on my camera. Rich was a great waitress and got everyone beers. Jamie and Kyle arrived around 10 and Chad got there around 11.

Because an overnight low of 14 deg F was predicted, I half-winterized my camper. Previous experience during the 2013 Nebraska weekend showed me that My camper’s water lines freeze below 25 deg F. so I ran anti-freeze through half of the system, so that the toilet and cold water would continue to work through the remainder of the weekend.

Saturday

I made breakfast sandwiches on english muffins as tailgaters arrived and joined us in the headed canopy on this record cold tailgate.

Alaina stayed back at the camper, but almost everyone else packed a moist-maker and headed into the game. Jaime and Kyle left the game early to warm up and couldn’t find the camper keys. They didn’t know that Alaina moved them, but no one knew to knock on our camper door to find them.

After the game is when we really rolled out the food. We had Lasagna, A traditional English trifle (Rachel style), meatball hoagies, as well as deep fried stuff and potato dip. Rich grilled some carrot dogs (Literally marinated whole carrots) for one of Jessie’s friends.

Penn State	Rutgers
35	6

Maddy was our “Ross” for the Friends trivia game. It had some pretty crazy-difficult questions.

It was a tough order to get everyone outside for the group photo with stadium in background.

In the evening, I put the Friends DVD on the projector. Other than leaving for the tent to watch the deep frier or to grab a smoke, everyone stayed in the canopy all afternoon. We moved into into Rich’s camper around 8 PM wto watch the Hangover.

By 11 PM, we’d all had enough and went to sleep

Sunday

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator

At MSU

Thursday

We decided to get something non-fast food for dinner and stopped at Rocky’s pub in mansfield, OH. At quick glance, it was supposed to be American fare, but turned out to be too fancy for a quick stop.

Official Stats

Guests:	2
RVs:	1

We continued across Ohio and picked up I-75 North and drove through some crazy rain and saw a flipped over semi on the Interstate.

I almost missed the cross-over into Michigan. As we approached Puddy’s house, we turned onto Textile road, which was a dirt road for about 2 miles in the middle of a suburban neighborhood.

We arrived at Puddy’s house at around 10:30 and parked on the the street. We had a few beers with Puddy. The boys stayed up to see the dog, while we caught up and watched the Bills/Jets game. We were asleep by midnight.

Friday

I work up early and had breakfast with Pam and Puddy before he went for bike ride.

Chad and I headed to Dearborn, MI. This is the same place we stopped during our last trip to Michigan. This time we took the Ford Rouge Factory Tour.

The tour consisted of two really informative movies about the history of Ford in Michigan and how the F-150 are designed, assembled and tested. Next, the tour headed to a observation deck, where we could see the living roof on top of the factory.

The final phase of the tour was the catwalks in the plant to see F-150 short and shorter beds are assembled. Approx. 1200 trucks were built here every day. One worker saw the PSU gear that we were wearing and gave us a thumbs up. Many of the factory guides mentioned that most of the F-150 Raptor version built here were being sent to China. They have a special light package on the roof that made them China compliant.

We took the bus back to the Henry Ford and spent about 2.5 more hours in the museum. This was just enough time to check out the stuff we missed last time, visit the new stuff and return to old favorites.

We left Dearborn and headed to East Lansing. We accidently took a wrong turn and stopped to eat dinner in a office complex while rush hour traffic died down.

We got to MSU campu around 8;15 parked in lot 97. We were the first one and only one here. No one bothered us all night. we put up the TV antenna and watched SVU until midnight.

Saturday

There were about 30 other RVs in the lot when I got up. Chad got up around 10. We had pancakes and sausage for breakfast and then caught the bus to the stadium. There was a brief patch of pea-sized hail as we entered the gate.

We ascended the narrow, steep ramps to get to our section 106 seats. the lions scored first but sparty answered right back. The lions when ahead on a 4th down conversation but the game was quickly suspended mid way through the 2nd quarter due to a lighting delay and we were all asked to evacuate the stadium. It took forever and we waited on the ground level for a bit before exiting the stadium and catching the bus back to the RV lot.

We made some burgers and I had a few beers during the delay. Chalupa was happy to see us, but he was quickly soaked when i took him outside.

The game restarted at 4:38, we again donned rain gear and headed towards the bus stop. This time through the gates, there was no ticket taking or security. “Sit wherever you want”, said the staff.

We took significantly closer seats in the lower bowl maybe 10 rows of of the field. Only about a ¼ of the fans even bothered to come back. The upper decks were empty except for 5-10 crazy fans that decided to hike up the ramps again.

MSU tied the score by halftime and because of the wet field, there was no halftime show.

We moved over to the west stand to Nick and Marissa (some friends that Chad happened to know). and sat with them for the second half.

The second half of the game dragged on forever. TV timeouts, late penalties, and everything else possible just served to drag this game further into the night.

We did find some common ground with the MSU Fans:

1. No one likes rain delay
2. We both wanted Ohio State to lose (and boy, did they lose)

Sparty went ahead, we took the lead again and the it was tied up again at 24. Sparty had the ball with 5:30 and we just couldn’t seem to do anything at all to stop them from driving into field goal range with 4 seconds left. Final score 24-27.

Penn State	MSU
24	27

We made spaghetti dinner back at the RV and headed out at 8:30; 24 hours and 15 minutes after we arrived.

There was little traffic and we made it to FIndlay ohio before stopping for the evening.

Sunday

The rain continued overnight, but other than mother nature, no one bothered us. We made breakfast and headed back home.

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator

Michigan

Friday

The buzz resulted in tickets and parking pass selling for ridiculous rates. I was able to sell my RV pass for a nice profit to fund the rest of my football activities for the season.

Chad and I arrived late at Suz’s place and parked his RV in the driveway

We replaced Suz’s mailbox post, as it had broken earlier in the week.

We had pizzas and drinks as people arrived for the weekend. We helped Suz finish car packup

Since our last visit, Suz had gotten a new door and wireless lock installed.

Due to our late start, we stayed in for the evening.

Saturday.

We convoyed over to the lot at about 9:30. Jessi, Chad and I parked in the yellow lot 17 behind the rv lot and walked the rest of the way.

We got the big canopy set up with minimal heartache and were ready to tailgate by by 10 am.

Official Stats

Guests:	40
RVs:	1

For breakfast, we had bacon and homemade sausage taquitos. The group drank lemon-cherry mimosas. Cari, chad and I visited the stadium gift shop to get Chad some white out gear.

Friends came and joined as the day continued to heat up. The jackets weren’t needed and heat and I changed over to shorts by 1PM.

We enjoyed some tunes on Maddy’s new JBL speaker.

For lunch, we had beef, wings and fried chicken.

We saw a collection of funny College gameday signs as people returned to their tailgates from Old Main lawn. Some of the more memorable signs were:

• Harbaugh eats his own boogers
• Harbaugh sits to pee
• Elvis died pooping
• Harbaugh gives out raisins for halloween

The evening started to cool off, but didn’t get below 60. We packed up and were in the stadium more than an hour before the game.

Everyone was really excited for this game.

On the second play of the game: touchdown.

About 2 minutes later: another touchdown .

2nd quarter: michigan intercepts a pass and got a touchdown and missed the PAT. They scored again before halftime. The crowd was tense and quiet during half time. The blue band did a TV themed halftime show in coordination with the Jumbotrons. The lions finally put the game away in the 2nd half with 3 more unanswered touchdowns. 42-13.

Penn State	Michigan
42	13

Game overview

The band did not play post game. Chad and I met Jess and Nick and headed back to Suz’s. Place. Chad and I were the first back. We made eggs. After Suz arrived, we unloaded the car and had some soup. After dishing the high points of the game, everyone headed to bed around 1 AM.

Sunday

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator

Indiana

We brought our neighbors Larry and Tina to the game, with a borrowed RV. Our trip was staggered. Larry and Tina intended to leave in the morning, but ended up leaving after I did. I had a wait for Alaina at work. We caught up around Altoona. We could see the rain clouds coming up over the mountains to the west on I-99.

We met and regrouped at Walmart in State college before heading into the RV lot. The rain came in just as we parked. Our spots were level on rv west 5th: Numbers 207 and 208.

Official Stats

Guests:	35
RVs:	2

Luckily, the rain was brief and and we grilled dinner outside while enjoying some Apple cider and fireball. We set up the heater outside and walked around the lot for a bit. A few 10x10’s were destroyed and RVs lost awnings in the storm.

Saturday

It was much cooler and windy for our 1950’s oktoberfest tailgate. We walked over the the green lot. For Breakfast, we sampled potato latkes, eggs and apple bacon chutney. This was the first time with the Koehler Memorial 10x20 Canopy in the day lot and it needed some readjustment before we could really enjoy the day. The propane heater blew out several times due to wind gusts.

Larry, Tina, Alaina and I visited the Old Barn open house (for AG awareness days) and took Chalupa back to RV. He was happier and warmer in the RV.

Back at the tailgate, we took plenty of photos with inflated pretzel.

In spite of weather in the 50’s and rain, there were still plenty of college girls with weather inappropriate outfits. It’s like they didn’t adjust their clothing choices from the forecast earlier in the week.

Penn State	Indiana
45	14

We took the group photo with the inflatable pretzel. The lunch time pierogi styles included potato-cheese, sauerkraut and a delicious plum.

For game time, the Nittany Lions were rocking a very mild throwback uniform with helmet numbers, striped socks and white shoes. The stadium was decked out with vintage diamond endzones.

Saquon Barkley ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown to set the tone for this game. The rocketed to a 4 touchdown lead in the first quarter and after stalling in the 2nd quarter, they poured the gas on in the second half.

Post game, we enjoyed Spaetzle and some other german favorites before calling it an early evening.

Sunday

We had morning coffee with our RV neighbors and caught the Blue loop downtown. We got lunch at the very dirty downtown McDonalds while making a flare shopping loop at McLanahan’s, Family Clothesline and SBS. We stopped at the Creamery and left town by 3 PM. Both RV were home and parked by dusk.

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator

Georgia State

Thursday

Friday.

Downtown flare shopping on foot was next. We were back to the camper by 5. Rob talked business from 6:30 -8:30 with a recruiter. Then we had NY strips, and fried potatoes for a late supper. We watched the hangover outside with the projector and ended the day.

Saturday

The day was warm and sunny and the group played a rare day-time game of pass the pigs. We enjoyed homemade Hamburger sliders, roast beef, ribs and mashed potatoes for lunch.

Penn State	Georgia St
56	0

Into the game for the evening: Georgia state got iced out 56-0 during the first of many night games for the season.

Back at the RV, we stayed outside until about 2 AM, because of the warm weather.

Sunday

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator

Georgia State Planning info

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
09-16-2017	Georgia State	7:30 PM	car	Saturday	Bonanza(BBQ)	Email Rob for info	-	spot 2533-2534 GPS 40.809950, -77.857897

Pittsburgh

We drove the RVs to the overnight lot. Our parking spots were on “RV pasture way” and were huge. We set up and cooked dinner in the lot. The evening got increasingly chilly for early September and fog rolled in. This was the first time we had seen the new road signs in the lots. We enjoyed drinks outside under the heater and Chad arrived later.

Official Stats

Guests:	35
RVs:	2
cookies:	countless

Saturday

Our theme this week was “This is us”, so we enjoyed many Pittsburgh favorites like a Cookie table. For breakfast, we had build-your-own omelets cooked in ziplock bags. There was plenty of champagne for mimosas.

For lunch, we had mini Sausage sandwiches on homemade rolls. There was also plenty of pierogies.

Before the game we enjoyed an A-10 fly over

They unveiled the 2016 on the East Suite to celebrate our 2016 Big 10 Championship season.

The Nittany Lions dispatched the pathetic panthers 33-14 including a safety in the 4th quarter. It was never even a close game.

Penn State	Pitt
33	14

Post game, we enjoy stuffed cabbage. Suz and Jess left on foot to get Jess’s car and couldn’t get back into the lot due to the one-way traffic for over an hour. I walked back to the RV, where Shawn and Sheri joined us for some evening drinks.

Sun

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator

2017 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
09-09-2017	Pittburgh	3:30 PM	car	Friday	This is Us (da Burgh)	Email Rob for info	-	spot 2533-2534 GPS 40.809950, -77.857897

BWW 2017

The beginning for the 2017 season was also my first trip with rebuilt truck engine. During homecoming last season, Rich noticed that I had a oil leak. While I was getting this fixed, I had some other preventative maintenance done. This ended up taking almost 4 months due to a extremely slow diesel mechanic.

Alaina and I left home on thursday evening. We arrived in State College and stayed at the old Eat'n Park for the evening.

Friday

The new thing for 2017 was bigger spots. We’d been complaining for years that that sometimes, you wouldn’t even have enough room to put your awning out. Now, we have plenty of space. As we were setting up, the jerk next door pulls into my spot to unload and doesn’t seem to understand why we’re all staring at him as he left his truck idling in my spot instead of his own.

From there, we all went downtown to the Corner Room for lunch. From there, we went Flair shopping and then to Liberty Tap Room for a drink.

We returned to the RV lot to finish setting up then we grilled dinner. After dinner, we walked around for a bit and ran into the pop-up camper bar guys that we met during the Rutgers tailgate two seasons ago. While we were over there, Coach Franklin stops by.

Saturday

This was the first season for a parking fee of $20 for fans who did not have 2016 season tickets, but all of us had a season pass.

For breakfast, we enjoyed waffle sandwiches with bacon or sausage. The rain continued, so we added gutters to the canopies and turned on the heater.

Blue	White
26	0

Rich and I walked back to the RV lot to get the girls, Nathan and Chalupa. Once back at the tailgate, we enjoyed the big drink and Mimosas.

The rain ended around 11 and the kids play area with toy trucks and sidewalk chalk was set up on the uphill side of the tailgate.

For lunch, we sampled taco dip, mini cheese cakes and Buffalo chicken bites.

Game time was 3 PM and most folks headed into the game for at least a while.

The recent retired George form Jergel’s Rhythm Grille stopped over to visit us.

Posted game, the group feasted on Brisket and deconstructed ham sandwiches from the grill.

We played pass-the-pigs before packing up at 9 PM.

For the Glory,
-Rob, Tailgating Coordinator

Diesel Tailgate: Get Big! ^TM