WELCOME TO EAST LANSING!

Michigan State University's Homecoming 2005 has come and gone. The weekend was nearly weather perfect even though the treat of rain loomed large and was predicted by our weather forecasters. We arrived on Thursday evening after a two flawless timed border crossings and just as Aaron was getting off of work at the math lab. We headed for a quick meal at the Pizza House and then got Aaron back for an early evening since he had to take his general GRE the next day. Al and I checked into our favorite Towne Place Suite and after talking with the manager crossed our fingers that we could possibly get a weekend room there if there were any cancellations the next day. Unfortunately it wasn't meant to be so Al and I headed off to stock up for the tailgate party on Saturday. Before heading to Sam's Club we stopped at Old Chicago and had lunch with, of course, BEER! The guacamole burger was just as awesome as the first time I had it and without the bun or cheese it actually fit my WW diet. At Sam's Club we found a table full of MSU duds when we walked in and I got the neatest 4 way jacket and Al found himself a HOODIE! We then proceeded to pick up the cheese squares, the Bettermade Potato Chips and the danishes for the tailgate. Also picked up o.j. for the mimosas and some paperplates as well as cream for the jug o' coffee since the temps were predicted to be barely above freezing. From Sam's Club we headed to the Marriott on M.A.C. to check into our room. Walked over to Harpers for a couple of, YEP, you guessed it BEERS, and Aaron called us while we were there to tell us that he was finished with his GRE! We picked him up for dinner at Sansu and of course I did have the Flaming MaiTai...YUM! The sushi was great but the tempura shrimp soup that I ordered with the UDON noodles had a great broth but those thick noodles were just too much...I'll have to ask them next time if I can have the saimin egg noodles like we had when we ate lunch there with Aaron on our last visit. From there we went to the Wharton Center to see Hairspray! It was terrific and I say that even though I took a header up the stairs when we were leaving and thankfully Aaron was near enough by so that he could help me up after the GRAND GYMNASTIC FAUX PAS! It was off to our hotel early since we would be up before the crack of dawn to stake out our place outside of Munn field for TAILGATING! We were there at 7am and Al had already picked up a container of coffee and a bag of ice at 7-11. We put up the $20 canopy that we'd picked up at Target and it was just perfect for our Rochester, NY Alumni Tailgate(Abbey's dad, Lenny and his friend, Dave partied with us, too)...met a group of 12 Rochesterians who came by just as we'd struck camp and gave away all extra food and drink to the Holden Lifers...they saw the sign and said they had tickets for 4 games and came from Rochester with SUNY friends who didn't have a clue as to what a real tailgate party was. Got their email address and hope to get them to join us here in town at local MSU events as well as next year if we do the local tailgate again! An MSU Natural Resources rep. Sue DeRosa stopped by to chat because she saw our Rochester, NY sign and a local television station videotaped a shot of the sign, too! Aaron stopped by with friends from the various music groups after they'd had their early morning pregame rehersal. Gave Mark M. the CD with It's 5 o'clock Somewhere by Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffet on it and they played that with their other tunes. Left the canopy with the Heitman twins when we left after the game 'cuz Al said he'd never use it again...but it would give the Holden Lifers some protection at future tailgates if there should be precipitation! If you wonder how I can talk about Homecoming and not mention the game...there's a reason for that...IT STUNK! We were awful. At least Northwestern showed up...the best part of the game for me was halftime when Aaron sang with the Men's Glee Club and the other MSU vocal groups and the MSU Marching Band. IT ws neat and then I was ready to grab a Kowalski hot dog (to warm my hands as well as fill my stomach) and then head back to the hotel room. Took Aaron to Hershey's for dinner and had a very nice, if not SLOW, meal. Arrived at 6:30 and didn't get out of there until 9pm and we didn't even have appetizers or dessert! YIKES! The weather was fantastic the whole weekend and we didn't hit rain until our return into NY on Sunday afternoon. Needless to say, it is sad when the TAILGATE is more fun than the football game but overall, I think a good time was had by all! (And note to self, section 105 is as close to the top and north of SPARTAN STADIUM as you can get! SHEESH! I stood under the canopy on level 5 and watched from there.)