You see, in town the schools are closed. Many businesses close their doors or have allowances for people to leave early. There’s a parade (which means UPS drivers come in a few hours early to make sure they can deal with the traffic/road closures).

Since my first go-around in college, I’ve not gotten into Homecoming that much. In the 90′s, I went ape-shit for it. We’d push the beer truck to a great location and watch the parade perched atop one of the best seats in town. There’d be drunken festivities throughout the week culminated by Gator Growl. Awesome concerts, comedians, and there may have been a football game– by game time I would be too drunk to care.

Anyway… to those still in the Gator Homecoming spirit, Happy Homecoming, let the gator growl, and all that jazz. To everyone else, happy Friday. =)

Fred enjoying Dunkin' Donuts

Yeni and I started early — very early — Saturday morning. After loading the truck and topping off the tank, we hit I-94 somewhere around 4 am. It was BEYOND cold with the truck showing outside temperatures ranging from 10 – 15 degrees. Normally, I make as few stops as humanly possible; combing fuel stops with rest breaks (and yes, “rest breaks” means exactly what it sounds like). I learned quickly, that while traveling with someone else (aka Yeni) brings great joy, it also requires more frequent “rest breaks.”

Our first break was near Dayton, OH. Finding a Dunkin’ Donuts, we stopped for “rest,” coffee, and an egg bagel. Mmmm, egg bagel. After topping off the tank, we heading back on the highway hitting a major traffic jam in Cincinnati, OH. After staying in place for the better part of an hour, we were able to cross the bridge, enter Kentucky, and put Ohio behind us.

When we reached Lexington, KY, we got off the main road and visited a college friend of Yeni’s (Maria Fernanda and her husband Diego). After a nice visit and a great breakfast, we dropped Mafe at the Univeristy of Kentucky and continued south. I’d never been to the University, and it’s always nice to visit a place where the Gators have dominated (this year we destroyed Kentucky, but that was a home game).

My favorite part of driving to/from Michigan is the leg from Lexington, KY to Knoxville, TN. The trip takes you through the Cumberland Mountains (southeastern section of the Appalachian Mountains) and provides beautiful climbs, views, and scenery. Although best experienced riding on a Harley, the trip is still enjoyable from the truck.

Little Lil puts a smile on Fred's face

After reaching Knoxville, we called my good friend Patrick and met with him, his daughter, and wife (Jessi) at a local Italian restaurant. It was great to see their family and playing with lil’ Lil put a big smile on my face. After eating some pasta, rolls, and cannoli , we were back on the road — this time with Yeni at the wheel.

Chattanooga is only a few miles north of Georgia, and the drive through Georgia is long; very long. Did we mention construction? Georgia’s I-75 passage can be described in three words: Pecans, Outlets, Construction. Despite being on the road for more than 20 hours, Yeni was determined to drive through Georgia by herself. She made creative efforts to stay alert, such as talking to the GPS device, counting Juanes songs, and singing.

We reached Florida around 2am and I took over the wheel. When we arrived to the house in Gainesville, Yeni wisely suggested we inflate the bed, grab some shuteye, and rest for a few hours. We rested until around 7 am, loaded Grandma’s chandelier into the truck, grabbed breakfast at DD, and hit the road. Yeni had never seen Florida’s west coast or the Everglades, so I decided to take I-75 straight through to Fort Lauderdale.

Spider-bear at the Gulf of Mexico

When we reached Tampa, we took I-275 to visit the Tampa Bay and see the ocean. I-275 takes you over the Sunshine Skyway bridge (the world’s longest cable bridge) and the ocean view provides a great contrast to the snow we woke up to on the previous morning. Yeni seemed to enjoy the ocean, and Spider-bear was excited to play on the rocks (during one of the “rest” stops).

We continued driving (well, I drove while Yeni napped), and after crossing the Everglades reached the Casa de Parientes. I cannot wait for the rest of the family to arrive and celebrate my favorite holiday.

Yeni sleeps in the Everglades

Our day started at 3 AM in Ann Arbor, so a little rest will be nice. Yeni’s set on driving until she hits Florida so she can have driven all through Georgia.

It’s always nice to be in Gainesville after a big UF win. Go Gators.

Quote of the moment: “Georgia construction sucks. Literally. “– Yeni

But, the great thing about Orange and Blue weekend, is that usually a good ol’ friendly alumni comes to town. This year, it was The Egan’s who graced our lovely town with their beautiful baby Grace.

Had a great time smelling the flowers, eating a burger at Cafe Gardens, and hanging out with great friends.

The rest of the weekend I spent catching up on films I never saw in the theater; which means I can scratch Dan in Real Life, The Dewey Cox Story, and No Reservations off my list.

My favorite of them? Clearly the chick flick was going to win.

For more pictures of the weekend, check out my photos at Picasa:

Fred’s Picasaweb Gallery

After a great visit to the University of Florida and Big Lou’s Pizza, we had a quiet evening in the house on Saturday and prepared for what we thought would be an awesome all-day bike ride to St. Augustine.

Well, mother nature decided that the flowers needed some more water and the rain started before sunrise and never stopped.

We headed to the beach anyway to have Conch Fritters with friends and see the ocean.

The bike ride will have to wait until May

Anyway…. I don’t know if it were a set-up or whatever… but I can’t say it looks like the police handled this very well at all… and anyone who knows me, knows it’s very hard for me to be critical of law enforcement officers… Agencies? Sure (gpdsucks.com anyone?)… but not officers… except if it’s something as pathetically handled as this little taser incident.

Go gators.