With all my travels over the second half of the year, I still managed to attend all of Stanford's home football games (undefeated at home up 'til the USC game!) as well as Big Game over in Berkeley (my 30th consecutive Big Game). Unfortunately, Stanford lost both the SC game and Big Game, eliminating the team from bowl-game eligibility. On the other hand, the tailgating was great!
Indian Summer weather greeted me on my return from the East Coast in mid-November, making for very comfortable tailgating for the SC game. My niece Sarah and her sorority posse made the road trip for the game, and we met up pre-game and post-game.
Additionally, several of my fraternity brothers came to town from all corners to get together with one another and celebrate the life and spirit of our fallen brother, Chris Mee, whom we lost earlier this year. Many cups were raised and drained that afternoon.
Big Game week was relatively low-key for me. I started the week with a catch-up meeting at Woodside Fund, where business has been humming along without a missing a beat in my absence, as expected. On Thursday, the 26th anniversary of The Play, I attended a Big Game luncheon at the Berkeley Lions Club with red-hot Cardinal uber-fans Nancy Jamison and Jim Rutter, and the irrepressible Stanford Hall-of-Famer Mike Dotterer, rallying both friend and foe [see you in Palo Alto next year!],
and then I talked with a sports-radio station in Baton Rouge, LA, that afternoon. On Friday, per longstanding tradition, I attended the Saylor & Hill Big Game Party in Oakland -- I was the person wearing a red sweater, sharing the love with our ursine rivals. Game day was a blast, except for the game part. Jeff & Darcy met Jane, Allyn, and me on the Berkeley campus in the morning, and we staked some "tailgating" turf at our usual spot in the Faculty Glade. Scott and Dave made a late appearance, and Ron K. swung by with his son. We were very efficient in terms of consuming all that we weren't allowed to bring in to the stadium with us. Upon arriving in the stadium, we were coincidentally seated behind the Andersons, whom I had neglected to visit during the home season; we took the opportunity to catch up during halftime. Additionally, Karen & Vince were just one section over and three rows behind us, so I had the opportunity to chat with them as well. Then the third quarter of the game happened, and... well, the weather was pretty darn nice, and all the Bears fans with whom I interacted were gracious hosts. Post-game, we attended the "Murakami post Big Game tailgate gathering of mostly bears" and enjoyed great company and the locally-famous Quinn-O'Niel-Jacobus Modesto Clam Chowder. Post-post-game, Darcy, Jeff, and I returned to Half Moon Bay for a dungeness crab feast. Game results notwithstanding, a good Big Game Week, where I ended the week with more friends than when the week began, and no one threw food or bottles at me while I was in Berkeley (which is how I rate successful visits "over there").
Winding up the weekend, Darcy, Jeff, and I headed down to Pescadero late Sunday morning for some cream of artichoke soup (with mix-in of cream of green chili soup), Christmas shopping, and a visit to Harley Farms Goat Dairy for some cheese-tasting. Having lived in the area for nearly 30 years, I was enthused to have been pointed in the direction of this out-of-the-way dairy, whose cheese was worth the trip.
Next up: holiday season!
No comments:
Post a Comment