Jabbering Jenn: Post 4 of my update {Tuscaloosa, Alabama}

As all of you should know by now, I am a HUGE Alabama football fan! So, seeing as though I love me some football, my brother, Michael, and I took a weekend trip to Tuscaloosa, Alabama for their A-Day scrimmage game. It was Alabama's first string defense against the first string offense. It was a great game. However, the weather was hot, hot, HOT! Traveling with a man is absolutely no fun! I had planned a cute little outfit to wear to the game. It was a gray sweat shirt material skirt with a black shirt, my Alabama flip flops, and of course the Alabama necklace the Mrs. Wilson, a sweet lady at school, got for me. Well, I woke up Saturday morning, fully prepared to wear my cute little outfit. Then, the look on Michael's face. The look that said, "Are you really going to wear that to a football game?" So, I rummaged through my Vera Bradley bag and came up with my holey jeans, an Alabama shirt, my red Danskos, and the Alabama necklace. Michael nodded in approval of this outfit, never saying, "Jennifer, you do realize it is going to be HOT today." So, I'm fine the first couple hours we're at the University of Alabama.

We went and ate breakfast at Ramma Jamma's, a restaurant right behind the stadium that was featured on Taste of the Town on ESPN. Let me tell you, it was delicious! Then, we got in line at Gate 14. There were probably 20 or so people in front of us, so it wasn't too bad, yet. The gates opened at 11am. We were herded into the stadium like cattle. Because the game was free, we didn't have tickets that needed to be scanned. The security guard was busy trying to rid this elderly couple of their peanuts they were trying to sneak in, when we just slipped past with my over-sized bag that had my big camera and lens and peanuts! We made out way to the chairs, instead of benches, on the home side of the field. We sat down and I began to roast. My feet felt like they were on fire inside my Danskos and my legs also felt the same way inside my jeans. (Thank goodness they were holey, because there was some ventilation!) Kick off wasn't until 2pm, that left us with THREE hours to sit in the sun to roast. I began to squirm at the realization that I was miserable. I decided to venture to the vendor stands to see if by any chance they had a pair of flip flops I could slip on. No luck. So, I went back to the oven. Then, I had a stroke of genius. Yes, it was a fashion catastrophe, but I did not care! I rolled up my pants into capri length britches. I, then, took y socks off an stuffed them in my bag and let my feet sit on top of my Danskos. Wow! What a liberating feeling. I did get some crazy looks from people coming up the steps, did I care? Shoot no! I would never see these people again. After the game, I put the Danskos back on my feet, with no socks, and left my britches rolled up. I was a sight to see, I'm sure. Note to self...NEVER listen to a man, go for the cute outfit!!!

Sunday morning, we woke up and were going to hang around Tuscaloosa until 11am, when Dreamland opened, because you cannot go to Alabama and not eat at Dreamland BBQ! Then, Michael had a bright idea (his one allowed for the month) that we should drive to Birmingham, which was on the way home, and by the time we got there, the Dreamland there should be open. Great plan! We headed towards Birmingham. Dreamland wasn't far out of the way, grabbed a bite to eat and headed home. It was a five and a half hour drive.

I spent all of the next week recovering from my weekend. Why don't we have another weekend to recover from our weekends?

Photos from my Heaven on Earth, Tuscaloosa, Alabama