Tales From the Tailgate

As the classic carol says, "It's the most wonderful time of the year...." I realize the song is talking about Christmas, which believe me, I love right up there with the best of them. However, fall through Christmas is my most favorite time of year. And this most favorite time definitely includes college football season, which means trips to Clemson, seeing friends we only get to see this time of year, and tailgating!

We decided after last year that our tailgate situation needed a change. The lot we had always parked in had turned into something akin to Panama City Beach during the spring break season, and our crowd had dwindled to nonexistent numbers. We made the leap and found some friends kind enough to let us join their group, and y'all: I think this new state of affairs is going to work out (and by work out, I mean be awesome).

First things first, though. We arrived in Clemson, also known as God's Country, Friday afternoon just in time to do a little shopping downtown on College Avenue. Yes, we own plenty of orange, Tiger paw covered goods, but you just never know when you might need to add to your arsenal. Clint found a very sensible basic--isn't an orange belt a menswear necessity?--so it was a good thing we made time to browse.

Later that night, our sweet friends Doug and Felicia had invited us to dinner. They recently finished building their dream house just a few miles from campus and we got to get our first look at the place. We feasted on baked ziti, garlic bread, salads with Clemson blue cheese dressing (my favorite), and the good company of old friends. Oh, and these gorgeous sunset views, right from the windows in their kitchen!

The view from our friends' beautiful home! A gorgeous start to our Clemson weekend.

Saturday's game was a noon kickoff, which means we had to get up raring to go at zero dark thirty (actually, our alarm clock went off at 6:00 a.m. which I firmly believe should be illegal on a Saturday, but I digress). We headed to our new tailgate spot and got busy helping set up. First things first: the Bloody Mary bar. It's basically a vegetable smoothie, am I right?

Go ahead and give me all the garnishes. You know, for the nutritional value.

I knew we had found the right crew when the food came out: this group puts on a spread, and as you may know, Clint and I make it a mission to never miss a meal. We had biscuits and gravy, creamy cheese grits, baked ham and Swiss sliders, mimosa, apple fritter bread, and the most novel of them all: an omelet bar.

Omelet fixings: bacon, ham, mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, onions, and cheese. 

I would have never thought of this, but you simply take a sandwich bag, crack two eggs inside and add all your delicious toppings, then seal the bag and write your name on it. Drop the bag into a pot of boiling water and cook until it's set. It was one of the fluffiest, best omelets I have ever had. 

I thought this idea was genius. Mind. Blown.

That's a good looking tailgate plate right there. 

This guy seems pretty happy with his omelet, too.

It didn't stop with breakfast, either. There was boiled peanuts, chicken wings, bratwurst, deviled eggs...let me just stop there and say there was no shortage of good food. 

Finish it off with a bacon bourbon chocolate chip cookie?

Beginning to set it all up. If you don't have three tents, two generators, and a TV,
are you even tailgating?

Scenes from the tailgate.

Lot 21 tailgaters in action.

The dress, the purple sparkly shoes, the helmet: I want her game day look. 

Getting ready to head to the stadium!

Despite the fact that it is allegedly fall, we made our way to the stadium with the sun hot overhead to watch a nailbiter of a game. Let's just say Clemson fans were sweating it out in Death Valley on Saturday in more ways than one.

Just me and 80,000+ of my friends, on our way to see the Tigers play.

After the game, we headed to see a few more friends at neighboring tailgates and catch up.

With Deena and Melissa, who are wives of former Clemson players. Let me just say their tailgate wins the award for Most Entertaining Performances of the day, courtesy of Deena's husband, Vance.

We always make a stop to see the Breazels.
Ellen and I are college friends and sorority sisters,
since 1996 (don't do the math, it will make us feel old).

Happily for us, the Breazel's tailgate is very near to the famous Esso Club, which is one of our game day favorites. We stopped in to grab a cold beverage, listen to the band, and also to see my personalized brick out on the patio.

If you've never been to the Esso on a game day, GO. It's a must.

Pointing out my commemorative brick. I'm part of the Esso now!

In case you didn't know, mine is Susie Turner Stancil.
Go pay me a visit sometime.

We meandered back to our tailgate spot to pack things up for the day, and got a fun surprise. Our friend Bill has been heroically working with the National Guard cleaning up the state after Hurricane Florence caused catastrophic damage. We were all sad that he wasn't going to make it on Saturday....

I'm so glad we got to see this guy.
Lieutenant Colonel Bill Matheny, thank you for your service!

After a day in the heat and lots of steps walked, we were ready for some rest and relaxation. We got ourselves a pizza to go and got showered, changed, and finished off our day with some more football on TV before calling the end of the game day. Believe me when I say we covered plenty of ground, literally and figuratively!

The last stop before we made our way back to Charlotte on Sunday was at Pot Belly Deli. Pot Belly has been a sandwich institution in Clemson since my days as a student and I love that, in a town that keeps growing and changing, Pot Belly manages to pretty much stay the same: delicious.

This one's called the Sloppy Joe: ham, turkey, Provolone, coleslaw, 1000 Island dressing,
lettuce and tomato. It will make you swoon.

This was our first game of the season, but we are already looking forward to being back for the rest of the home games--the next of which will be homecoming in a few weeks. I'd say we are off to a pretty good start.

Old friends, new friends, and a Tiger win. It doesn't get much better than that!