We wanted to make the most of our game day viewing so we headed over to the stadium immediately so we could see it all! We had pretty great seats in the corner of the endzone, which just happened to be the endzone where our defense had a great goal stand and Wes kicked our game winning field goal. I cried twice in the game which I know sounds ridiculous. In pregame, without any warning for us emotional ones, the bowl committee reunited (as a surprise) a few families with their soldiers from overseas. SERIOUS TEARS! I also teared up when we won. I mean when you've been an Auburn fan your whole life no matter if they're good or bad and you come and watch a team who has so much unity work together to accomplish this amazing sports thing you get a little teary eyed! I screamed louder and cheered harder than I have in a while and I loved every minute of it. It is absolutely, positively GREAT TO BE AN AUBURN TIGER!!
We couldn't get into our hotel until around 3 that afternoon so instead we went to Old Town Scottsdale to walk around. They had some cute touristy stores, art galleries, cowboy wear, and other stuff but not a ton of people around. We were a little confused since there were approximately 100,000 extra people who were supposed to be in and around that around! After we got back in our car and drove another two blocks we realized where everyone was. Just down the street was a HUGE shopping mall, nice restaurants and tons of upper scale shops, plus lots of road side stands with Auburn and Oregon paraphernalia. We had to stop the car again, of course, and walk around this area checking everything out. After another hour or so we headed to check into the hotel, take a nap and then go out on the town. We ate dinner at a steakhouse, met up with our friends Dave and Britney who had just flown in and then all realized how exhausted we were so we went to bed. Party Animals we are not!!
The next morning we were planning on hiking up Camelback Mountain. After a free breakfast at the hotel (LOVED continental breakfasts!) we started the drive to Camelback. Zach, who knows and reads about everything Auburn, had pointed out the team's hotel the day before and as we drove past it that morning we saw their buses in the parking lot and people walking out. He swerved quickly into the hotel parking lot and we all jumped out just in time to see our beloved Auburn Tigers loading up to go on their walkthrough at the stadium!! So cool!!
After that excitement we continued our way to our hiking trip. Ever since we had arrived in Phoenix, and even before that if truth be told, I was super excited about seeing a cactus, like a real cactus, in person and getting a picture. Camelback was soooooo packed with all the tourists we had to park about a mile away before we could even start the hike up. On our little hike to the hike we passed this hugely amazing cactus and it became my picture partner!
We spent the next two hours climbing half way up Camelback Mtn. It was SUPER STEEP!! We reached a really pretty overlook about the half way point and ended up spending so much time there looking and taking pictures that we didn't have time to go all the way and still get back to the hotel in time to get ready and go the Auburn's Pep Rally. I gotta say it was hard to balance awesome gorgeous desert area with fan filled fun but I was promised we'd come back someday and see everything we missed!
After the pep rally we ate a late lunch at this yummy cheese steak place and met up with some great friends from college. We sat and talked for quite sometime and found out while we were sitting there that the restaurant was running out of food. Actually quite a few restaurants and bars ran out of food and alcohol during the weekend. They TOTALLY underestimated the traveling powers of an Auburn fan!
Our plans for the evening included attending a party at the W hotel thrown by Charles Barkley (an Auburn alum) but that didn't start until after 8 so we all piled into Dave and Britney's rental jeep to track down the sunset. We drove up the back of Camelback mountain and watched the sky turn colors and watch Zach run out of memory space taking pictures of the sky turning colors. It was GORGEOUS! I would love to find a house with a back porch that had a sunset view. It would be my goal to sit and stare in silence as often as possible!
After changing into 'party' clothes we headed to the W to see what it was all about. The best part of the party, for me, was being able to walk ahead of all the people waiting because our name was on a special list. LOL! My mom wasn't sure what this particular amusement said about me but I think it says YES my feet are killing me so now let me get in this thing already so I can sit down! But there could have been a little haha mixed in with it :) Because we were among some of the first inside we happened to see Charles B. we were next in line to get a picture of him (and by line I mean people standing around him) when some bubba frat boy pushed ahead of me. After that Mr. Barkley went back into his little guarded room and only came out occasionally. Because I feel it quite silly to stand and stare at a famous person like they are an exhibit at the zoo, we walked around and took pictures of the party and looked for people we knew. We ran into a couple high school/college friends which was cool, drank some beverages, talk to some other random Auburn fans, one of which grew up in Dothan, AL and looked about the same age as my dad which was kind of cool. After about two hours we had had enough of watching people drink and watching people watch Charles Barkley so we headed to the Casino down the road!!
I had never been to a casino before so I was super excited to try it out. All my friends went to Biloxi spring break junior year of college but my parents weren't big fans of that idea so I went to New York City with Zach, Dave who is in these pictures, and another guy friend from Auburn. It was not a hardship! Nonetheless, I got $15 in ones and hit the slots. I went up $5 at one but lost it and ended up making a whole 15 cents :( Next time I'm playing blackjack!!
