GO NAVY!

Our doormat...Army sweatshirt

BEAT ARMY! We did, for the 10^th year in a row. Ah, I love being part of a Navy family. A) We always win, B) Navy blue and gold are great colors, C) Our midshipmen uniforms are the sharpest, and D) Our fighter jet flyover is WAY cooler than the Army helicopter moseyover. I may be a proud Navy brat, but let me be clear that I’m grateful to all military branches for what they do for this country.  When it comes to competition, however, you can’t turn a blind eye to the blatant superiority of Navy… :)

We arrived in Annapolis around midnight on Thursday and went straight to a bar downtown to meet my cousin. Jim, Linds, and I walked into “Pussers” (great name) expecting a pub or something low key that would match our jeans and Ugg boot attire, but instead found ourselves in a college club-type atmosphere with biddies wearing mini dresses and heels in the middle of a 30 degree night, crying and fighting with their boyfriends (probably for simply looking in the vague direction where another girl might, may have, just possibly been standing). Oh, college. After our long drive from New York, Lindsay, Jim, and I turned in after one drink, preparing for the big day to follow.

Party bus with Jean!

With a “you fly, we buy” offer from Dad and Jean, the kids started our day with an 8a.m. Starbucks run before settling on the party bus that would transport us to the tailgate. My dad and his Naval Academy buddies know how to do it right…a party bus? Yes, please. A few Bloody Marys later, we arrived at FedEx stadium, receiving a couple of gawks for the monstrosity of a vehicle we were in. Security was not thrilled, but we (and by “we,” I mean Dad and his fleet of won’t-take-no-for-an-answer-Navy Captains) found a little parking spot between all the RVs and set up shop. 

The tailgate was perfect: piles of food, plenty of drinks, and lots of fun family and friends. At one point, I was on the phone with Claire, trying to direct her to our location while my cousin Charlotte was also on the phone doing the exact same thing with her friend. Charlotte and I were both standing near the back of the RV (we had a party bus and an RV to use) when Claire spotted and subsequently tackled me. The girl Claire had walked over with then tackled Charlotte. Unbelievable. Charlotte’s friend was Claire’s family friend who had walked over with Claire to our end of the tailgate lot. They had planned to “find their friends and meet back up”…turned out their friends were Charlotte and me! Such a small world.

Once we were in the game, Obama’s smile blinded us in our club seats. That man has a serious Crest Whitestrips addiction. Whatever his addiction or political views, seeing the President of the United States was pretty exciting. The whole experience was patriotism at its finest. Army and Navy underclassmen, servicemen and women, and vets at every turn, the Pres waving in his top coat, jets flying over, and good ole American football. And beer. Unfortunately, I couldn’t cheer as much as I wanted to in order to save my voice for the showcase tonight, but I still waved my Navy scarf around proudly- even more so when I was in the Army section visiting Claire. 

Too exhausted to rally for a night out on the town, our family ate dinner in the Heyworth (cousins) RV while the rest of the lot cleared out. The drive home was really quiet as people fell asleep..until the croc pot full of hot beans fell on me. Now, my dad taught my brother and me that no story is worth telling unless it’s worth exaggerating, so I’m not swearing by how full the pot or hot the beans were...but that’s beside the point. The point is that I like to be dramatic about being the left out single girl in the family who always has to sleep by herself in the living room, get her own drinks from the bar, and sit on the end of the row next to strangers. Pathetically drenched in the stench of “cowboy beans,” I listened to the couples surrounding me say in jest, “You’ll definitely attract the boys now.” The only man in my life, my dad, handed me a napkin. I can’t be single anymore. This is getting out of control. I just need a man who will keep me from sitting all alone in a pile of beans.

Lindsay, me, Charlotte's friend Margaret, Charlotte, and Jim

Now I’m sure you feel incredibly sad for me, but please, save your tears. I’m happy as a clam as I type, riding home with Jim and Lindsay and listening to “The Book of Mormon” soundtrack. Jim and Linds are hilarious road trip companions, getting overly excited about the prospect of Christmas shopping and solving any disagreements with beef jerky. I’m also really looking forward to my showcase tonight! A bunch of my friends are coming out to support me, so the night will undoubtedly be wonderful.  Having familiar faces in the audience always makes performances way more fun. I can’t wait!