NYE in Hollywood & the Rose Bowl in Pasadena
We're going to the Rosebowl! Go Ducks!
The days following Christmas have been filled with prep for the big game. They are calling for a Yellow Out. Yellow rose lei for jen, check. Cowboy Hat with Yellow Roses for bryan, check. Print our own yellow duck Tshirts, check. Go nuts in anticipation...double check. Does making your own Tshirts make you crafty or cheap? Okay, for us probably both. Anyway, it will be nice to wear the shirts since Bry has been designing duck shirts for last year but can't seem to get any approved from the athletic department. rules. rules. legalities. copyrights. blah blah. anyway on with the trip
We fly into LAX on the morning of New Years Eve, its gorgeous and sunny. we check into the hotel, we walk around a bit, and grab lunch outside in the sun. ah the sun. in january. makes us wonder why we love the pacific northwest so much. but yet we do. the hotel has a hottub so we pour a cocktail and go soak for a half hour or so before primping for our New Years Eve-ning in Hollywood.
The taxi drops us off right in the heart of it. Awesome! its like vegas, with a twist. We are walking among the stars. no seriously, there are stars in the sidewalk. We spot a few cool names, including Brock's star (apt on his birthday). people are ridiculously crazy here, some dressed like superheroes, we even see a mini mr t. which we find out later is aptly named tiny t when we meet him in a swanky side bar. we are in search for a sports bar so we can cheer on our Canucks as they play the LA Kings. sports bar found, we order sweet potato tots (yes you read that correctly) and we watch as LA sadly kicksa$@ all over our boys. we bar hop a bit and then make our way to our final nightclub destination where we will be ringing in the new year. We are so excited to hang with the other VIP ducks, we stand in the looooong line and try to be patient. As we soon learn, we are among 10 or so duck fans at the entire party. Kenny Wheaton how could you do this to us? no seriously, we had a good time, we drank bubbly, we kissed at midnight and when Jen could drink no more we hopped in a taxi back to the hotel. 2012 has officially kicked off! Bring it on!
New Years Day the only thing on our agenda was hitting the Pep Rally at Santa Monica Beach which wasnt until 3pm. So we were lazy and we hung out in bed for the entire morning. it was amazing if you know what i mean. We finally decided to get out of our room to once again soak in the hot tub and sit in the BEAUTIFUL SUN! did i mention it was HOT- on jan 1. mmm california. We drove to the Santa Monica Pier just in time for the Pep Rally, hit the after party which was shall i say, mellow, and then headed back to the hotel for an early night. the big game was the next day and the parking lot opens at 4am. In typical danger style, we planned to be among the first there. Asking ourselves if we are crazy....We set the alarm for 320am. Then we ordered pizza delivery to take for game day snacks, and crawled into bed.
Before we know it, its 320am. we gather all our yellow and snacks, and drive the half hour or so to Pasadena. Its dark and cold and we are among the first 50 vehicles there. We pour bloody marys, and start chatting up our neighbors as they set up their very elaborate tailgating set up. Most of our neighbors have the tailgating essentials: Tent, coolers, table, chairs, flags, grills, games. we have pizza, a store bought veggie platter, and a small cooler with spirts and mixers. Really its all we need, but still a bit comical.
As luck has it we park next to an old college buddy of jen's. figure that coincidence. he and his wife came early to set-up the tailgating camp for the whole family expected to arrive after sunrise (a few hours away). We started chatting with them and pretty much hung out the entire day with them. As the sun rose, we warmed up and went from being chilled in hoodies, to be so damn hot in tees. We sipped cocktails, played corn hole, talked to everyone... Real Pity that Brent couldn't be here with us, but we befriended many badgers in his absence. Bry performed what i coined the great ticket swap which ended up with us on the 35yd line or so with a perfect view of the entire game. nice work bryan. you the man.
