Lazy Sundays are much appreciated, especially after an exhausting but fun trip.

Matt and I returned from Nashville last night as we were able to enjoy a "guys trip," centered around a donor function in the area and the UGA/Vandy football game. Thursday evening was the reception in Brentwood at the beautiful home of a donor who I've been working with over the last year. He has multiple interests with the University which, as an alum, I always enjoy. While the gentleman is a true Bulldog, having graduated from UGA, his wonderful wife as grown to love the Dogs. She has Big XII connections to Texas Tech, but we can forgive that!

One great surprise at the reception was seeing an old familiar face. Betsy Crossley, a biology and anatomy teacher at Mount Tabor High School and UGA alumna, was in attendance at the reception and is the Mayor of Brentwood! I knew she was living around the Nashville area now but had no idea she was the Mayor of such a great town.

Following the reception, we met up with Brandon, an old Nashville friend, and hit Exit/In for a Drivin' N Cryin' show. Much like the 40 watt in Athens, Exit/In is a great venue. Thanks to another old Nashville friend, Lauren, we were comped. I hadn't seen DNC since the college days, and they didn't disappoint. You have to give it up for a band that seemingly still enjoys their music and life on the road after 24 years.

Friday was spent running around Nashville. Hit the Pancake Pantry for some breakfast, the VU Student-Athletics office for some quick visits and then lunch with my old Vandy boss at Jimmy Carl's Lunch Box for some bbq. Since we were already downtown, we made a stop by a few of the honky tonk bars then drove back closer to campus to visit the Yazoo Brewery. A local brew pub, they have a great little tap room which serves one of my favorites, their Dos Perros.

After a quick dinner, we met up with some of the old Vanderbilt faithful at Broadway Brewhouse. This pub is one which I didn't particularly care for while I lived in town but grew to appreciate after I left.

Saturday morning, I made some donor visits then hit a tailgate prior to the game. Spotted several old friends enjoying the pregame festivities. Low and behold, a couple of friends were tailgating with two of the members of Lady Antebellum, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood. Apparently Dave and the missing bandmate, Charles Kelley, both attended UGA. They were both very personable and seemed to just enjoy the tailgating life. But, as we all agreed, it was a far cry from tailgating life in Athens.

The first quarter of the game we spent on the field visiting with an Atlanta radio personality. His show is actually the one Courtney and I both listen to in the morning. We connected through facebook and he and a friend met us outside the stadium. His friend produces another morning show in Atlanta and is a huge Dog fan. They loved the experience and were very appreciative of the opportunity.

The game itself was quite ugly in the first half. Both teams were struggling to move the ball not because of stellar defense but because of poor offense. The Dogs seemed to connect play calling and execution much better in the second half and walked away with a nice win. Needless to say it is much needed. With the bye week coming up and the Florida game next on the schedule, hopefully Georgia will be ready to make a run this next part of the season.

As was mentioned in the previous Lowe Down, next weekend we will be venturing up to Virginia Beach to spend a weekend with friends and indulge ourselves in a little Argus music. While the drive will be a haul, I can't wait to visit with some dear old friends.

Right off the bat, someone guessed what was in the case. Jess, you were correct.

Yes, within the case is a ton of Argus materials: lyrics, contracts, stickers, promotional items and set lists. Why is this important? Well aside from the fact Argus is the most influential band of the past three centuries, we are also making a small comeback.

In two weeks we are converging on Virginia Beach to visit with the Lee's. Anna is the newest addition to the Argus family, now around 9 months old and the rest of us haven't had a chance to meet her. Not only will that change in two weeks, she'll also get her first Argus concert at her very own home! Totally cool, right? So yes the weekend is partly about friends, partly about some music but mostly about welcoming little Miss Anna into our family.

Thanks to our good friend Matt, Court and I were able to take in U2 at the Georgia Dome last week. Normally we are not ones to stay up late or out on week day nights. So when we got home at 1:30am and had to wake up at 5am, we realized we'd be struggling the rest of the week. And we did, but it was absolutely worth it.

For years now I've had a top 5 live concerts I've wanted to see live. In recent years three of those have been checked off the list, with James Taylor in Nashville and both REM and now U2 in Atlanta. None of those have disappointed, and U2 certainly brought it last Tuesday. I've always heard or read their shows are these tremendous displays and that was the case. Not only was the music outstanding but the stage and video set-up was insane. They spare no expense on presentation, and I am thrilled we were able to check out the show. Thanks Matt.

Oh, and the remaining two on the top 5 list? Springsteen and the combo of Elton John and Billy Joel. My first concert ever was Billy Joel with my parents years ago, but I'd love to see those two together.

While the football season continues to be disappointing (and seriously, is this NOT the most boring college football season ever?), we were fortunate to welcome some friends from the Left Coast to last weekend's LSU Game. Eric and Janice jumped on a plane in San Diego, flew into Atlanta and ended up spending the weekend with us in Athens. We spent a little time on the town Friday night. Saturday was all about SEC football.

They were able to experience true tailgating, SEC style. Apparently it leaves PAC-10 tailgating in the dust. Not a shock. They enjoyed tailgating with Doug's crew for a bit and then wandered up to North Campus to enjoy the sea of humanity that is the quad. Court was great enough to give up her seats for the game, so unfortunately they had a great seat for the Dogs' loss. At least it was an exciting game with both teams scoring in the last 90 seconds.

Was supposed to get in some free golf today as the Tip-Off Club was hosting their annual tournament. Mother Nature has opened the heavens yet again on Georgia, so the rain will probably keep us off the course. That actually works well since there are plenty of phone calls to be made. Heading to Nashville this weekend for the Georgia/Vandy game and still have some appointments to make. At least the week will end with seeing some good old friends in one of my favorite cities.