Today is Election Day! While we may or may not agree on our party affiliation, I hope each of you took the time to be a part of the best democratic process in the world. Or, at least, that is what I am calling it for now. I spent the last two months really comparing the two presidential candidates and trying to determine a side. After waaaaaaaaay too much political reading and after watching all of the debates, I came to my own conclusion. Courtney and I spent a good bit of time debating things in the house, and I certainly had my share of heated debates with family and friends. When that was over, I made a decision to vote for the man I think is best suited to be our next president. I will say this ... I am not a firm 100% believer in either of the candidates, but I made up my mind. I hope you did.
Before I wrap up this past weekend, I would like to congratulate Marian and Darryl Kennedy on their nuptials October 25. Marian is my beloved sister, and they had a beautiful wedding in our home town of Winston-Salem. Mom and Dad provide a great day of events from the wedding to the reception. I probably imbibed a little too much, but it is not very often your parent's open up the bar for you! Take advantage! It was great, and I spent last night checking out the honeymoon photos. As I have stated on here many, many times I am extremely proud of my sister. We have a very close bond which I hope never breaks. While the years have made us older and more opinionated, we still have a great ability to have a discussion and respect what the other is saying. We may not always agree, well lots of times we don't, but we respect each other. I have always been very proud of the decisions she has made in her life, and this is no exception. She made a decision to marry a guy who is great for her. Isn't this what we all want for our siblings? I love them both, and I wish them a lifetime of happiness and joy.
Sunday afternoon we returned from Saint Simons. This wasn't just a quick trip to the beach, as this entire weekend was centered around what typically is the biggest game of the year for the Dogs ... the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party," also known as the Georgia/Florida game. While this year's installment of the game was completely forgettable for Bulldog fans, the atmosphere surrounding this game continues to amaze me. Jacksonville, FL, is a tremendous host to the game, and I hope we can keep this rivalry in Jacksonville for years to come.
Last Wednesday, my buddy Matt and I headed to Savannah for a cocktail reception. Even though I was the lead singer for one of the most influential rock bands of the 21st century, I am not the biggest public speaker. This was my first event where I was able to address a crowd, talk to them about the season and then introduce our biggest and most important facility project we have on the docket right now. There is only one Vince Dooley, one Mark Richt, one Damon Evans, and one Herschel Walker. I could not compete with the likes of those stars, but I did my best. The crowd was smaller than anticipated, but this is an event Savannah would host prior to Georgia/Florida years ago. Somewhere along the way it stopped, so some of the donors in the area wanted to start it back up again as a kick-off to the weekend. It was an honor to be down there, and I met some great people. Hopefully they learned a little about our latest project.
Later that evening, Matt and I headed down to Saint Simons Island, GA. If you have never been, it is such a peaceful and amazing place. Well, peaceful until GA/FL. As the locals know it, SSI is located about an hour north of Jacksonville. It makes for the perfect location as it is on the water, not too far from the stadium and is overrun with Georgia fans. Having been down to SSI for the game two previous times, I think I have seen one Florida fan on the island over these three trips. One. I am not even kidding. I know there are other great locations for the game, but SSI just has a great charm about it, and I hope we have the ability to stay down there for years to come. We are very fortunate for Courtney's mom and step dad allow us to take over their condo, but we always take care of it. I want to be invited back!
Courtney and Matt's wife came down late Friday afternoon. We had dinner going for the ladies and we all hung out around the condo that evening. Saturday, we were in Jacksonville around 8:30 for a 3:30 kickoff. Matt had prepared a breakfast and lunch menu. So yes, while you are looking at the link to the Jacksonville photos over there on the left hand side of the screen, you might notice my huge belly in a few pictures. That is on a full stomach people! But yeah, the gym is calling my name as well. Anyway, we cooked up some great food and had a few beverages. We also took some time to play corn hole and visit with friends tailgating around us. While I have attended less than 10 bowl games in my life, the atmosphere surrounding GA/FL is close if not better than the atmosphere you get at most games. We hate Florida, they think we are annoying. They've owned us the past 17 years, we really pissed them off last year with the endzone dance. They crushed us this year, we still hate them. There is a book about the Georgia/Georgia Tech rivalry entitled, "Clean, Good Old Fashioned Hate." I dare say you could use the title for the Georgia/Florida rivalry as well. People flock to Jacksonville, fill up one side of the stadium with blue and orange, the other red and black. There is always lots of trash talk prior to the game and one half of the stadium leaves with long faces at the end. While grilling burgers at your car, you hear the bands warming up in the parking lots. Sitting in your tailgating chair, Georgia fans bark at you while they ride by and Gator fans give you the Gator chomp. It really is an impressive and electric atmosphere. I'm just thrilled we were able to enjoy it another year ... well, minus the actual game. There is always next year!
The next three weeks are a little more calm. Football is on the road at Kentucky, at Auburn and then an off week leading us up to Thanksgiving. Oh, and in case you've been sleeping through football season ... basketball season is here! Yes, we have our first scrimmage this weekend. Wild to believe it is already here, but I do love me some college hoops.
Off to bed. Be sure to flip through the photo link on the left. We've recently updated our pictures, so all the debauchery is available to you.
Before I wrap up this past weekend, I would like to congratulate Marian and Darryl Kennedy on their nuptials October 25. Marian is my beloved sister, and they had a beautiful wedding in our home town of Winston-Salem. Mom and Dad provide a great day of events from the wedding to the reception. I probably imbibed a little too much, but it is not very often your parent's open up the bar for you! Take advantage! It was great, and I spent last night checking out the honeymoon photos. As I have stated on here many, many times I am extremely proud of my sister. We have a very close bond which I hope never breaks. While the years have made us older and more opinionated, we still have a great ability to have a discussion and respect what the other is saying. We may not always agree, well lots of times we don't, but we respect each other. I have always been very proud of the decisions she has made in her life, and this is no exception. She made a decision to marry a guy who is great for her. Isn't this what we all want for our siblings? I love them both, and I wish them a lifetime of happiness and joy.
Sunday afternoon we returned from Saint Simons. This wasn't just a quick trip to the beach, as this entire weekend was centered around what typically is the biggest game of the year for the Dogs ... the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party," also known as the Georgia/Florida game. While this year's installment of the game was completely forgettable for Bulldog fans, the atmosphere surrounding this game continues to amaze me. Jacksonville, FL, is a tremendous host to the game, and I hope we can keep this rivalry in Jacksonville for years to come.
Last Wednesday, my buddy Matt and I headed to Savannah for a cocktail reception. Even though I was the lead singer for one of the most influential rock bands of the 21st century, I am not the biggest public speaker. This was my first event where I was able to address a crowd, talk to them about the season and then introduce our biggest and most important facility project we have on the docket right now. There is only one Vince Dooley, one Mark Richt, one Damon Evans, and one Herschel Walker. I could not compete with the likes of those stars, but I did my best. The crowd was smaller than anticipated, but this is an event Savannah would host prior to Georgia/Florida years ago. Somewhere along the way it stopped, so some of the donors in the area wanted to start it back up again as a kick-off to the weekend. It was an honor to be down there, and I met some great people. Hopefully they learned a little about our latest project.
Later that evening, Matt and I headed down to Saint Simons Island, GA. If you have never been, it is such a peaceful and amazing place. Well, peaceful until GA/FL. As the locals know it, SSI is located about an hour north of Jacksonville. It makes for the perfect location as it is on the water, not too far from the stadium and is overrun with Georgia fans. Having been down to SSI for the game two previous times, I think I have seen one Florida fan on the island over these three trips. One. I am not even kidding. I know there are other great locations for the game, but SSI just has a great charm about it, and I hope we have the ability to stay down there for years to come. We are very fortunate for Courtney's mom and step dad allow us to take over their condo, but we always take care of it. I want to be invited back!
Courtney and Matt's wife came down late Friday afternoon. We had dinner going for the ladies and we all hung out around the condo that evening. Saturday, we were in Jacksonville around 8:30 for a 3:30 kickoff. Matt had prepared a breakfast and lunch menu. So yes, while you are looking at the link to the Jacksonville photos over there on the left hand side of the screen, you might notice my huge belly in a few pictures. That is on a full stomach people! But yeah, the gym is calling my name as well. Anyway, we cooked up some great food and had a few beverages. We also took some time to play corn hole and visit with friends tailgating around us. While I have attended less than 10 bowl games in my life, the atmosphere surrounding GA/FL is close if not better than the atmosphere you get at most games. We hate Florida, they think we are annoying. They've owned us the past 17 years, we really pissed them off last year with the endzone dance. They crushed us this year, we still hate them. There is a book about the Georgia/Georgia Tech rivalry entitled, "Clean, Good Old Fashioned Hate." I dare say you could use the title for the Georgia/Florida rivalry as well. People flock to Jacksonville, fill up one side of the stadium with blue and orange, the other red and black. There is always lots of trash talk prior to the game and one half of the stadium leaves with long faces at the end. While grilling burgers at your car, you hear the bands warming up in the parking lots. Sitting in your tailgating chair, Georgia fans bark at you while they ride by and Gator fans give you the Gator chomp. It really is an impressive and electric atmosphere. I'm just thrilled we were able to enjoy it another year ... well, minus the actual game. There is always next year!
The next three weeks are a little more calm. Football is on the road at Kentucky, at Auburn and then an off week leading us up to Thanksgiving. Oh, and in case you've been sleeping through football season ... basketball season is here! Yes, we have our first scrimmage this weekend. Wild to believe it is already here, but I do love me some college hoops.
Off to bed. Be sure to flip through the photo link on the left. We've recently updated our pictures, so all the debauchery is available to you.
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