Things I did wrong this weekend

whoman69 · 10-06-2003, 09:14 AM

Everyone will tell you that preparation is the key to a long trip. It was a word not in my vocabulary as I went to my first NFL game. Friday was supposed to be prep day, but something came up at work and I cancelled the vacation I had scheduled. That left alot of scrambling and bad decision making for Saturday.
It started out with a much needed oil change. Problem is everybody else wants to work on their car that day too. I was there over two hours waiting for my car. That meant a hurry up and eat lunch then pack because of the six hour drive I had ahead of me. I had planned to bring some things to eat and drink, that was sqaushed. My packing frenzy left me without my hat. Anyone who saw me at the game knows I am bald, so bald without a hat in the sun is not a good idea.
I dont' exactly drive a Cadillac. Truth be known I drive a Geo Metro. Before you say anything I was getting 40 mpg in an eight year old car. When I bought it there was a mixup with the dealer about getting a radio put in. I never went back to get it put in. So now I have a six hour trip with no radio, and my discman not packed. If you have travelled in Iowa you know that the interstates bypass anything thats interesting. Someone who does not know the state would think from passing thru that Iowa is one big cornfield. You see Little Amana, the Williamsburg mall outlet, an airport out in the middle of nowhere near Newton and the occassional gas station. You see Des Moines from about 10 miles out so it seems like 4 or 5 tall buildings and the Capitol. Aside from that its all cornfield with the occassional soybean feild for variety.
Hoping for the bigger and better deal, I waited until late to get my tickets and my hotel. I could have had tickets in 117 instead of 304. I could have stayed just outside the city in Grandview. Instead I waited and ended up in Higginsville. Anyone who had been to Higginsville was probably there by accident. Its right off I-70 on exit 49 with nothing around but a strip mall. The only places to eat are a Subway and a drive-thru McD's. I hate McDonalds. Besides after six hours on the road I wanted to sit down. Being served a sub from someone whose main expertise would be to restock the Rolaids on the shelves did not appeal to me either. The next closest place was more than 10 miles down the road. What did I get there? Wendy's,

. Not a total loss, I did spot a place to get breakfast the next morning.
Back to Higginsville, nothing to do there but watch TV. The has not been a good year for the Whoman family economically. I decided the 37 banquet would have made the weekend a bit pricey. I should have spent the extra bucks. My hotel was right off the interstate and it was tough getting to sleep.
Next morning I was awoken early by the traffic. I watched Inside the NFL and some ESPN and the other channels all had morning services. The hotel did have a continental breakfast, like toast and juice is really breakfast, but I did have plans as I said before. Only problem is the place did not serve breakfast. I ended up in a Waffle House. As I was leaving someone saw my jersey and told me that traffic was backed up for five miles from the stadium. I was less than 5 miles from the stadium so I knew it wasn't that bad.
I have been to NBA, MLB baseball games, and Div I college football games. I have never seen a place with a worst parking situation. Wrigley Field is better and it doesn't have any real parking. I was at the stadium area just after 10 and did not get to my parking place until 1130. There aren't many personnel there to show you where the parking places are either. I ended up parked on a hill that I'm not really sure how I even got up there. I was envisioning during the game that my parking brake would go out and I'd hear an announcement that my car had crashed into three others. From there I walked the wrong way around the stadium to get to my gate and ended up circumnavigating the place. After waiting more than an hour in traffic a rest room stop was necessary. That too was a fun experience for those who know the stadium. I had hoped to get to B5 before just to know where it was but did not have time. The sun was bright and the caps outside the stadium were $28. I declined even though I knew I would be burned like William Bartee on a post pattern.
The saving grace of course was watching the Chiefs and meeting some of you afterwards. Since I didn't know where B5 was, it took me about 20 minutes looking, this after the mass exodus, another bathroom trip and asking a clueless stadium attendent. I still don't know HTF we won that game. It was all the fans not letting the defense quit and MVP Dante Hall.

10-06-2003, 09:14 AM
whoman69 The Master Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Marion, IA Casino cash: $10004925	Things I did wrong this weekend Everyone will tell you that preparation is the key to a long trip. It was a word not in my vocabulary as I went to my first NFL game. Friday was supposed to be prep day, but something came up at work and I cancelled the vacation I had scheduled. That left alot of scrambling and bad decision making for Saturday. It started out with a much needed oil change. Problem is everybody else wants to work on their car that day too. I was there over two hours waiting for my car. That meant a hurry up and eat lunch then pack because of the six hour drive I had ahead of me. I had planned to bring some things to eat and drink, that was sqaushed. My packing frenzy left me without my hat. Anyone who saw me at the game knows I am bald, so bald without a hat in the sun is not a good idea. I dont' exactly drive a Cadillac. Truth be known I drive a Geo Metro. Before you say anything I was getting 40 mpg in an eight year old car. When I bought it there was a mixup with the dealer about getting a radio put in. I never went back to get it put in. So now I have a six hour trip with no radio, and my discman not packed. If you have travelled in Iowa you know that the interstates bypass anything thats interesting. Someone who does not know the state would think from passing thru that Iowa is one big cornfield. You see Little Amana, the Williamsburg mall outlet, an airport out in the middle of nowhere near Newton and the occassional gas station. You see Des Moines from about 10 miles out so it seems like 4 or 5 tall buildings and the Capitol. Aside from that its all cornfield with the occassional soybean feild for variety. Hoping for the bigger and better deal, I waited until late to get my tickets and my hotel. I could have had tickets in 117 instead of 304. I could have stayed just outside the city in Grandview. Instead I waited and ended up in Higginsville. Anyone who had been to Higginsville was probably there by accident. Its right off I-70 on exit 49 with nothing around but a strip mall. The only places to eat are a Subway and a drive-thru McD's. I hate McDonalds. Besides after six hours on the road I wanted to sit down. Being served a sub from someone whose main expertise would be to restock the Rolaids on the shelves did not appeal to me either. The next closest place was more than 10 miles down the road. What did I get there? Wendy's, . Not a total loss, I did spot a place to get breakfast the next morning. Back to Higginsville, nothing to do there but watch TV. The has not been a good year for the Whoman family economically. I decided the 37 banquet would have made the weekend a bit pricey. I should have spent the extra bucks. My hotel was right off the interstate and it was tough getting to sleep. Next morning I was awoken early by the traffic. I watched Inside the NFL and some ESPN and the other channels all had morning services. The hotel did have a continental breakfast, like toast and juice is really breakfast, but I did have plans as I said before. Only problem is the place did not serve breakfast. I ended up in a Waffle House. As I was leaving someone saw my jersey and told me that traffic was backed up for five miles from the stadium. I was less than 5 miles from the stadium so I knew it wasn't that bad. I have been to NBA, MLB baseball games, and Div I college football games. I have never seen a place with a worst parking situation. Wrigley Field is better and it doesn't have any real parking. I was at the stadium area just after 10 and did not get to my parking place until 1130. There aren't many personnel there to show you where the parking places are either. I ended up parked on a hill that I'm not really sure how I even got up there. I was envisioning during the game that my parking brake would go out and I'd hear an announcement that my car had crashed into three others. From there I walked the wrong way around the stadium to get to my gate and ended up circumnavigating the place. After waiting more than an hour in traffic a rest room stop was necessary. That too was a fun experience for those who know the stadium. I had hoped to get to B5 before just to know where it was but did not have time. The sun was bright and the caps outside the stadium were $28. I declined even though I knew I would be burned like William Bartee on a post pattern. The saving grace of course was watching the Chiefs and meeting some of you afterwards. Since I didn't know where B5 was, it took me about 20 minutes looking, this after the mass exodus, another bathroom trip and asking a clueless stadium attendent. I still don't know HTF we won that game. It was all the fans not letting the defense quit and MVP Dante Hall.
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