A fifteen year odyssey across the backroads of America during the ultimate College Football roadtrip.

Tag: Washington

Washington vs Cal – I’m on A Boat!

Crossing West over the Evergreen Floating Bridge on Route 520, the silhouette of Husky Stadium emerges in the distance cloaked in a light morning fog. Rising out of Lake Washington like two coiled cobras, the hulking steel grandstands gleam with flecks of early morning sunlight. I’m on my way to Husky Stadium, home of the Washington Huskies, a venue reputed to be one of the loudest in the country. Given the massive flanking metal roofs, the reflective acoustics would support this claim. In a 1992 night game against Nebraska, the crowd noise reached 130 decibels, officially the loudest college football game on record – a level above the threshold for pain.

It’s a pristine morning in Seattle, the sun breaks through quickly and a light breeze rolls in off the bay. Despite the ample side streets surrounding the Washington campus, I’m forced to pay for parking. The neighborhoods are canvassed with parking ordinances for game days, a clever money making scheme for the University. After reluctantly forking over my $15 parking donation, I wander through a few of the larger stadium lots, the smell of tailgate wafting through the morning air. It’s a robust atmosphere in the lots, the usual flood of purple tents, smoking grills and spreads, but that’s not what I’m looking for.

The real tailgating scene Washington is famous for occurs on the water behind the stadium in Lake Washington. The Huskies are host to a unique college football experience known as “Sailgating”. Scores of boats motor in before games, lashing themselves together to form a giant tailgating flotilla of fiberglass and chrome. Grill smoke wafts between the rows of boats, and satellite TV’s pump out a few east coast games. Cops donned in orange life jackets patrol the docks, making sure nobody gets out of control, but it’s a pretty relaxed scene. A few of them munch on some burgers, sounds like a pretty choice detail to me.

I chatted up the owner of the “Big Dawg”, an impressive 60 footer, and one of the largest yachts in the fleet. Owned by a local excavating company mogul, we exchanged a few stories as they grilled up some fresh pacific oysters. Not your average meager bites, these oysters were huge meaty offerings, served with traditional cocktail sauce. I shamelessly downed a handful of them.

After my fill on the docks, I circled around the stadium and snapped up a quick ticket on the 50 yard line for forty bucks or so. I opted for the upper deck this time, strategically positioned in the middle of the acoustic throng that Husky Stadium is known for. With a pristine sunny afternoon, and gentle breeze coming in off the water there was an overt calm in the stands.

The game turned out a bit quieter than I had hoped for. Though Cal is a premier PAC 12 opponent, the place never quite filled up, and endzone seats were nearly barren except for the band. It’s been that way for the last ten years or so from what I gather, as the Huskies struggle to recapture their former grandeur. The noise pumped up a few times on key plays, booming off the corrugated metal roof, but it still wasn’t the ear splitting hubbub that I came to hear. The game was actually a rather exciting one, coming down to the last drive where the Huskies held on for a hard fought 31-23 win amidst a rather aloof crowd.


True to form, however, Husky Stadium is a magnificent backdrop for college football. Sailgating on the water, an imposing facility and tradition rich program are all the right ingredients for a true Saturday classic. I’d love to return one day for a few more oysters on the half-shell, and a night game against a premier opponent when the grandstands really start shaking…

Drugs are sumptuous, and specific people cannot get the medicaments they need. Certain drugs are as a rule used to treat varied types of infection caused by definite types of bacteria, such as tonsillitis and infections of the throat. If you’re concerned about sexual problem, you probably know about http://isviagraoverthecounter.com/Male-Enhancement-Pills.html. What are side effects of Cialis? There are different drugs for male impotency cure. Very likely Male Enhancement Pills Over the Counter is a very complicated topic. More info about Cialis available at best male enhancement pills over the counter. While the generic is credited with improving nausea, it may also kill the mood in bedroom. All kinds of medications, from those that are considered ‘all natural’ to those that are chemically produced in a laboratory, may cause some kind of aftereffects.

Share this post:

Beth’s Cafe – Quantity vs. Quality

“Beth’s Café, happiest place on earth” the waiter snapped into the phone. Tattoos crawled up the sides of his arms and the phone sunk into a haggard beard as he spoke. The short order cook was similarly ink adorned, although clean shaven, sporting a few extra facial piercings as he slapped away on the cook top.

If you’re looking for a hygienic, sterilized breakfast joint with cute accoutrements and a delicate brunch – keep looking. The service here is gruff but efficient, and the walls are plastered with crayon drawings. The portions, however, are epic. In the eternal struggle between quantity versus quality, Beth’s Café has thrust their chips firmly into the quantity ring, which naturally landed them a feature on Man vs. Food. Dishing out breakfast classics to Seattle’s finest 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since 1954, it’s an equally cherished favorite among the late night drunk and early morning work crowds.

I opted for a booth, glanced over the menu and settled on one of their legendary omelettes. A check to the ego, I opted for some corned beef hash and the “small” omelette, prepared with a meager six eggs. The large comes with twelve, and according to the menu, and there is no prize for finishing it.

The food was dropped on the table a few minutes later, a giant pile of quivering eggs atop a layer of hash browns. True to its reputation, the portions are simply massive. The hash browns are even “all you can eat”, but I didn’t have the fortitude to consider more than one round. The food itself is fair at best. While the portions are ample, the hash browns are straight out of the freezer, the hash dropped from a can, and there is a generous dousing with the butter ladle atop all the food that made it excessively greasy. It’s also not that cheap, as my total bill came in over fifteen bucks.

But if you’re a man of large appetite, or coming off an all night bender looking for a greasy mess at 3AM, Beth’s Café would indeed be the “happiest place on Earth” for you…

Drugs are sumptuous, and certain people cannot get the medicaments they need. Certain drugs are ordinarily used to treat varied types of infection caused by specific types of bacteria, such as tonsillitis and infections of the throat. If you’re concerned about sexual problem, you probably know about http://isviagraoverthecounter.com/Male-Enhancement-Pills.html. What are side effects of Cialis? There are various drugs for male impotence cure. Very likely Male Enhancement Pills Over the Counter is a very complicated topic. More data about Cialis available at best male enhancement pills over the counter. While the generic is credited with improving nausea, it may also kill the mood in bedroom. All kinds of medications, from those that are considered ‘all natural’ to those that are chemically produced in a laboratory, may cause some kind of aftereffects.

Share this post:

© 2024 Pigskin Pursuit

Theme by Anders NorenUp ↑