Birthday Bash in Gainesville

Debbie hadn't been back to her alma mater since we moved out after my first year of teaching. Ethan hadn't been to the great city of Gainesville, Florida EVER. So we put plans together to have a birthday weekend bash, and great birthday weekend bash, we had!

Ahead of the weekend, Ethan made these 2 incredible posters, in hopes that we would get on TV (either network or jumbotron). Spoiler alert, we didn't. But they got us fun attention nevertheless. More on the game later.

Traveling in style: We were excited when the time finally came to hit the skies, and Ethan was especially proud to wear his new birthday gift (even if it meant aiming both air blasters on him during our flight.)

We arrived in Florida, drove 2 hours from Orlando, and finally arrived in Gainesville. We went to dinner at a restaurant that Mommy loved 20 years ago. Despite a favorite dessert having gone off the menu just 9 months prior, the manager went to the grocery store to purchase the bananas to make it for us!

Ethan's mind was completely blown when seeing just how much this college town is all about UF all the time. It may have been dark and late when we left dinner, but we went straight to campus to begin his formal introduction to the sensation of the University of Florida.


Big man's first look at the stadium!



When we woke up in the morning, it was GAME DAY! And also Mommy's birthday. Even though it was impossible to contain little man's excitement, he had still thoughtfully prepared some items to make the day extra special for me as well.

We got Game Day ready with face paint and hair styles.




We arrived on campus over 6 (!) hours before game time. Plenty of time to see the sights, give Ethan the boring tour of where we used to live, and make sure to tell him any incredibly important detail that came up in my memories. And of course, there was also plenty of Gator fandom opportunities!

We met Albert in many forms!

We visited Daddy's old fraternity stomping grounds (even though they were much newer grounds than when he lived here).

On the incredibly hot and ridiculously humid day, we still managed to walk to Lake Alice, where Ethan learned real live alligators live right on campus.

We cooled off in the air conditioning of the O'Connell Center, home of Florida basketball, where they were holding an open practice for fans to watch. (Fun fact: last year's national championship VIP and current NBA play Walter Clayton Jr. was visiting too!)

And finally, we went back to the place where Mommy and Daddy both have incredibly fond memories - UF Hillel, which hosts a Kosher tailgate every game day. And we ran into Mommy's good pal Jared.

At last - GAME TIME!



The resulting score of the game was a surprising disappointment, but the experience was incredibly special. And, of course, we enjoyed the show from the Gator drumline after the game.

Back at the hotel long long after the game ended, we had the late night birthday dinner of champions - Burger King impossible whoppers. Happy Birthday and Game Day to all!

Early the next morning, we followed the advice of one of the day before's Uber drivers and visited the Lachua Trail to see what wildlife that it had to offer.


Wildlife, we found! Dozens of big gators, including this guy that was easily at least 9 feet long. Someone around us was guessing 12 feet.


Back at the hotel, we cooled off for a few minutes in the pool before we needed to check out.


Before leaving Gainesville completely, we took time to buy some Gatortastic souveneirs for the fans we left behind.

After a fantastic (and exhausting) weekend together, we headed back to Orlando to catch our late night flight. We found kosher shwarma to grab for the plane and headed back to Texas.