A Spontaneous Trip to Notre Dame

 After our trip out to the West Coast last week for the wedding, Mike and I were prepared to put our suit cases away and spend the next few weeks trying to resume some sense of normalcy and sleep in a few weekends with our pup.  But then we got invited to Notre Dame...and we've never been to Notre Dame.  And then I found out that several members of my family - including my brother & dad were ALSO going to Notre Dame the same weekend - it was too great of a coincidence...and it was too good to say "no".

We found ourselves packing once more (this time just a duffel bag for the two of us), and we found ourselves at an airport before 6am again - but before we knew it we landed in Chicago before it was even 8am on game day.  One of Mike's former colleagues was our host for the weekend along with a crew from Bleacher Report.  Within an hour, we were checked in to our hotel at the Trump Towers in Chicago, we scarfed down a complete breakfast & we were on board one of two charter buses stocked with refreshments for the road trip out to South Bend, Indiana!

I had never made that drive before, and was way too excited when we drove through the miles and miles of cornfields.  But it was the last weekend of September, and the leaves were starting to turn - which made for a gorgeous scenery.  Mike and I immediately made fast friends on the 2 hour drive from Chicago out to South Bend.  I'm glad we had the 2 hours to bond with them on the way out because they all became important pieces of an intense 2 hour sing-along on the post-game ride home.

As soon as we arrived in South Bend - we met up with the family to have a few precious hours with them before the game started.  My pops and brother went out with some of my other uncles & one of my cousins for a bit of a guys trip.  They started their tail gate pret-ty early on game day so they were making their way towards the stadium by the time we got there.  Our time together with everyone was short but sweet and we had enough time to do a little more tail gating and get photo-bombed by Jerome Bettis, so that made it all worth while.  And we were able to switch up some tickets so that Mike & I could spend the game sitting with my pops & brother.

Notre Dame was playing OU when we were there.  For those of you who are not familiar....I started my college education at the University of Texas, where I developed a giant rivalry with OU.  But then I transferred to USC - only to develop an even bigger rivalry with Notre Dame - much to some of my extended family's chagrin.  Essentially - I was going to watch a game with two of my most hated teams in all of college football.  Mike and I usually have the perfect costume for every occasion, but I found myself at a loss here.  What DOES someone wear when you went to the rival school of BOTH teams playing?  My pops got it right....he wore his UT hat!  But he didn't anticipate us sitting RIGHT ON THE EDGE of the OU fan section, so when we got to the game, he wasn't the most popular person in the stadium!

In the end OU won, and it wasn't the closest of games, but despite who you are a fan of, watching a football game at one of the most iconic football stadiums in our Nation is quite the experience.  I bleed cardinal and gold - and burnt orange (wow I'm colorful), but it's hard not to get goosebumps when you see the student section at Notre Dame alive with energy as "Touchdown Jesus" looks on.  It's something a real sports fan can really appreciate - even if that little Fighting Irish guy makes your skin crawl slightly.  Our total time in the midwest was a total of 27 hours (but only because we were delayed coming home), but it was absolutely worth it.  I love that we are so blessed to be able to take advantage of these spontaneous trips.  Even though it seems like it could be more trouble than it's worth, I'm glad that we take each opportunity we can get to make some memories and experience something new.  Because in the end, it's always, ALWAYS worth it.