This weekend the boy treated me to a weekend in Happy Valley, aka Penn State/PSU/College Football Promise Land/#1 Party School! We headed up to State College, PA with our newly engaged friends, Jayana & Dan, early Friday morning. Jayana & Dan are also Penn State alumnus and awesome weekend warriors(it was J's bday on Sunday too)! We spent Friday afternoon touring downtown State College and exploring the massive Penn State campus. The downtown was gorgeous. The shops, restaurants, and bars glistened under the early Fall sunshine; and you could feel the gameday buzz in the air. Let me start by saying my alma mater will always hold a special place in my heart that can never be replaced. But people, PSU has a CREAMERY on-campus!! Like a full blown home-made ice cream mecca smack dab in the middle of their School of Agricultural Studies. The ice cream is to die for! Having no dignity, I got myself a mint milkshake and proceeded to sample S2H's peanut butter swirl, and Jayana & Dan's pumpkin. It was all AMAZING! Had the thought of dairy not been the last thing on my mind come Sunday morning we would have definitely been making a second trip!
{#1 fan, impostor, & the lion shrine}
{s2h, jayana (bday girl) & dan (happy couple)}Ok, ok, I know all of my PSU friends are ready to hear what I thought about the "Great Show" and get off my usual food ramblings...so here it goes. I have never in my whole 24 years seen anything like the football passion I witnessed on Saturday. Not only is it football passion it is tailgate passion as well. There where miles and miles of fields full of RVs, trucks, SUVs, tents, pop-ups, grills, 5-man beer bongs, flags, dogs, satellite dishes, flat screens, and I lost track of everything else from over stimulation. And, this was all by 10am in the morning when we showed up to check out the ESPN College Game Day scene. So yes, the gang got me out of bed and across the campus before noon to see the ESPN guys in action. Mind you the actual game didn't start til 8pm! These people know how to rally!
{tailgating with ang & mike}Since the name of this blog includes the word "cheerful" I usually try to discuss all things happy. However, I can not report out on my amazing PSU weekend without mentioning the game day weather. 100% CHANCE OF RAIN. And boy did it rain. It rained from the minute we got up til the moment we layed our heads downs. I even went back into town mid-day to buy rainboots so I could survive the rest of the day! But no worries, the spirit of the PSU fan carried on and we tailgated in style and enjoyed the day. Penn State played Iowa that night in a "Whitehouse." A "Whitehouse," I learned, is when everyone in the stadium wears white, especially the student section. The effect is pretty amazing. The stadium practically glows and you experience the intensity of the fans through sight and sound. PSU fans are totally hardcore. The students stand the WHOLE time! Everyone cheers, chants, sings, boos and actually pays attention! It was pretty fun! I even enjoyed my first cup of hot chocolate this season! Very much needed in the cold, dreary weather. It was an awesome experience, and I can't wait for my next game!
{well hey there jo pa!}
{student section}
{umm...where are our bodies?!}
{well hey there jo pa!}
{student section}
{umm...where are our bodies?!}*I will not be reporting on the actual football that took place during the game...not so cheerful.
I've decided you need to be that woman on the Travel Channel - you're so descriptive! I was thinking of you all while I sat in the comfort of my Alexandria apt - dry and warm :)
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