Augustana College Homecoming…Yup, we tailgated!!

First of all, I have to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS, TIM HEISER!  for completing his 3rd Chicago Marathon in 4 hrs, 7minutes and 31 seconds!! WOOT!WOOT!! You are awesome, Detective Heiser, and we love you!!!

So…. Dennis and I actually had a teeny tiny vacation overnight this weekend.   We went to a college football game and tailgated with some of our relatives. Den’s sister’s son, Mark, and his wife Brenda have 2 kids.  Jordan is a Freshman at Mizzou and she is a college cheerleader.  Josh is a Senior at Augustana College in Rock Island, IL, a pre-med student, AND an Academic All-American…I guess you could say that their two kids are over-achievers and great kids.  They invited Den and I to come out to Auggie for Homecoming and do some serious tailgating with them.  Tom and Leanne, (Den’s niece and Mark’s sister), plus Mark’s Dad (Den’s brother-in-law) were also going.  Mark booked us all rooms at the Isle of Capri Hotel and Casino in Rock Island.  It’s about a 2 hour drive from here to Bettendorf and a few adult beverages were going to be involved, so we opted to stay overnight…(My Mama didn’t raise no dummies!)

Mark and Brenda have this college tailgating down to a fine art..That’s Mark, our chef, grilling up some burgers and dogs.  The weather was fabulous, not a cloud in the sky!

After the game, Josh gave us a tour of  Augustana College campus…This place is sooooo beautiful! One of the prettiest colleges I have seen ( and , believe it or not, I have seen a few!)

Rock Island, IL is right along the Mississippi River, it is very hilly and wooded property.  That middle photo is a lounge for students to study..I was lucky if we had a desk and a candle.

Basketball stadium on the left, and the indoor practice track and field place…pretty impressive!

The work-out room..Josh spends time here for track and field…

Josh also took us on the path that he takes to get to his Frat house..I totally forget what fraternity he’s in..I do remember one called “Tappa Kega Day” when I was hanging out with a few sketchy frat brothers…

What a gorgeous walk along the water we had.  I’m pretty sure it is darned expensive to go to this school, and I also know that Josh got a scholarship or two..or three!  Josh was quite an athlete at Richmond Burton High School, and his sister, Jordan was a cheerleader there.  Jordan competed in many a cheerleading competition..So, basically these 2 kids have walls full of awards!

Josh now has added his name (4th down above photo) to the list of Academic All Americans in the awards case at Augustana College.  That photo on the right is one that is displayed in a slide show in the same award case…WAY TO GO , JOSHUA!!  All in all , Den and I had a fabulous overnight where we ate drank and made merry, pretending all was right in our world…A new perspective never hurts, right?? Plus, we got to stay in a plushy hotel. Mark got us $160 rooms for $50 on priceline…THANKS MARK!!

 

Dennis, relaxing in luxury……….              Above, is the lobby………….               Last pic is our view from the 8th floor just before dawn…

So, a HUGE thanks to Joshua for tolerating his “elder” relatives and giving us such a fine tour of Augustana College Campus…Dennis was sorry you wouldn’t let him pick up all of the aluminum cans at the Frat House party…he recycles and cashes in on his OWN supply!!

Brenda, Mark and Joshua Eisenberg….GOOD TIMES!!!!