Roseville, California: 12/13/14... or the day Oregon quarterback, Marcus Mariota, won the Heisman Trophy!
DT and I couldn't be more excited for this wonderful young man and couldn't be prouder to be Ducks today!We drove the back roads from Corning to Roseville this morning and are dry-camping at (yet another; this makes three Native American casinos in three days... the casino trail continues) the Thunder Valley Resort & Casino. We are parked/camped in an area reserved for tour buses, truckers and various RV's. RV "campers" are supposed to get a tag for their window from the casino security desk, but when DT checked, the dude at security had not a clue, so we are camping commando tonight. There are about six other RVs and we are so far spaced, no one can hear our generator.
After "checking in", we drove out to Brother Steve and Gina's ranch near Lincoln to watch the Heisman Trophy presentation on EPSN. I was all dolled-up in preparation for a family dinner tonight, but had to reapply the face paint after crying like a baby as the first-ever Oregon Heisman winner was announced. Mr. Mariota (pronounced MAWR-ee-oh-tah) gave such a heartfelt speech - tears streaming down his face - as the cameras panned the room to see the Duck football coaches crying, Mariota's family crying, past Heisman winners crying... well, basically everyone crying.
Our niece, Meghan, and her fiancé, Jamie, have just moved to the area from Long Beach. Meghan's Mom was visiting this weekend to help the girls get settled - so we had a little impromptu family reunion. It was not easy finding a table for seven on a Saturday night around the holidays, but we finally secured a spot at a chain Italian place, Il Fornaio. The food was surprisingly good and we first ordered a bottle of the bubbly to celebrate Mr. Mariota.
Me, toasting MM | Sister-in-law Ginger, with JamieBrother Steve with the world's largest lamb shank
DT toasting MM | Meghan with her Aunt Gina (Steve's wife)
After dinner we had a tour of Meghan and Jamie's new apartment. So lovely and oh-so-much nicer than any place we lived when just starting out. Kids these days.
Speaking of kids... guess who is nearly four months old and starting to laugh and hold herself up during tummy time?
Lucy!Until my next update, I remain, your Heisman Happy correspondent.
Parked at: Thunder Valley Resort & Casino in Roseville, California. Dry camping in over-flow/truck/tour bus lot. We paid zero. Zilch. Nada.