BOONDOCKING BLISS: THANKSGIVING IN COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS

Amidst the myriad DIY repairs, upgrades, and improvements we have made thus far to our recently-acquired 2007 Airstream Interstate, we do manage to actually travel in it now and again.

Such was the case when we traveled to College Station, Texas, for the Thanksgiving Day football game between Texas A&M University and Louisiana State University (LSU). 

I am embarrassed to admit that this was my first real tour of Aggieland.  My husband is an alum and was a member of the legendary Aggie Band.  But I have never been a football fan and, whenever the opportunity arose in the past for someone to accompany him to a game, I always deferred to someone who would enjoy the experience much more than I would - another family member or friend.

This was one of the specific reasons why we bought our Interstate, however - so that when he makes his regular trips to A&M, I can enjoy some much-needed flexibility in my participation.  I can spend part of my time relaxing or doing work in the vehicle, or I can walk the dog and explore College Station.  In other words, I'm not restricted to being sardine'd with over 100,000 other people into a football stadium for hours on end, which would be my personal definition of torture.  

I was fascinated with the A&M campus, which had much more history and architecture to it than I had first imagined.

This looks like something you'd see in Galveston moreso than points inland.  

Here is its description.  

Husband and dog in the shade of one of the oldest live oak trees I've ever seen.  

Apparently if you make a small cash offering to this guy, it is supposed to improve your grades. 

From a design standpoint, I think this was my favorite building.  

The campus contained more bicycles than I've seen in one place in my entire life.  In fact, I think it contained more bicycles period than I've ever seen cumulatively in the entire rest of my life.  

The yellow rose of Texas, still blooming in late November.  

Beautiful lighting as the sun was setting.  

Kyle Field, an absolutely huge stadium.  

Cell phone pic from the upper part of the pedestrian ramp.  

Now, here is what can make life in an Airstream Interstate so exquisite.

We very efficiently transitioned from this...

...to this.  

Talk about moving between extremes!!  Absolute pandemonium with a hundred thousand people jammed into a stadium plus an additional uncountable number of tailgaters outside, with the game ending approximately 10:30 p.m.  Thanksgiving Day.  The parking permits are issued according to the season ticket holder's seat assignment, and are specific to each football game.  The Interstate is small enough to park in the regular car lot.  Everyone else left, and it was so peaceful that we decided to hang for awhile.  I taped our parking permit in the windshield in case anyone had any questions.  We were not bothered.  Morning came softly, and I cooked us a breakfast of eggs and toast before we headed on down the road to visit some of our loved ones.