Rucktoberfest 2012

The first time in the four falls I've spent here in North Carolina that I've had the opportunity to go Boone. I was surprised to see the follage was similar to that at Elon. Many of the trees at the pitch were naked, all the leaves gone. Perhaps the colder weather came early which would explain why the leaves are nearly all gone. The ride to Boone was a snap. Caravaning was a little bit of a issue especially when the van - which I was driving - kept getting left behind in the dust of the other five cars of our party who could drive faster to avoid traffic. I did get in the front for a period of time which helped us stay together.

 Sunset as we entered Boone

 Almost there pic

 Infamous Red Carpet Inn

Drive-by snapshot of the leaves in Appalachian mountains

The Red Carpet Inn was an experience for sure. But then again I was rather amused at the amount of disgust my rugger colleagues had for the atmosphere of the rooms. We were reminded continuously that if you want to pay less you will have to put up with less than desirable conditions. After all it is a motel so we shouldn't have expect much. I remember a few similar arrangements I experienced when I visited Alaska with my frugal Uncle Jack. It comes down to the environment which is worth the crappy hotel/motel rooms than not having the chance to experience it at all. Besides we did have a lot of men and women rugby teams to hang out with so there were some perks.

Courtney serenade's us with her wicked musical skills

Saturday was a true rugby day at App State. We played three games the first at 950am which only meant our butts were up at the crack of dawn to warm up at the pitch. The first game was ok, we didn't win but at least we had a few hours to recuperate before the second game. Unfortunately some of our key players like Kate Hogan got badly injured and we unable to play the rest of the weekend. However, we still rallied together as a team and kept our spirits up.

In between the first and second game we shopped for Rucktoberfest t-shirts at bargain price (2 for $20). So many of our teammates swore the lady with beer steins looked exactly like Tipton - one of the seniors players on the team - but I didn't see it. Especially since the character on the shirt had huge photoshoped-boobs and brown hair neither of which were similar to Tipton's physical attributes at all (no offense). We shared a few laughs and more practicing before the second game. We did try to put our best efforts into the game but after the second game a lot of us were either injured or extremely tired. It goes without saying that at the end of the third game against NC State - big girls - all of us were so sore we could barley move.

 After the games we went into town for food at Macado's

Senior pic

On top of all this I had put my cleats in a gray plastic bag and apparently left them on the pitch. However, by the time I realized what I'd done it was night and dark outside. I rushed around like a chicken with its head cut off hoping that there was some way I could salvage them: calling campus rec, calling the women's App State contact, driving to the pitch with Tipton to search for the bag, asking the guys at the campus rec house if they seen it, etc. After almost an hour of this I decided not to worry about it until the next morning. So I did and I'm glad because I got to enjoy myself at the social. But let me just ask what seems to be an obvious question: why would anyone sponsor a outdoors social at night in Boone in the fall when its almost snow breaching weather? I mean common sense was not in play with that decision but I guess if it relied on the idea that people could drink then maybe thats the only reason why things haven't changed since our sophomore year - some ruggers remember the social from Rucktoberfest 2010.

EWR costume gang

Rookie Sharyn gets a lift

Schmidty gets down on it with UNCW rookie

The next day we were up even earlier which was a sort of miracle for me since I hadn't been able to sleep soundly in two nights. I mean plastic on the beds was so distracting and uncomfortable to lay on. The ride over was rough since none of us were physically ready for another game and it was colder than the day before. Once again I ran around the fields looking for answers or people who could point me in the directions to where my cleats might be. After two tries I decided the "clean-up" crew mistaken the bag was full of trash and threw them away.

This game - like the last two - I was a key scrum player since most of the other players on our team were hurt. And at the conclusion of the game so was I. We went to Panera for a quick bite and then back on the road we went with Tipton at the wheel. The Rookie van did have some mechanical trouble going down the steep hills of the Appalachian mountains. Brakes on that van weren't our friends so we took our time to get back home. Home sweet home we arrived around 3pm. After filling up the tank with gas, dropping off the receipt at Diane's and my wonderful friend Lindsay offered to drive Tipton and I home I was in the shower and in bed within 30 mins.

Tipton's restaurant 

The entire afternoon into the evening was so painful. I felt like I wouldn't be able to move for weeks. Thanks to ibuprofen, water, food, and Laura's heating pad I stayed in bed to nurse myself back to a healthy state. I took off from Monday classes and stayed in bed. Today I feel a little better but to not risk it I decided to stay home again missing Senior Sem - sad day lol.

So the rugby game this weekend....I hope I'm not on the roster to play because I really need time to work on my thesis and all the work I've pushed aside since I came back from Rucktoberfest. Oops... oh Halloween activities too this wknd FUN!