Great Expectations: And Then We Went to Baton Rouge and Met LSU Fans

Sarah and Ben surprised us when they asked us to come to Baton Rouge for a Friday Thanksgiving with Sarah's Dad, her uncle and aunt, grandfather, cousins and a houseful of others. Spell this afternoon D E L I G H T F U L. We were warmly greeted and treated and sent home with a care package. Uncle Logan (known to insiders as Uncle Bubba) and Aunt Michelle spread the southern hospitality thickly. Logan cooks so there was a witches caldron sized pot of turkey gumbo on the stove along with turkey and every trimming you can imagine. Sarah's deviled eggs lasted a mere nano-second. And somebody's peach mincemeat pie...heaven.

This is Sarah and her dad, Lane. This man has a million interests and is on a quest to find more. He is a retired Army General. We both thoroughly enjoyed meeting and spending time with him. The bond between Lane and Sarah is clear and we found them alike in so many ways.

It was great to spend this day with the Killlen's. We left with homemade pesto from Michelle and a generous serving of Uncle Bubba's gumbo. It will provide us with delicious memories more than once. They saved the best for last when they gave Ed two tickets to the LSU/Arkansas football game. More about that later.

We took a little time to explore Baton Rouge. The Old State House is now a museum. It a beautiful building with exhibits on Louisiana history.

This imposing staircase is in the center lobby...

...and this skylight is two floors above.

Magnolia Mound Plantation is right in town. It was built about 1791. Here's the main house.

The thing I love about the old plantation properties are the large trees. Most are well over 200 years old and magnificient.

The former Governor's Mansion is also a museum. Louisiana govenor, Huey Long, was assassinated in 1935. The State House has an exhibit called "Who Shot Huey Long" and the former mansion has his pajamas on display... We didn't tour - just took photos.

LSU fans are just plain crazy people. But are they fun. Logan tail gates and told us he was making Jambalaya. The game didn't begin until 6:00 p.m. so we made our way to the campus at 3:00, visions of turkey Jambalaya in our heads, mouths watering, and anticipation high. We followed the directions Logan provided, asking if people knew him, looking for anyone serving Jambalaya. There are hundreds of tail gate parties all over the campus.

We tasted roast pigs, perused amazing food displays, danced with fans, admired the TV setups with batteries and small generators, stuffed tigers, and got lost in the crowd more than once.

Home games are cultural events like no other. We never found the Killens... We never tasted Logan's Jambalaya. But we got a good sense of just how c r a z y LSU fans are.

Here's the spot where a picture is worth a thousand words:

We watched the four buses carrying the Arkansas team roll in. Now, imagine the entire area being awash in purple and gold when four buses of red uniformed Razorbacks roll in complete with a police motorcycle escort. Definitely not a warm fuzzy moment.

We made our way into the stadium and found our seats in the 16th row on the 45 yard line behind the Razorbacks. I'm still trying to get that smile off Ed's face. Man! Was he excited!

I was warned not to wear red - which eliminated most of my clothing. Sarah instructed me to wear my yellow jacket. I fit right in!

One of the first orders of business was the presentation of the LSU tiger. They announced that he is cared for by the School of Veterinary Science - all the animal people can relax. This Bengal is beloved!

Since this was the last home game, they presented all the senior team members and their parents. The players ran the corridor with the band playing and presented their moms with a yellow rose. Nice. Pride is an emotion well known by parents...