(01-03-2013 12:15 AM)sarasotahuskie Wrote:  There used to be an I95/I75 syndrome. I95 runs up the East Coast And all the NY, NJ etc ended up on the East coast of FL. I75 (&I65) came from the Midwest and ended up on the West coast of FL. Much better over here. And, Sarasota is basically Chicago south.

So true...and completely accurate post.

When Sarasota had the White Sox for spring training it really was Chicago south. Somehow my dad ended up being friends with Ron Kittle and we drove up there to hang out with the team one day. As a 9yo kid...that was the coolest thing in the world to meet a real major league ball player.

My thoughts on the Miami experience:

The City

I have never seen so much wealth concentrated in one area. IMO, it even beats California. We took a bus and boat tour of Miami, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and the islands in Biscayne Bay on Monday. The wealth and ostentation were obscene. One billionaire tries to outdo the other. Our bus stopped at the Coral Gables Biltmore for a bathroom break. A most elegant hotel. Some of you may want to book a room there....at $2,000 per night for the cheapest room.

We ate dinner Sunday night at Truluck's - a very nice seafood restaurant downtown. It was excellent. Cab fare from Miami Beach to the restaurant was $35 each way - and we had almost had to tell the cab driver how to get there (and I was never in Miami before).


The Tour Package and Hotel

Premiere Sports did an outstanding job with this. Kudos to them. We stayed at the Fontainebleau, and the tour could not have been done better. From the charter flight to the transportation to the hotel and all the amenities there were all first class. We got a corner room (junior suite) with rounded windows that offered a panoramic vista of the Miami skyline and Biscayne Bay.

Transportation to the game was mind-numbing. Nine buses of Huskie fans traveling with a police convoy, who stopped traffic at intersections and interstate ramps so we could get to the game together. We felt like dignitaries.

I would not stay at the Fontainbleau again - only because I cannot afford it. The room I had is normally $769 per night. Our breakfasts there were around $66 for two. Juice and coffee were each $5. I enjoyed trying on a $365 shirt at one of the shops there. It was way too small even though it was supposed to be my size. I guess wealthy people are a lot skinnier! My wife looked at a pair of simple flat shoes that were $750. But they were "designer", you know! It was fun to watch the hoi polloi strut their stuff in the hotel. Rich Americans and Europeans who smelled of money walked the lobbies with their designer duds and noses in the air. My wife and I enjoyed the people watching and laughing.


Alumni Association Pre-Game Event

Huge! And well done. However, it was the usual meal of tasteless hamburgers and hot dogs. My wife and I drank bottled water...at $4 each. It was a nice event, however.

We had the honor of meeting and chatting with NIU007 at the event. A very nice guy, even though he refused an offer of one of my "personalized" thongs. He'll be sorry when those things go on eBay for hundreds of dollars each. Maybe I shouldn't have offered him one of the "personalized" ones!


The Game

Well, it's not the result we wanted, but still proud of the Huskies!

Looking forward to next season!

(01-03-2013 03:15 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  My thoughts on the Miami experience:

The City

I have never seen so much wealth concentrated in one area. IMO, it even beats California. We took a bus and boat tour of Miami, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and the islands in Biscayne Bay on Monday. The wealth and ostentation were obscene. One billionaire tries to outdo the other. Our bus stopped at the Coral Gables Biltmore for a bathroom break. A most elegant hotel. Some of you may want to book a room there....at $2,000 per night for the cheapest room.

We ate dinner Sunday night at Truluck's - a very nice seafood restaurant downtown. It was excellent. Cab fare from Miami Beach to the restaurant was $35 each way - and we had almost had to tell the cab driver how to get there (and I was never in Miami before).


The Tour Package and Hotel

Premiere Sports did an outstanding job with this. Kudos to them. We stayed at the Fontainebleau, and the tour could not have been done better. From the charter flight to the transportation to the hotel and all the amenities there were all first class. We got a corner room (junior suite) with rounded windows that offered a panoramic vista of the Miami skyline and Biscayne Bay.

Transportation to the game was mind-numbing. Nine buses of Huskie fans traveling with a police convoy, who stopped traffic at intersections and interstate ramps so we could get to the game together. We felt like dignitaries.

I would not stay at the Fontainbleau again - only because I cannot afford it. The room I had is normally $769 per night. Our breakfasts there were around $66 for two. Juice and coffee were each $5. I enjoyed trying on a $365 shirt at one of the shops there. It was way too small even though it was supposed to be my size. I guess wealthy people are a lot skinnier! My wife looked at a pair of simple flat shoes that were $750. But they were "designer", you know! It was fun to watch the hoi polloi strut their stuff in the hotel. Rich Americans and Europeans who smelled of money walked the lobbies with their designer duds and noses in the air. My wife and I enjoyed the people watching and laughing.


Alumni Association Pre-Game Event

Huge! And well done. However, it was the usual meal of tasteless hamburgers and hot dogs. My wife and I drank bottled water...at $4 each. It was a nice event, however.

We had the honor of meeting and chatting with NIU007 at the event. A very nice guy, even though he refused an offer of one of my "personalized" thongs. He'll be sorry when those things go on eBay for hundreds of dollars each. Maybe I shouldn't have offered him one of the "personalized" ones!


The Game

Well, it's not the result we wanted, but still proud of the Huskies!

Looking forward to next season!

Good to see you made it home safely. It was nice meeting you and chatting finally after all this time.

I wasn't sure the thong would fit in my suitcase. Although, if there'd been a fire, I probably could have used it to rappell down the side of the hotel building 8 floors to the street.

(01-03-2013 04:13 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 03:15 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  My thoughts on the Miami experience:

The City

I have never seen so much wealth concentrated in one area. IMO, it even beats California. We took a bus and boat tour of Miami, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and the islands in Biscayne Bay on Monday. The wealth and ostentation were obscene. One billionaire tries to outdo the other. Our bus stopped at the Coral Gables Biltmore for a bathroom break. A most elegant hotel. Some of you may want to book a room there....at $2,000 per night for the cheapest room.

We ate dinner Sunday night at Truluck's - a very nice seafood restaurant downtown. It was excellent. Cab fare from Miami Beach to the restaurant was $35 each way - and we had almost had to tell the cab driver how to get there (and I was never in Miami before).


The Tour Package and Hotel

Premiere Sports did an outstanding job with this. Kudos to them. We stayed at the Fontainebleau, and the tour could not have been done better. From the charter flight to the transportation to the hotel and all the amenities there were all first class. We got a corner room (junior suite) with rounded windows that offered a panoramic vista of the Miami skyline and Biscayne Bay.

Transportation to the game was mind-numbing. Nine buses of Huskie fans traveling with a police convoy, who stopped traffic at intersections and interstate ramps so we could get to the game together. We felt like dignitaries.

I would not stay at the Fontainbleau again - only because I cannot afford it. The room I had is normally $769 per night. Our breakfasts there were around $66 for two. Juice and coffee were each $5. I enjoyed trying on a $365 shirt at one of the shops there. It was way too small even though it was supposed to be my size. I guess wealthy people are a lot skinnier! My wife looked at a pair of simple flat shoes that were $750. But they were "designer", you know! It was fun to watch the hoi polloi strut their stuff in the hotel. Rich Americans and Europeans who smelled of money walked the lobbies with their designer duds and noses in the air. My wife and I enjoyed the people watching and laughing.


Alumni Association Pre-Game Event

Huge! And well done. However, it was the usual meal of tasteless hamburgers and hot dogs. My wife and I drank bottled water...at $4 each. It was a nice event, however.

We had the honor of meeting and chatting with NIU007 at the event. A very nice guy, even though he refused an offer of one of my "personalized" thongs. He'll be sorry when those things go on eBay for hundreds of dollars each. Maybe I shouldn't have offered him one of the "personalized" ones!


The Game

Well, it's not the result we wanted, but still proud of the Huskies!

Looking forward to next season!

Good to see you made it home safely. It was nice meeting you and chatting finally after all this time.

I wasn't sure the thong would fit in my suitcase. Although, if there'd been a fire, I probably could have used it to rappell down the side of the hotel building 8 floors to the street.

Oh, that thong would have definitely helped you get down the side of the hotel. The only problem would have been with the way I "personalized" it. You would have lost your grip, slid down too fast, and yelled "Oh, s**t!!" And, you would have been right!

Hope your early flight did not affect you badly. Ours was the later flight, and we got back to Midway about 6:20 p.m. Great trip!

(01-03-2013 04:19 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 04:13 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 03:15 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  My thoughts on the Miami experience:

The City

I have never seen so much wealth concentrated in one area. IMO, it even beats California. We took a bus and boat tour of Miami, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, and the islands in Biscayne Bay on Monday. The wealth and ostentation were obscene. One billionaire tries to outdo the other. Our bus stopped at the Coral Gables Biltmore for a bathroom break. A most elegant hotel. Some of you may want to book a room there....at $2,000 per night for the cheapest room.

We ate dinner Sunday night at Truluck's - a very nice seafood restaurant downtown. It was excellent. Cab fare from Miami Beach to the restaurant was $35 each way - and we had almost had to tell the cab driver how to get there (and I was never in Miami before).


The Tour Package and Hotel

Premiere Sports did an outstanding job with this. Kudos to them. We stayed at the Fontainebleau, and the tour could not have been done better. From the charter flight to the transportation to the hotel and all the amenities there were all first class. We got a corner room (junior suite) with rounded windows that offered a panoramic vista of the Miami skyline and Biscayne Bay.

Transportation to the game was mind-numbing. Nine buses of Huskie fans traveling with a police convoy, who stopped traffic at intersections and interstate ramps so we could get to the game together. We felt like dignitaries.

I would not stay at the Fontainbleau again - only because I cannot afford it. The room I had is normally $769 per night. Our breakfasts there were around $66 for two. Juice and coffee were each $5. I enjoyed trying on a $365 shirt at one of the shops there. It was way too small even though it was supposed to be my size. I guess wealthy people are a lot skinnier! My wife looked at a pair of simple flat shoes that were $750. But they were "designer", you know! It was fun to watch the hoi polloi strut their stuff in the hotel. Rich Americans and Europeans who smelled of money walked the lobbies with their designer duds and noses in the air. My wife and I enjoyed the people watching and laughing.


Alumni Association Pre-Game Event

Huge! And well done. However, it was the usual meal of tasteless hamburgers and hot dogs. My wife and I drank bottled water...at $4 each. It was a nice event, however.

We had the honor of meeting and chatting with NIU007 at the event. A very nice guy, even though he refused an offer of one of my "personalized" thongs. He'll be sorry when those things go on eBay for hundreds of dollars each. Maybe I shouldn't have offered him one of the "personalized" ones!


The Game

Well, it's not the result we wanted, but still proud of the Huskies!

Looking forward to next season!

Good to see you made it home safely. It was nice meeting you and chatting finally after all this time.

I wasn't sure the thong would fit in my suitcase. Although, if there'd been a fire, I probably could have used it to rappell down the side of the hotel building 8 floors to the street.

Oh, that thong would have definitely helped you get down the side of the hotel. The only problem would have been with the way I "personalized" it. You would have lost your grip, slid down too fast, and yelled "Oh, ****!!" And, you would have been right!

Hope your early flight did not affect you badly. Ours was the later flight, and we got back to Midway about 6:20 p.m. Great trip!

I only had a few hours between getting back to hotel and getting up for the early flight. I ended up only sleeping about 15 minutes that night. A little caffeine surprisingly kept me going (sort of) until around 9:30 last night.

I wondered where some of you guys were...a lot of us were tailgating in Lot 10. Wish 007 and Dog Fan could have stopped by to introduce themselves.

I had a chance to meet HuskiePride 12 on the beach in Dania Beach.

Met SarasotaHuskie, MileHigh Huskie, Randyfensfanclub, 38, NIUGuy, NIUGirl, Red Black, Baltimore Huskie, HuskieRak and more. (sorry if I left anybody out...speak up if I met you and forgot to mention it!)
I enjoyed being in the thick of all the NIU fans in Florida. It was so much fun.

(01-03-2013 04:34 PM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  I wondered where some of you guys were...a lot of us were tailgating in Lot 10. Wish 007 and Dog Fan could have stopped by to introduce themselves.

I had a chance to meet HuskiePride 12 on the beach in Dania Beach.

Met SarasotaHuskie, MileHigh Huskie, Randyfensfanclub, 38, NIUGuy, NIUGirl, Red Black, Baltimore Huskie, HuskieRak and more. (sorry if I left anybody out...speak up if I met you and forgot to mention it!)
I enjoyed being in the thick of all the NIU fans in Florida. It was so much fun.

Our buses drove right past you guys. We were dropped off at the stadium and then ushered up to the Alumni event.

(01-03-2013 04:43 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 04:34 PM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  I wondered where some of you guys were...a lot of us were tailgating in Lot 10. Wish 007 and Dog Fan could have stopped by to introduce themselves.

I had a chance to meet HuskiePride 12 on the beach in Dania Beach.

Met SarasotaHuskie, MileHigh Huskie, Randyfensfanclub, 38, NIUGuy, NIUGirl, Red Black, Baltimore Huskie, HuskieRak and more. (sorry if I left anybody out...speak up if I met you and forgot to mention it!)
I enjoyed being in the thick of all the NIU fans in Florida. It was so much fun.

Our buses drove right past you guys. We were dropped off at the stadium and then ushered up to the Alumni event.

Well, I did have a lot of fun ...um...shocking a lot of people when I met them. Might as well come out and tell you...I am one of the very few females on the board. And I am REALLY a female...not just dressing up as one! ;-)

(01-03-2013 04:47 PM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 04:43 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 04:34 PM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  I wondered where some of you guys were...a lot of us were tailgating in Lot 10. Wish 007 and Dog Fan could have stopped by to introduce themselves.

I had a chance to meet HuskiePride 12 on the beach in Dania Beach.

Met SarasotaHuskie, MileHigh Huskie, Randyfensfanclub, 38, NIUGuy, NIUGirl, Red Black, Baltimore Huskie, HuskieRak and more. (sorry if I left anybody out...speak up if I met you and forgot to mention it!)
I enjoyed being in the thick of all the NIU fans in Florida. It was so much fun.

Our buses drove right past you guys. We were dropped off at the stadium and then ushered up to the Alumni event.

Well, I did have a lot of fun ...um...shocking a lot of people when I met them. Might as well come out and tell you...I am one of the very few females on the board. And I am REALLY a female...not just dressing up as one! ;-)

You're female?!? Dang, why didn't you tell me! We could have shared clothes ideas and even exchanged thongs. I would have even invited you to my booth at the Grotto!

Crap! I miss out on so much in my life!!!

In Ft Lauderdale Beach, 99cent miller drafts from noon to 10pm @ Dirty Blondes Seating for about 50 looking at ocean and Huskie fans as well as talent walking by. At night, Elbo Room $4 bottled,$8 Bacardi doubles, right where their nye ball dropped . Was 1/25 of NYC .Hillarious .great time with fans and ex players ( most 40+ as we were) diverse crowd of common folk.

Great times!

(01-03-2013 04:47 PM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 04:43 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 04:34 PM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  I wondered where some of you guys were...a lot of us were tailgating in Lot 10. Wish 007 and Dog Fan could have stopped by to introduce themselves.

I had a chance to meet HuskiePride 12 on the beach in Dania Beach.

Met SarasotaHuskie, MileHigh Huskie, Randyfensfanclub, 38, NIUGuy, NIUGirl, Red Black, Baltimore Huskie, HuskieRak and more. (sorry if I left anybody out...speak up if I met you and forgot to mention it!)
I enjoyed being in the thick of all the NIU fans in Florida. It was so much fun.

Our buses drove right past you guys. We were dropped off at the stadium and then ushered up to the Alumni event.

Well, I did have a lot of fun ...um...shocking a lot of people when I met them. Might as well come out and tell you...I am one of the very few females on the board. And I am REALLY a female...not just dressing up as one! ;-)

Wow, wouldn't have guessed that. Sounds like nobody else did either.

(01-03-2013 05:37 PM)NIU007 Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 04:47 PM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 04:43 PM)Dog Fan Wrote:  

(01-03-2013 04:34 PM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  I wondered where some of you guys were...a lot of us were tailgating in Lot 10. Wish 007 and Dog Fan could have stopped by to introduce themselves.

I had a chance to meet HuskiePride 12 on the beach in Dania Beach.

Met SarasotaHuskie, MileHigh Huskie, Randyfensfanclub, 38, NIUGuy, NIUGirl, Red Black, Baltimore Huskie, HuskieRak and more. (sorry if I left anybody out...speak up if I met you and forgot to mention it!)
I enjoyed being in the thick of all the NIU fans in Florida. It was so much fun.

Our buses drove right past you guys. We were dropped off at the stadium and then ushered up to the Alumni event.

Well, I did have a lot of fun ...um...shocking a lot of people when I met them. Might as well come out and tell you...I am one of the very few females on the board. And I am REALLY a female...not just dressing up as one! ;-)

Wow, wouldn't have guessed that. Sounds like nobody else did either.

LOL! Well, I am not a shy or hold back my mouth kind of female. I call it like I see it always.
If you saw a Huskie fan at the game wearing a red shiny tinsel wig...that was me. We sat in row 10 on about the 40 yd. line I think they had me on the jumbo screens once too. :-)

(01-03-2013 04:34 PM)HuskieFootball Addict Wrote:  I wondered where some of you guys were...a lot of us were tailgating in Lot 10. Wish 007 and Dog Fan could have stopped by to introduce themselves.

I had a chance to meet HuskiePride 12 on the beach in Dania Beach.

Met SarasotaHuskie, MileHigh Huskie, Randyfensfanclub, 38, NIUGuy, NIUGirl, Red Black, Baltimore Huskie, HuskieRak and more. (sorry if I left anybody out...speak up if I met you and forgot to mention it!)
I enjoyed being in the thick of all the NIU fans in Florida. It was so much fun.

Thanks for the introductions! Was cool to meet people for the 1st time and again.

And FYI when you asked "if I was surprised" acted like I wasnt, but yes, I was surprised you were a woman! I was just playing it off.


Was awesome time!Thanks again for the intros.

(01-02-2013 07:09 PM)HuskieRak Wrote:  Enjoyed my time, but definitely not my favorite place in the world.
Was about two seconds away from punching out one of the valet guys at the Marriot. Called my girlfriend a very derogatory name. Good thing my friend was there to stop me or I probably would have been spending NYE and the game in jail. **** that guy. And the manager at the Marriot was basically just as retarded.

Toilet paper is a hot commodity in Miami apparently.

I did enjoy Monday at South Beach. Basically was just laughing at all the gayness, and douches I saw. Two guys on a segway in really short shorts was quite humorous. Disclaimer - I don't have a problem with gay people, but I have never experienced it on such a high level. Ha

Don't think I'll ever go to Miami again, unless I'm going on a cruise or there for a sporting event.

You are not the only one to incur their wrath. I got yelled at for using the hotel towels to clean my fishing equipment in the parking lot.

Loved Miami. And NYE on South Beach? Are you kidding me? What a night - got home at 5 in the morning. A road trip for the ages.

(01-06-2013 05:55 PM)DiehardHuskie Wrote:  Loved Miami. And NYE on South Beach? Are you kidding me? What a night - got home at 5 in the morning. A road trip for the ages.

Sounds about right. :)

My impressions. Stayed in Dania Beach which was okay. Miami is about as dirty as they come IMO. One side of the road you have million dollar mansions, the other side you have a house that barely hits 6 figures. Everyone and I mean everyone drove a car at least worth 70,000 bucks, even if their home was a shack. Very pricey for bars, but I'm a college kid I'm cheap lol. After that, I spent a day in downtown ft. lauderdale and it was awesome, very nice. From there I went to Sarasota where I've stayed before I like it there, much nicer than Miami. Unfortunately, IMO Florida as a whole is very dirty, over-run, not well kept, and has too many weirdos. One cabby told us he did molly the night before and asked my roommate if he wanted to roll a joint for him. Outside of hopefully another OB appearance or visiting some friends in Sarasota my trips to Florida will be few and far between. As for rednecks, when we arrived at 1pm to get our tickets we went passed the HOLY GRAIL of redneck tailgates with FSU fans. When they saw us we heard well dag nabbit these Huskies really do exist, with a hilarious accent. We also had a FSU student say south florida sucked and north florida was where it's at, we laughed and responded with yes, Alabama is so much nicer than north florida, he didn't understand our trashy north florida reference. All in all I had a good time but that's because the game trumped all the other experiences. We did have some FSU kid's mom flirt with us for about 30 minutes and she was a knockout, other than that wasn't a fan of most FSU fans, they were quite rude.

(01-06-2013 08:43 PM)HuskieJWN Wrote:  My impressions. Stayed in Dania Beach which was okay. Miami is about as dirty as they come IMO. One side of the road you have million dollar mansions, the other side you have a house that barely hits 6 figures. Everyone and I mean everyone drove a car at least worth 70,000 bucks, even if their home was a shack. Very pricey for bars, but I'm a college kid I'm cheap lol. After that, I spent a day in downtown ft. lauderdale and it was awesome, very nice. From there I went to Sarasota where I've stayed before I like it there, much nicer than Miami. Unfortunately, IMO Florida as a whole is very dirty, over-run, not well kept, and has too many weirdos. One cabby told us he did molly the night before and asked my roommate if he wanted to roll a joint for him. Outside of hopefully another OB appearance or visiting some friends in Sarasota my trips to Florida will be few and far between. As for rednecks, when we arrived at 1pm to get our tickets we went passed the HOLY GRAIL of redneck tailgates with FSU fans. When they saw us we heard well dag nabbit these Huskies really do exist, with a hilarious accent. We also had a FSU student say south florida sucked and north florida was where it's at, we laughed and responded with yes, Alabama is so much nicer than north florida, he didn't understand our trashy north florida reference. All in all I had a good time but that's because the game trumped all the other experiences. We did have some FSU kid's mom flirt with us for about 30 minutes and she was a knockout, other than that wasn't a fan of most FSU fans, they were quite rude.

Did you get to Miami beach? I doubt its as dirty as the "mainland" :)

Ya, that's where we spent new years eve. Lots of swanky bars and things to do there, however the crowd was just as bad haha

(01-06-2013 09:27 PM)HuskieJWN Wrote:  Ya, that's where we spent new years eve. Lots of swanky bars and things to do there, however the crowd was just as bad haha

Yeah, we generally avoided the swanky stuff. Found an awesome brew pub. Spend New Years drinking champagne followed by 11% ABV quadruple style belgian ales. Very un-miami beach. Laid back.