Back to Tampa

While today is official "first day of Spring", my "summer" started over the weekend. Yes, it was time for me to head back to Tampa for the start of Kenny Chesney's "No Shoes Nation" tour. Before I get into the details of that concert, I wanted to give you a quick re-cap of my mini-vacation.

For the first time in a long time, my mom and I flew down to Tampa together. I normally fly out of Knoxville and she'll fly out of Nashville. But this time around, I had some vacation days to burn and it was more cost effective to take Southwest.

We landed in Tampa around lunch time, last Friday. A friend of mine recommended we hit The Colonnade. And I'm glad we did. Not only was it a quick drive from the airport, the food was delicious and set the tone for the rest of the trip.

This was the sign that greeted us, as we entered....this already got my stamp of approval.

You really can't go wrong with the shrimp scampi or bay scallops.

We had a seat next to the window, so we could see the bay. 

But no one warned us we might have a lunch guest. This little guy and his buddy kept running across the window seal. 

Here's the moral of this story. Next time you're in Tampa. Go visit The Colonnade.

I come back from vacation to find this...

The Duck Commander and Miss Kay have filmed a commercial for my parent company, Clayton Homes.

Harlem Shake

I have a feeling this internet sensation will disappear as quickly as it appeared, but before it goes, here are 3 of my favorite clips.

The first being lead by Smokey on the Hill and the other might come as a surprise, but the Pepsi Max clip with Jeff Gordon was pretty funny too.

And last, but not least, the Rocky Top Rowdies filmed their own version with Tobias Harris during the first TV timeout during Saturday's waxing of Kentucky.

Now, what will the next big thing be?

Super Bowl Sunday...

In a perfect world, the Denver Broncos would be playing today. They would win and when I venture to Sports Authority Field in July...Peyton Manning would have walked across the stage and handed the Lombardi Trophy to Kenny Chesney...right before the broke out with "Back Where I Come From".

But alas, we don't live in a perfect world and the Broncos lost their playoff game. Football, like life, comes full circle at times.

With no Peyton to root for, I'm forced to root for the team I grew up watching. The one and only San Francisco 49ers. Joe Montana is my all time favorite QB. Yes, I like him more than Peyton Manning. I didn't play with Barbie dolls as a kid. I had stuffed animals. But the 2 I remember the most were 2 stuffed football players. One was dressed in the green and white of my hometown University of Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. The other, gold and red, with a 16 on his chest. And I remember lugged both of them into Aloha Stadium on Saturday's. 

I've been going to and watching football games for a long as I can remember. There was a time period when I hated the 9ers, I didn't like Steve Young. In my mind, he was forcing out Joe Montana. I don't do well with change. But I've put the past in the past....it's all about the Niners tonight!!

One of my brightest ideas...

Ho hum, just another day in paradise. It's been a while since I've unloaded some thoughts...so here goes.

I have been fortunate to have the ability to travel at what seems like the drop of a dime. The older I get, the more I realize how important it is to grab life by the horns, since you never know when that specific opportunity might come along again.

If you know me, you know I never make New Year's Resolutions. But this year I did. I resolved to see my old friends, before more of that pesky thing called "life" got in the way. Part 2 of my resolution was to take a trip every month. OK, OK, Part 2 was kind of a stretch, but so far things are looking up.

January is the month to plan/budget. Holy cow, do you know how hard it has been for me to "budget". I know, I know, I sound like a spoiled brat, but that's how I roll.

February takes me to Vegas for my birthday weekend & to celebrate my Gramma's belated 80th birthday. Yes, we pushed the trip back so we could catch my birthday too. Insert spoiled comment again.

March take me & my Mom to Tampa for what else, Kenny Chesney and the kick off to his No Shoes Nation tour. Had to announced all of the dates in December, we would have been going to Vegas to see him at the Joint again, later this summer.

April -- nothing set in stone, so if you want to go on an adventure, just let me know.

May, I'm looking forward to this month like no other. I'm finally going to Chicago to visit one of my oldest and dearest friends. I've known Joel since 3rd grade. He was one of my first and best friends I made at St. Edward when I moved to Nashville. I have a feeling the Windy City will never be the same after our adventure.

June -- again, nothing that I know of...yet

July, another month I'm waiting for...I'm going to head out West and it's not Vegas. It's Denver, CO. I was suppose to go out there a few years ago, but those plans changed at the last minute. I'll also get to see another old friend and see Kenny one more time.

August...this one kind of came out of left field. One of my friends from HI noticed I was taking all of these trips and after our mini-reunion last year, thought we should make it a tradition. We talked about San Francisco, but the cost was too much for either of us to spare at this point in time. So, we go back to the old standard, VEGAS. I've known these girls since I was 5. You do the math. The last time the 3 of us spent the week in Vegas, I think we were 23. And we'll follow the code, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Period.

I'm tired after thinking about all of these trips, but I think this will be another summer to remember. Hope you stick around for the ride!

In 2 weeks, it'll be Christmas Eve...

Where did the time go? And how did things get extra busy? It's sad that we're 2 weeks from one of my favorite holiday's of all time, but I'm already looking forward to 2013.

Let's see, here are a few highlights that happened over the last few weeks.

Vols finally hired a few football coach. No, it wasn't Gruden, it was Butch Jones, from Cincinnati. All I knew was, he was one of the teams that Dooley actually beat in 2011. Oh joy! But after watching his press conference, I was sold. Offering the WR's coaching spot to Tee Martin didn't hurt either. Now we all play the waiting game to see if he accepts.

99.9% of the time I have a football gripe, I text one of my old friends. And 99.9% of the time I don't like his responses. Today was no different, he's already 2 for 2 on our dead end hires, but come on...it was Kiffin and Dooley, for goodness sakes. He's concerned the offense Coach Jones wants to run, the no-huddle/spread/explosive type will not work in the SEC. I can't say that I disagree with him. We score too quickly, our defense will be gasping for breath. And after the season our defense had, they don't need another one.

For once I'd like to think my buddy will be wrong. I want to believe we actually have a coach who will build a system around the available talent. But on a brighter note, he's actually going to pull for the Vols. I mean, it is his alma mater too. The jerk.

Football aside, I only have 2 more weeks of work before I get a week long vacation for Christmas. I feel like a kid again!

After that, I finally get to spend my actual birthday in Vegas, with my grandparents. I cherish every chance I get to spend with them.

Once March rolls around, it will be time to head to Tampa for a quick weekend concert. Now, I just need to figure out how to occupy my time in April, May and June. Any suggestions?

Spider 2 Y Banana

Yes, my beloved Tennessee Volunteers are looking for their third head football coach since we said 'hasta la vista' to Coach Fulmer in 2008.

The last five years on Rocky Top have been rocky, to say the least. I'm going to pretend that 2009 season with He Who Shall Not Be Named at the helm was a bad dream.

Since he slithered out into the night, chasing his 'dream job', the Vols had to fill the headset one more time. I remember that winter day in early 2010 when the Vols hired Derek Dooley, from Louisiana Tech. I had no idea who he was and spent most of the day on Google and wiki to see what in the world he had to offer.

Here's what he had to offer, stability. I thankful for a few things Dooley was able to achieve in his three short years in Knoxville. He embraced tradition. Say what you will, but I love those orange pants. He created the Vol For Life program. He used big words in his interviews. He walked into a jumbled mess of a program. He tried to turn us around.

Sadly, that is where he failed. He was able to get a few sure fire athletes to campus, but for one reason or another, couldn't get them to play 60 minutes of football and get the all important W's. And we all know what counts in college football, especially SEC college football. Just win, baby.

On paper, this was the year I believed the Vols would compete for the SEC Championship. We finally had a healthy, semi-deep roster and a schedule that looked to favor us. I fulled believed we would be undefeated going into the Third Saturday of October. I thought Alabama would be our toughest challenge.

Well, this is what happens when you look at the would through orange colored glasses, you get your heart ripped out and stomped on, multiple times. We started the season 2-0, then came those nasty Gators. We were finally ranked and ESPN brought College Game Day to campus. That should have been my first clue. The ESPN kiss of death.

Let me tell you, that week leading up to the Florida game was one of the best weeks to live in Knoxville, in recent memory. The city was covered in extra orange, everyone was in a better mood and we all had hope. Then the game happened. Neyland Stadium was overflowing and loud, we had waited so long for a game like this...then we got in our own way and the wheels fell off....fast.

What I saw in that game was everything I needed to know. We were never going to win with Derek Dooley at the helm. And after that, the L's started to pile on. We had the best offense we've had in years, but oh my gosh, our defense was bad. I mean real bad. And I love a good solid, smash mouth defense. We had a Swiss Cheese defense. I was not a fan of the Sal Sunseri hire, for Defensive Coordinator. For those that know me, you know who I wanted on the sidelines. Period.

But, I digress, the Derek Dooley era came to a swift end after the Vanderbilt meltdown on November 17, 2012. Athletic Director, Dave Hart made it official on Sunday, November 18th. Now, my Vols were officially on the coaching hunt. Names have been flying around for weeks and for the last month, I've let myself get stuck on one, Jon Gruden. Yes, he has UT ties, all be it slim ties, but ties none the less. And he loves Peyton Manning more than I love Peyton Manning and I named my dog after Peyton Manning. I'm hoping Peyton is calling him every week to breakdown plays.

We have Major Money Men who are tired of losing. I fully believe they will, if they haven't already, open their wallets and make it rain on the new head coach. Will they pay enough for Gruden to walk out of the Monday Night Football booth and onto the sidelines at Neyland?

Guess we'll have to wait and see. But with anything else, Gruden hasn't coached a game since 2008, I think. And coaching at the collegiate level is nothing like coaching in the NFL. Can he connect to and coach these kids? Will he stay long term and build a new dynasty or bolt for the next attractive NFL job?

I don't know the answer to this and aside from Gruden, I don't know who else I'd want to see with the headset.

I just had to get all of that out of my system. Now I'm going to try and step back from the ledge and the Gruden Train before it derails and kills me.

I just have one request to whom ever accepts the challenge of the Vols head coaching job, "just win, baby!"