Hubby and I spent a few days back in Aggieland a.k.a. Texas A&M in College Station, Texas. It’s a progressive town full of excitement and tons of things to do. It’s always a fun place to visit.
We got there at suppertime on Wednesday night, grabbed a quick bite, and went to the A&M vs. Arkansas basketball game at Reed Arena. One thing I have learned about college events, they are all LOUD! It’s a good idea to take hearing protection. Daughter gave us foam ear plugs before we left. I stuck them in my purse but found out no bags of any size are allowed so I stuffed money in pockets and we left. Left without my ear plugs. I regretted not having them.
Our seats were at the corner of the arena by the band and cheering section. The noise level was deafening, and the action was non-stop. The game began after the national anthem sung by an elementary choir who were great and the Aggie fight song (we know the words). The game began and off we went. Every ten minutes of play time, there was a pause in the game for commercials on whatever station was broadcasting the game. During those lulls, different competitions took place: toss the foam fries into a giant Whataburger bin, blindfolded crawlers trying to find a giant coupon on the floor, dance team performances, free throw competitions, and stuff like that.
I had to partake of one of the thrills of going to a ballgame. I ate very expensive food. Yep, I had a big soda, an Aggiedog, and chips. Lots of sugar and salt, but it tasted good and added one more thrill to being there. The Aggies won.
The next night, we went to the SEC Swimming and Diving Championship meet. I’ve never been to that kind of event so it was very interesting. Once again, the noise level was deafening but that time, I remembered to take my hearing protection. At first, we sat between the LSU fans and Auburn fans. They stood up so much it was hard to see the swimmers. We moved down the way and sat next to the diving boards. We could see the swimming competition better even from that distance. We watched the 100-meters and 200-meters competitions.
Being so close to the diving competition was Wow! That’s about all I can say. We sat right above the judges. The twists, turns, and spins coming off the springboard were really fun to see up close. Several made some mistakes that even a novice like me knew they were bad.
We walked around campus one day. The trees are so beautiful and old. The architecture is amazing. We went in the library where Daughter had reserved some files she wanted us to look at. George R.R. Martin sometimes went to the library to work his now famous book Game of Thrones. Daughter says you can occasionally find him there now. On the first floor is a display of some of the swords and knives used for the series. I never watched it, but the props were amazing and lethal looking. The hilts were really ornate.
As always, we loved being with Daughter and SIL. We missed out on seeing a baseball game while we were there; they were sold out. Maybe another time we’ll get to see one. Daughter is hard at work with her studies so our visits in the future will likely be limited. Hubby and I won’t interfere with her studies.