I am not sure who was more
excited for Bubba’s football camp, him, Dan or I. It was a little nerve-racking getting the 4 other Wog kids
and dog situated but we finally got on our way! It was a nice, peaceful, enjoyable trip! We stopped in Daytona at Chick-fil-A
for breakfast and got down to Miami by lunchtime! We checked into our hotel and walked to the Miracle Mile for
lunch! Afterwards, Dan took Bubs
and I down a couple blocks to this beautiful historic building called the Colonnade
Hotel. It was so gorgeous with a rotunda foyer with a balcony, Corinthians
columns and marble designed floors.
It was breathtaking.
We
then road through Coral Gables and I was overwhelmed with how gorgeous the area was. I spent my childhood going to Miami to
visit my mom’s family but never saw such incredible beauty! We were definitely in the million-dollar section! My grandmother had a huge ficus tree in
her yard and I was telling Dan and Bubba how my cousin Tammy and I would play
for hours in that tree! I was so
excited when we started seeing trees just like my grandmothers. The branches twist all together and
make wall type areas. We were on
the way to the campus and I saw a sign for the Venetian Pool. I freaked out. My mom has told me my whole life about
her and her friends swimming in the Venetian Pool. Dan was so sweet and parked
and we walked all around and marveled at the beauty! I couldn’t wait to text mom a picture!
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| Venetian Pool |
The moment that I have
envisioned for years finally arrived. We turned into the University of Miami
campus and I was totally immersed in orange and green! They had the U printed everywhere, on
light poles, garbage cans, phone booths and more. It was total U heaven!
I got weepy even as we walked through the tropical campus filled with palm
trees and hibiscus! It was like
paradise. I know it will be
tomorrow that I pack my boy up and move him to Miami! I want to enjoy every second I have with him. I imagined my Dad walking this campus when he attended school there and almost broke down in full blown tears because my heart ached so for my Dad. I could visualize him decked out in Canes gear, giving me a tour of the campus and telling me stories about his beloved Canes back in the day! I knew he would be on this trip with us and beyond excited that one of his grandsons loves Miami as much as he did!
We went straight to the
bookstore and thank God we found some awesome stuff on sale! It was over the top Cane hysteria in that store! Bubba even managed to pick out a
Father’s Day present for Dan to surprise him with! Then we headed over to the pool to take some pictures for
Annie who says she wants to swim for Miami! We saw the School of Law and took pictures of Bubba by the
sign and sent it to his Gator cousin Zach who is in law school at UF. Bubba said he is going to be a lawyer
and become a sports agent so he can represent only U players that are going into
the NFL! LOL! Figures Bubba would figure out how to
make a law career surrounding Miami football!
We headed back to the hotel
and the sky opened up and it rained like crazy. We rested for a couple hours, I read, Dan napped and then we
went out for dinner! Dan surprised
Bubba by finally getting him a cell phone. We got Bonnie one when she graduated
from 5th grade and Bubba has been waiting for his. He was ridiculously ecstatic and kept
hugging and hugging us! I was
loving it! People think it’s too
young for a cell phone but it’s mainly for me to communicate with him. He walks the dog and I get nervous if
they are gone too long. He is
starting youth group soon and will be out and about doing things without us and it makes me feel better.
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| Hurricanes Weight Training Room |
The next morning we got up
early and headed to the Miami Athletic Center.
Bubba was nervous when he started seeing HUGE kids go in and Dan and I
kept reminding him that he is the youngest there and would be separated into
age groups. It was pretty surreal
walking into the gym and seeing all the U championship flags hanging on the walls.
We checked in and were sent to get a t-shirt in the work out room for the Hurricane
football players. Dan and Bubba were in
awe. It was really beautiful! They allowed us to walk around freely, to come and go and it blew our minds.
They called all the kids out on the Canes practice field and started
doing stretching exercises. Bubba looked like an ant amongst giants. I was so proud of him. Then we saw Al Golden, the Miami coach
and they called all the 400 kids in and introduced all the coaches that would
be helping with the camp.
They
separated the kids into groups and Bubba was with middle school
quarterbacks. It was so organized and ran like clockwork. Bubba was really
gaining some confidence when the FIU coach was using him as an example for the other kids of how
to do a certain drill. He asked
Bubs how old he was and told him he would be keeping an eye on Bubba in the future!!
They did all kinds of things and rotated every 30 minutes to a new
station. Dan and I hung on the
fence and followed Bubba’s group wherever they went. My favorite part is when they took Bubba’s group and had
them throwing to the older receivers and tight ends. Bubs was looking really good! |
| Warren Sapp |
I told Dan I wanted to meet
Warren Sap, a former Hurricane and NFL player, who was helping coach. I also wanted to meet Al Golden the new
coach. Dan rolled his eyes and
was like yeah right! I prayed and
asked God for favor over us and I was very expectant! I went inside to get some water and was standing by the
water fountain, and Warren Sapp walked out right next to me. I got a picture with him and texted it
to Dan and he called me on the phone in disbelief LOL! Al Golden was on the far side of the
field all day scouting the senior players and I didn’t think I would ever get
close enough to talk to him. Low
and behold, he started walking right over near us and I quickly introduced
myself and I could just imagine what Dan was thinking, my crazy praying wife!!
LOL God was good to us!
We ended the day going through the Miami Hall of Fame and marveled at all the champions that Miami has produced. For a school smaller than UNF it is truly mind boggling. It was like holy ground seeing the Heismans, the old jerseys, game balls, trophies and every other thing imaginable! It felt like an honor to be there walking among sports heros! I just pray that the Canes will come back and win a National Football Championship for my dedicated, faithful son!
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| Al Golden, Miami Head Coach |
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| National Championship Trophy! |
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