2008-11 Notre Dame

Mariah had the opportunity to visit the University of Notre Dame with her friend Megan and Megan's mom and dad. They were going to visit Megan's sister, Emily, who is a sophomore at Notre Dame. They headed out on Halloween morning and got to Norte Dame around 5:00. Mariah and Megan stayed with Emily and went to a Halloween party. The girls had to rearrange some of their schoolwork and tests to free up the Friday, but it all worked out fine. Part of the trip was spent studying, some was spent watching movies, and some was spent just watching the scenery go by.

On Saturday, they had tickets to the football game against Pitt. Before the game, they wandered around campus looking at the historic and beautiful campus buildings. they then watched the band lead the parade to the stadium. The campus was full of fans tailgating, picnicking and playing games as they awaited the start of the football game. It is truly an all day event rather than just a game.

It was a beautiful fall afternoon for football with over 80,000 loyal fans in the renowned stadium. The game was back and fourth, but Pitt ended up winning in a school record 4 overtimes. During one of the overtime periods, the sprinklers came on at one end of the field. Fortunately, this was the opposite end of the field from where the overtime play was happening.

Mariah enjoyed her visit on campus and the beauty and history of Notre Dame. She associates the football program with Rudy rather than the Gipper or Knute, but that is just a testament to the tradition and history of the program and the school.

After another night on campus, it was time to head back to MN and home. They left South Bend around 11:00 on Sunday and made it back home by about 5:00 as they got the benefit of the time zone shift back to central time. It was a tiring, but exciting experience for Mariah