Well my Royal Dukes weren’t up to the challenge at the William & Mary Homecoming Game this Saturday. While I didn’t need to see a trouncing, I hoped that JMU would at least show up to the game. But by the end of the 4th quarter, as the score crept up to an embarrassing 24 to 3, the JMU fans started to leave accompanied by a loud rendition of:
Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Hey Hey Hey, Good Bye…
We had a good run last year. I guess it was our turn.
My First Picture with the Duke Dog
Despite my alma mater’s drubbing in the hands of the Tribe, it was a great day of festivities. We started with breakfast, with Tim’s Mom and Dad, sister Christy, niece Ellie and brother-in-law Dylan. This was no ordinary breakfast mind you, it was a feast at the historic colonial Williamsburg Inn, a wonderful Bradshaw tradition. When Queen Elizabeth came to the States in 2007, this is where she stayed. The staff never changes. Leroy, Tim’s Dad, started coming here as a boy and was waited on by the same waiter for decades. It’s a place of tradition, grandeur and one heck of a breakfast buffet – an excellent start to the day.
We then met up with Jeff Bourne, our friend from JMU who generously gave us a few spare tickets for the sold out game. With these, we were able to get Mark Weiser and his almost 5 year old son, Brian, in for the game. We all met up and went into the stadium for the trouncing.
The forecast had predicted rain, but after a few sprinkles, the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful day. Once the game ended, we said goodbye to Leroy and Sylvia and then went to explore the homecoming scene. We went to the alumni post game tailgate and dined on some very disappointing Chic-Filet nuggets and beer. This wasn’t the homecoming celebration we were looking for so we toured the campus, checked out Tim and Mark’s freshman dormitory, dropped off Brian with his grandparents and walked to the famed Delly’s.
These three Williamsburg watering holes have served many generations of William & Mary students and were packed with alums. We scored a table at Paul’s and started to reminisce about the old days. Tim and Mark saw some folks they knew but the best stories were the hilarious adventures of the 429ers.
Mark and Tim with Hampton Roads Alumni President in a very stylish yellow slicker
We then revisited other old stomping grounds, including the Hospitality House bar, oysters at Barretts and Beer Pong at KA. I think it was our visit to Fraternity Row that was the one shocking change. Apparently over the past 10 years, William & Mary has done everything possible to snuff out the fraternities here. Where once you’d walk from terrace to terrace and see dozens of parties, now there are vacant buildings.
Digging out the KA Composite
The university has succeeded in over regulating to the point that the frats can’t maintain any of their traditions. Yes I agree that offenses such as hazing should be discouraged and punished, but the university has mandated so many unrealistic requirements for these organizations, that it is nearly impossible for them function. KA, once over 100 brothers, is now down to about 35, a tale that is echoed up and down Fraternity Row. We were sad to see over a 150 years of tradition slip away.
The next morning Tim and I decided against a 6 hour bike race and instead went for a relaxing day of catching up, eating, football and shopping. We went to the Prime Outlets with a few goals in mind. The stores were packed so we quickly learned to go into a store, scout for our needed items in about 90 seconds and if not there, move on. It was the speed dating of shopping. After about 45 minutes, we’d seen 30 shops and had our purchases. We then went back to the campground for naps, football and then a bike ride to Virginia’s best barbeque, Pierce’s.
Our Ride to Dinner
The Destination
In the Northeast we were on the quest for the greatest burger. Now we have our sights on bar-b-que, and Pierce’s never fails to deliver. Spicy, vinegary sauce smothers the tender pork layered with cole slaw on a soft white roll. Throw in sides of hush puppies, sweet potato fries, mac and cheese, and perfectly baconed green beans and you’ve reached nirvana. Pierce’s barbecues over 2,000 lbs of pork a day. We were ecstatic for our 1/4000th share of the daily deliciousness.
Tim enjoying his Pierce's at Sunset
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