Sunday, Sept. 26

Today was not only the busiest day, but also the most enjoyable. First we visited the traveling Smithsonian exhibit "Star Wars: The Magic of Myth," then headed to the NFL game between the hometown Chargers and the Indianapolis Colts. By the time the game ended, it was time to check in at the Marriott hotel on the marina, where we met up with Scott's friend and coworker Amanda and her guest, Michelle.

The Star Wars exhibit was held at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park, an area built by the city of San Diego in 1915-16, and is the second oldest park set up by a city in the country, after New York's Central Park.

The Museum of Art is just one of a dozen museums in the park, all built with a colonial Mexican motif. It's a very attractive area, and I'm sure San Diego is proud of such a beautiful cultural area. Meanwhile, Atlanta is busy knocking down every tree for a new strip mall or road that will more than help our air become less breathable every year.

Anyway, what better way for San Diego to celebrate culture than to hold an exhibit praising the virtue of Star Wars? Forget Monet or Picasso; let's talk George Lucas, the De Vinci of our time! I'm kidding, really.

The exhibition is set up like any other traveling show, such as Memphians have seen at the Convention Center for Napoleon, WWII: Through Russian Eyes or Catherine the Great, to name a few. The audio tour, narrated by James Earl Jones, takes you past a number

Scott's recollections Part 2: � � � Sunday morning we woke to discover that the US had taken the lead in the first couple of matches (of the Ryder Cup). But we figured that we were way out of it, so why bother watching? � � � We went to the San Diego Museum of Art to see the Star Wars exhibition. We took the James Earl Jones audio tour and saw C-3PO. R2D2, Darth Vader, Luke's x-wing fighter outfit, Chewbacca, and many, many other costumes. We also saw some concept drawings for the films, and models such as the Star Destroyer and Millenium Falcon. � � � We were there for about an hour. That doesn't sound like long, but it was enough time to digest everything. It wasn't a very extensive collection, there was more quality than quantity.

of costumes and small models in order of the trilogy's release, as well as a few items from Episode 1: The Phantom Menace.

The most interesting part, though, were the storyboards and concept drawings of ideas not seen in the movies. For example, there was a drawing of the Emperor's lair set up in a volcano, and a Rebel base hidden in vast grasslands. Neither, of course, was in any movies, but it was intriguing to see what might have been.

The exhibit wasn't too large, and took only an hour to pass through, which is plenty of time to take in all the objects, take some pictures and listen to every bit of the CD. We took plenty of pictures, and the guards allowed us to keep the flash on, which was beneficial, since the lighting was so dim in the museum. But I pray the pictures come out since all of the costumes and models were behind glass.

Afterwards we made our way to the gift shop. Okay, we didn't make our way; you have to pass through it to get out. Naturally I lost all poise and spent $40, while my brother maintained some sort of restraint and came in under $20. I'm a typical guy: I hate shopping. But when I'm in a store with lots of knickknacks I have no self-control and want to buy everything.

I say to myself, "Myself, why can't you resist temptation?" Then myself opens a can of whoop-ass on the self-control area of my brain and gives me no choice but to buy the really cool Yoda beanie-babie!

In the end, though, I have to agree with what I overheard Scott tell Jenn on the phone (hey, he was talking loud enough, I wasn't eavesdropping!): the exhibit was a cool side trip, but not anything you would plan a vacation around. For me, then Scott realized it later, the football game was what be the best part of our visit.

Why was it a big deal? Well, silly, we had seats in the 15th row on the 20-yard-line of an NFL game, which is pure heaven on earth. And I'm not talking 15th row in the upper balcony. No, it's 15th row on the Field Level, with the Charger Girls in front of us and behind the Colts' bench. We were so close we could actually gawk at the cheerleaders and appreciate their�.coordination. Yep, that's what I was thinking all along.

Both of us were rooting for Indianapolis since Peyton Manning is the quarterback, being from Tennessee. Even though I despise the U. of Tennessee, I think Peyton is a class act. In his case, for four years when I yelled at the Alabama players to "kill him" or "chop off his legs," I didn't really mean it.

Unlike any sports venue I have ever visited, San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium has TONS of parking. The parking lot is enormous, where every car from every person attending the game has plenty of room to fit. We weren't even a � mile from the stadium, and now I wish we had tailgated like 80% of the other fans. But we found a sports bar inside the stadium and ate standing at a cubbyhole in the wall.

I can now say that I have eaten garlic fries, but I sure didn't like them. I think there once lived a fat garlic king and they blew him up, with all remains ending up in my fries. Many vampires must have died for me to enjoy lunch. The worst part was that I couldn't even scrape off the garlic from the remaining fries once I decided I didn't like the taste! It was quite a spot of trouble to eat around the vile green bits of unpleasantness.

The Mission Burger, however, more than made up for the fries' shortfall. It was HUGE (see how big--so big that I had to put it in all caps), and might as well of been Ambrosia. That's the food of the gods, and my knowledge of ancient mythology I could claim from my advanced schooling, but in reality I know it from watching "Xena: Warrior Princess."

Scott claims the size of the burger was due in large part to oversized bread, but I was too busy savoring the taste of the hamburger covered in melted cheese and onions. Now that I think about it, with the onions and the garlic, I must have had terrible breath to those around me. [Note to self: Bring lots of gum or even a toothbrush to next game.]

We arrived at 11:30 for the 1 p.m. kickoff, and spent an hour in the sports bar watching the Ryder Cup with about 100 other fans. The U.S. was mounting an incredible comeback, the biggest ever in the competition's history, and we were loving it, hooting and hollering as if it were the Super Bowl. When it became apparent that the U.S. would win it was just before one o'clock so we headed for our seats.

However, in the halls before our gate we stopped in front of another TV and found out that American Justin Leonard had just sunk a 45-foot putt that clinched the victory. That entire hubbub over the excessive-celebration that followed, and we missed it! We turned on the TV and saw Jose Maria-Olazabal standing over his putt, wondering why he was taking so long. I guess I understand now that he was a bit unnerved at the situation. He missed the putt, the U.S. won and we found our seats in time for the first play of the game we came to see.

When we left the hotel Sunday morning, it was cloudy-not partly or mostly, but completely gray as far as the eye could see-and chilly, in the mid-60s. When we went to the museum, it was cloudy and pleasant. When we arrived at the game it was cloudy and pleasant.

As soon as we sat in our seats, though, the skies cleared and God shone down upon us. And if God has never shone upon you, let me tell you that his rays are hot. It went from cloudy to pleasant to clear-not mostly clear because there was nary a cloud left in the sky-and very, very hot. In the end, I would receive sunburn worse than ever before, and am still peeling almost two weeks later. Why? Because when we left it was cloudy and cold! So I didn't bring a hat or sunglasses. Any regrets? Oh, yeah! Our faces were redder than a Coke can. That reminds me, does anyone else remember a few years ago when Coke cans from machines were ribbed? I miss those, because I could give a can to a friend and say "ribbed, for your pleasure." It was funny the first time, but I'm pretty sure I beat the joke to death. And it didn't really go over that great at a Christian university. Never mind. Back to the topic�

Our section should have posted a Testosterone Alert to warn patrons of the atmosphere in our section. There were many, many males who were the stereotypical uber-guys, not wearing shirts, drinking vats of beer and yelling any phrase that contained an expletive. And does every Californian have a tattoo? Men and women, young and old, it seemed every person at the game was sporting some sort of body art. Not just the "tough" guys and gals, but rather normal-looking sorts as well. I wouldn't have been surprised to see a 60-year-old woman walk by wearing a sports bra and a tattoo of a Harley that read "cars are for wimps."

Scott's recollections Part 3: � � � ...We then headed out to the Qualcomm Stadium. By the time we got there we stepped into a sport bar in the stadium to get lunch and discovered that the US was now leading 11-10. Now we were excited, because we in no way expected this. We stayed in the sports bar until Olazabel missed his putt and made it to our seats just in time for kickoff! It was amazing to see all of these football fans standing room only in the restaurant all cheering every time the US made a shot. Very electric atmosphere, something I will never forget. � � � The game was very enjoyable. Jeff and I didn't wear hats because the morning was cold and cloudy. Well, by the time the game started the sun came out and it was much warmer. Needless to say, we both got pretty bad sunburns. I'm still very uncomfortable as I write you. � � � And although we watched Peyton throw all those 404 yards, it didn't seem like he was having that great a game. In fact, we thought all the way through the third quarter that somehow the Chargers were going to win this, even though the Colts seemed to be outplaying them. The Chargers just seemed to be making the special teams playes that it takes to win, even though their offense couldn't seem to move the ball. � � � Well, the game ended, and I noticed on the scoreboard that the Titans beat the Jags. I must say, I was just as excited to see that as I was to see Manning win the game for the Colts. � � � (O)ne humorous moment...was when we walked out of the stadium, and there was a guy leaned up against a police car asking for his picture to be taken.

The people directly around us, though, were nice and calm folk with their partners and/or friends and family. The couple in front of us was from Riverside, Calif., and drove the hour-and-a-half for the game, since Los Angeles has been without an NFL team the last few seasons. The male was originally from Oxford, Miss., and she was an absolute cutie and nice as could be, which may unfortunately nix my generalization of all Californians as wackos.

We even saw a fight in the fourth quarter! There was a duo of military guys in the stands taunting San Diego fans, even as far as wearing a shirt that bore the Chargers logo, only crossed out with red spray paint. Between the third and final quarters, I noticed them standing up while being showered with some beer but mostly wadded up cups, from as far as 100 feet away. These guys didn't want trouble, and seemed to enjoy the attention, as any military guys might be. But, another Colts fan apparently didn't appreciate the way San Diego fans behaved, and got into a shouting match with a Chargers fan. The Colts fan then walked over and after two seconds of in-your-face jawing, fists begun flying. Naturally I was jumping up and down yelling "Ooh! Ooh! Fight! Yeah!" As you can tell, I'm the voice of reason when conflict arises.

The cops ended up letting the Chargers fan stay, and kicked the Colts fan out of the stadium. A shirtless, multi-tattooed bald idiot who had been running his mouth all game five rows in front of us was also kicked out because he made his way over two sections just to be part of the fight. When he tried to sneak back to his seat and look innocent, about six or seven fans (Chargers fans!) pointed him out to the security guards and plastered him with venom as he tried to deny it. I, being the calm, reasonable young man I am, told the police to "take his ass out of the stadium." Now, excuse me for an hour as I go watch some World Championship Wrestling�

Okay, so it's been three hours because after an hour of inane wrestling, my brain needed a couple of hours to recuperate. I find it difficult to believe that Bill Gates formulated the idea for Microsoft after watching wrestling, or for that matter I don't think Tom Cruise learned his acting chops from The Pallbearer.

By the way, the Colts won the game, 27-19. Peyton threw for a career and Colts franchise-record 404 yards. But you know what? I couldn't really tell that he had done so well. Being so close to the action live, you just don't notice what a tremendous effort that performance was. Our seats turned out to be better than I thought, also, because 43 of the 46 points were scored in the end zone closes to us. Some scoreboard watching: Atlanta lost to St. Louis, 35-7. Ugh, how embarrassing. Tennessee upset Jacksonville, 20-19, which was great for Scott.

After the game we drove back to the coast to check in at the Marriott along the marina�.