There’s nothing quite like a championship, other than the Championship Parade.

It’s Been Awhile Since Atlanta was a Champion

So the last Atlanta championship was in 1995 when the Atlanta Braves won the World Series.

It’s been 23 years since we last had a championship parade in Atlanta.

Think about what’s happened in that time…

• Atlanta hosted the 1996 Olympics
• Atlanta is on its 4th mayor and the United States is similarly on its 4th president.
• Atlanta was awarded, and lost, a NHL hockey team.
• The Atlanta Beltway was conceived and built, as was Atlantic Station.
• The College Football Hall of Fame made its home in Atlanta.
• The Georgia Dome was replaced by Mercedes Benz Stadium.
• The (metro) Atlanta population went from around 3.5 million to about 6 million people.

Yeah, I’d say it’s been awhile.

Some say that Atlanta sold its soul for the 1996 Olympics, seeing as we hadn’t brought home a Championship since then. But maybe we only leased it to the Devil for a few years.

Thanks Atlanta United for bringing home a championship!

Don’t Let the Media Fool You

Atlanta gets a bad rap some times about not supporting its teams. But you can’t say that Atlanta hasn’t supported the Atlanta United.

From the beginning, even when Atlanta United was playing in Georgia Tech’s Bobby Dodd Stadium, the Atlanta fans came out to support this team. Now that they are playing at Mercedes Benz Stadium, also home of the Atlanta Falcons, the fans are setting MLS attendance records.

For the 2018 season, 901,033 fans saw Atlanta United in the REGULAR season. That is single season average 53,002 fans, another record.

And for the record… Atlanta has the 9 most attended MLS stand-alone matches. (At last check, Wikipedia hadn’t updated the attendance records from the 2018 MLS Playoffs)

Atlanta United Championship Parade

Just in case you were wondering…. Soccer can make it in Atlanta.

Here are some scenes from the 2018 Atlanta United Championship Parade, on a rainy Monday morning in Atlanta.

Now if only Uncle Arthur would decide he wanted a hockey team (probably the only way that Atlanta will ever get another NHL team here).

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The First RV: Starter RV

The Good

Starter RV was a 1990 Winnebago Chieftan. At Georgia Tech, that means it was a championship edition (GT won a National Championship in 1990 – sorry Colorado, your fifth down does not count!) When I got the RV, I wanted to make sure that I could do this whole RV thing without investing a lot of money. Starter RV, being as old as it was, had no slides and few electrical systems to go wrong. The prior owner(s) had already ripped out the dinette for more interior space and replaced the carpet with a laminate floor. This proved quite beneficial as the dog crate had a place to stay and the floor made for easier clean-up after the messes the dog would make (all messes are automatically blamed on the dog. No matter what).

Three and a half years later, I’d say it was a good time overall. I learned how to drive an RV. How to deal with the sewer and water systems. I sure learned a lot about RV electrical systems and batteries. I made some upgrades, including a new flat screen TV.

The Bad

There was a lot of things that still could have been done on Starter RV before I said goodbye. The water pump probably needed to be replaced. I was going to try out a new Oxygenic shower head but never got the chance. The blinds were all falling apart and needed replacing. Curtains needed to be held up by more than thumbtacks. The ceiling, particularly in the bedroom, was falling down.

I didn’t trust Starter RV on a long trip away from home. It wouldn’t have surprised me if the engine just wouldn’t start any time I went to crank it. I expected it to shake, rattle, and roll right apart on the pothole-ridden streets of Atlanta. The dash A/C and radio didn’t work. The speedometer stopped working twice (and was fixed twice). There was no inverter. Storage was limited. Basement storage gave a new definition to wet bays (they never dried out and stuff would mold in them).

But hey, it served me well to get into this wonderful, wacky world of RVing.

The First RV Road Trip

The first RV road trip in Starter RV was the second football game – when Georgia Tech visited New Orleans. Talk about a trial by fire on all things RVing! I had to learn all the little crazy things about how the Winnebago worked. And in an older RV, there were a lot of crazy little things (oh look, check engine light that was a faulty light). I had never used hookups before in an RV park so of course, there was the great flooding incident (fortunately, just the water on the outside, coming out the overflow connection – no interior flooding). The New Orleans trip was also the first time I stayed overnight in a Walmart parking lot.

And on the way back from New Orleans, in 90 plus degree weather in September, the air conditioners wouldn’t work while we were driving. As soon as we stopped, the A/C would start blowing out cold air again. Then we’d hit the road and about 15 minutes later, the A/C would be blowing hot air. As a result, we would stop, get it as cold as possible and then drive as long as we could until we just couldn’t stand it anymore. Stop, let it cool and repeat. That was a long drive home. Never had that problem ever again so it sure was weird. But it sure did prove that we were driving in a tin box that would heat up real fast.

Of course, we can’t forget that on that same trip back, stopping to gas up and seeing engine coolant leaking out. Fortunately, a friend and veteran RVer was stopped at the same station, checked it out for me and said I was good to go. Just a reminder that RVers are awesome and will help a new girl out.

All in all though, the first RV road trip was a success and GT came home with a win.

Lessons Learned From My First RV

I’ve learned some lessons with Starter RV:

1. Slow down and enjoy the trip. You don’t always have to be in a rush. The right lane on the interstate is OK.
2. Learn all there is to know about your RV. Every system. Every rattle.
3. Have the right tools and a DIY attitude. You never know when you will need to fix something. And it is usually not when the RV is parked in your driveway.
4. Always have a rain suit and/or poncho. And a sweatshirt. Maybe some extra clean t-shirts as well. Things happen. Weather goes crazy.
5. Command Hooks and Gorilla Glue are your friend. As is WD-40 and a screwdriver.
6. You’ll meet some awesome people in RVers. And road trips are an awesome way to develop deeper friendships.
7. It’s OK if everything doesn’t work perfectly. Perfection is not necessary.
8. Never leave home without a credit card. Gas is expensive. Repairs are expensive. This isn’t necessarily going to be a cheap hobby.

The Last RV Road Trip

The last hurrah for Starter RV was just three weekends ago, when Georgia Tech visited Clemson. I’ve always loved going up to Clemson and parking at the YMCA. There are lots of great Clemson fans up there, including a welcoming bunch that does karaoke. It just seems like every time we go up there though, it’s cold and rainy. And 2017 was no different. And well, Clemson dominated Tech.

The winds on the way home were crazy, tossing around tractor trailers and RVs of all sizes. It made for as stressful ride home after the loss. In the cold. Yeah, that was fun. Although still a good road trip.

The Story Doesn’t End Here

Don’t worry. I’m not leaving the RV Life.

Stay tuned later this week to see what replaced Starter RV. Let’s just say that not only did I accomplish one of my 2017 RV resolutions, I went ahead and knocked one of the 2018 resolutions off the list!

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The post Farewell Starter RV, My First RV appeared first on RV Tailgate Life.

No, you are not immune, my friend.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links for various products below. You get the same low prices and we earn a small commission to help us buy more RV tailgating gadgets. Or game tickets if you go on a shopping spree.

Story Time

Like many bloggers, I wrote this post several weeks ago and got it all ready to go live on National Data Security Day. But here’s the thing. It was a little late. Why?

Because in the last few weeks, my family has been hit with financial data hacking. We don’t know all the details yet, but several different credit cards and banks have been hit.

So tip: setup all your online account alerts. Make sure you are alerted every time someone requests a username or lost password, every time someone changes an address or security alert. Every one of the attacks have involved requests to change usernames, passwords, and addresses.

Protect Yourself on National Data Privacy Day!

According to Data Breach Investigations Report produced by Verizon, there were [highlight]2,260 confirmed data breaches across 82 countries in 2016.[/highlight]

Have you been to see a doctor? [highlight]Nearly 90% of health care organizations have suffered at least one data breach[/highlight] in the last two years, according to one study. And you probably gave them your social security number!

Javelin Surveys reports that [highlight]$35,600 stolen per minute in the United States as a result of identity theft.[/highlight] When an existing credit card is exposed and then used for fraud, the average loss is $1,251. When a Social Security number is exposed and then used to open new accounts, the average loss is $2,330.

As you can see, data privacy and data security are important topics! Even deserving of its own National Data Privacy Day!

And really, it’s a good time to go through all your accounts, devices and paperwork. College football is over. We are in the week between NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl, with only the Pro Bowl to entertain us – and really, how many of you are excited to watch that?

And baseball, whether MLB/spring training or college, hasn’t started yet. And January isn’t exactly known for having the best days to be outside. So let’s get working…

Protect Your Laptop Hard Drive

Can you imagine what would happen if someone got a hold of your computer without your permission? What if they could get all of your information without even physically touching your computer? Man your laptop is probably brimming with lots of goodies for an identity thief.

Steps you should take to protect your personal computer on National Data Privacy Day:

1. Password protect your computer. Seems simple enough, but way too many computers are left completely unprotected.
2. Use a screen lockout to require a password after 5-10 minutes of inactivity. Shorten this time if you are often in risky locations, like public work areas.
3. Update your operating system and software security patches. Automate this if you can.
4. Use antivirus and anti-malware software. Sure it won’t protect against everything, but it is a start.
5. Encrypt your hard-drive.
6. Encrypt USB drives that contain sensitive information.
7. Buy and use a laptop lock for physically securing your laptop when you travel or work out of the home or office. I would always use the lock in the RV since we are such targets for theft!

Protect Your Cellphone

How much data does your cellphone have on you? What happens if it falls into the hands of an unscrupulous person? Same goes for your iPad or tablet!

Take two steps to prevent unauthorized access to your cellphone:

1. Add a PIN or password to the lock screen
2. Encrypt the phone

How to encrypt your iPhone and Android.

Change Your Passwords

Did you know that financial motives make up 75% of company data breaches? Only 14% were from insiders. For most companies, it is a matter of when they discover the breach, not when or if they will be breached.

Do you remember the Yahoo data breach announcement in December where data on one billion user accounts was stolen? That is a lot of passwords, many of which are probably used for a lot of different online accounts.

National Data Privacy Day is a good day to change all your passwords. For your bank accounts, Google, and social media. Some more places that you need to think about: cloud storage like DropBox, online streaming services like Pandora and Netflix, and online shopping sites like Amazon.

Experts advise that you have a different password for each site and to not store them in your browser. But that is hard to keep track of. One solution is to use a password manager. PCMag recently took a look at the top 10 (paid) password managers for 2017. PCMag also has a roundup on the free password managers.

Multi-Factor Authentication

Also, have you thought about multi-factor authentication measures on your social media accounts? Sometimes, a username and password is just not enough to protect your account. You can add protection to your account at most major important websites. Your credit card companies and banks are probably using this already – you know where they require a code to be sent to your email or phone when you use a new device.

You can do this for your Twitter and Facebook accounts too.

Check Your Credit Report

Your credit score is very important, as it can be the difference between getting a mortgage or not and reducing your car insurance rates. Or financing that fancy new RV you have your eye on!

Federal law gives you access to a free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus each year. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com to get your free report. Then review the report to make sure that all of the information is accurate. Most importantly, make sure that all the accounts are in fact your accounts.

[highlight]Tip: Setup free credit report monitoring! Request only one report today. Then in four months request from another bureau. Four months later, you would request the third report. Then start over, by requesting the first report at the one year mark! [/highlight]

Of course, if you find anything wrong in a report, you’ll need to request the other report(s) so that you can clean up the same information on those reports. But there are options for getting additional reports if you find errors that need correcting.

After you have everything cleaned up on your credit report, it may be a good idea to place a credit freeze on your credit report. This will prevent people, including yourself, from opening accounts in your name.

You can also opt-out of prescreened credit card offers. You’ll also reduce junk mail (yay! environment) and reduce your personal information out there for identity thieves.

Paper, Ugh, all the Paper

You are lucky that this year, National Data Privacy Day – January 28 – is on a Saturday because this gives you a chance to go through all the paper! Do you really need to keep all those records with your personal bank account information and social security number on it?

What You Need to Keep

Things that you’ll want to keep forever, include:

• Birth Certificate
• Adoption Records
• Citizenship and Naturalization Records
• Marriage licenses and divorce decrees
• Professional licensing information
• Military records
• Proof that you paid off your student loan! Personally, you might even want to frame that (or a copy with your account number blacked out!)
• Any court orders and particularly satisfactions of judgment or garnishment
• Retirement and pension documents – it may be a long time until you need these, but you’ll want a record of what you put in and what the plan says you’ll get out.
• Investment Records – again, the long-term need for them puts them in the “permanent” file, but a minimum of seven years after sale
• Tax returns

Some people recommend that you keep tax returns for only seven years, but my CPA recommends that you keep them longer. Why? Because there is no statute of limitations if you never file a return. And a copy of your filed return, plus a copy of the check for any amount due or a refund, is good evidence that you filed. Also, keep your W-2s, 1099s, charitable deduction receipts, and investment statements with your tax returns.

What is Generally Safe to Toss

And by toss, we mean destroy in a secure manner. At a minimum, you should use a good cross-cut shredder. You can also take the documents to a document destruction facility. Many office supply stores, including Office Depot, provide this service at low or no cost to their customers for small batches. You can also have a quite satisfying day of burning a bunch of papers if you want. Because, hey, we all love a good bonfire!

These are general recommendations. You’ll need to use your best judgment based on your situation.

You can scan some items and then discard the paper item if space and physical security of the documents is a consideration. But others, like personal records from the government (birth certificate, military discharge papers, marriage licenses and divorce decrees) need to be kept in their original form. Scanned copies are sometimes acceptable and an advisable backup, but other times the original document is required.

Toss After One Year

• Small dollar receipts – think your fast food stops, ATM visits, run of the mill clothes shopping. These are receipts for items that don’t have a warranty or are tax-related.
• Check stubs, assuming your W-2 has already come in for last year and all the amounts match
• Utility bills

Toss After Three Years

• Credit card statements
• Cancelled checks for all but major purchases – wait, are even still writing checks? Does your bank still send these to you?
• Medical bills – typically, billing disputes are resolved by this point. Obviously, if any disputes are still going on, retain the records.

Toss After Seven Years

You can destroy most of the documents supporting the underlying transactions on your tax return after seven years. Obviously, here you are using a lot of discretion. For any large dollar or significant item, we would recommend that you keep these documents in your permanent tax record. But others are safe to get rid of now.

• Bank statements
• Tax related receipts
• House purchase and sale documents and major renovations receipts – seven years after you sell the house

And some things just don’t fit into a nice, neat round number

• Life insurance policies: for the life of the policy
• Car purchases documents: for the entire time you own a car, plus three years
• Warranties and instructions: until you get rid of the item.
  • Receipts for these items too.
  • Add seven years for the receipts if they have tax consequences.

How are You Protecting Yourself on National Data Privacy Day?

Remember to protect your personal data so that you won’t be the subject of identity theft! Wouldn’t you rather be out tailgating than cleaning up that mess? I know I have my eye on a shiny new RV, and I don’t want any problems when I go to buy it!

Comment below on how you are protecting yourself!

The post Celebrate National Data Privacy Day with a Checkup appeared first on RV Tailgate Life.

In 2017, the number one and only RV resolution is more tailgating! Here’s how we will do it in 2017:

First up, RV Maintenance

We’ve got to start with the boring stuff for our first RV resolution. Now that we are back from Jacksonville and done with the 2016 football season, it is time to do some RV maintenance. This includes the annual things like oil changes (engine and generator), checking other engine fluids, and general safety inspection. It also means that we have some time to fix things that are broken on Starter RV. The fan in the bathroom exhaust fan disintegrated and needs to be replaced (cheap plastic parts with the sun beating down on it for 25 years will do that). I also need to get the speedometer fixed – it just completely stopped working on this last roadtrip.

RV Tailgate Life

Here on the website, I’ll be adding more about our trip to Dublin, Ireland and London, England. We went for more than just the football game and haven’t shared nearly enough of that trip. I’ll also have some highlights from other non-sports related trips, including Charleston, South Carolina, Kauai, Hawaii, and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

We will also be highlighting more of our tailgating tips and recipes. Maybe even experiment for some new recipes to share with you all! Be sure to follow us on social media to stay up-to-date: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Spring Means Baseball Tailgating

This spring, we will be doing more baseball tailgating. As Georgia Tech fans, we expect to see some good quality ACC baseball in town. We’ve done RV tailgate weekends before and have had a lot of fun. Hopefully the GT team will get back to being awesome so that we will have lots of people join us.

I’m also in the process of making some tentative plans to visit Louisville for the ACC Championship Tournament. The ACC moved it here after leaving North Carolina after the political brew-haha over HB2. Being in late May, I’ve heard the horses will already be running. And of course, Louisville is conveniently located on the Bourbon Trail.

And the dream for all college baseball fans is to end up at the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.

Spring Football Game Tailgating

Weather and scheduling permitting, our RV tailgating crew (aka The Trailer Park) typically throw a tailgate party for the spring football game. More than anything, it is a chance for all of us to get together for some fun after spending several months apart. The tailgating family is spread out across Georgia and even the southeast, so the spring game is a good excuse to gather back at Tech.

No College Sports in Summer

Without college sports, the summer is kind of an odd time for us. I’d love to take the RV out for a couple of weekend trips to the lake and a long week at the beach. (The beach won’t happen if we end up in Omaha for the College World Series.) It’s also a great time for us to do maintenance and any RV mods to make the football season better.

Start the Hunt for a New RV

However, don’t expect too many RV mods from me in 2017. One of the big RV resolutions is to begin the search for a new RV. Now that I know I can do the RV thing (driving, sewer, maintenance) I’m ready to find my dream RV. I’m hoping Starter RV makes it another football season, but if 1) I find a great deal on its replacement, I’ll jump and 2) if there are any major maintenance issues, I won’t be spending a lot of money getting them fixed. Instead, I’ll go ahead and pull the trigger on buying a new RV. The new RV is really a 2018 RV Resolution, but it could come early.

Between now and football season, I’ll probably be making quite a few trips to RV shows and dealers, trying to figure out what is the perfect RV for me. And spending lots of hours searching listings online. Feel free to send me advice on searching and buying a new RV! I lucked into the first one when a friend was upgrading so I didn’t really go through the whole process that everyone else does.

Fall Football

The 2017 football season has a lot of promise for us already. Georgia Tech will kick-off the season against Tennessee in the new Georgia Dome. We are also slated to play Central Florida, in Orlando. I expect both games to be well attended by our RV crowd.

I’ll be at all the home GT games. Clemson is also a favorite RV roadtrip for us and I’ll probably be there as well. Not sure if the schedule will allow it, but it would be awesome to see some other games. It looks to be a very busy fall.

Finally, it sure would be nice to begin 2018 back where the 2017-18 football season begins – back in Atlanta for the National Championship game. Hey, a girl can dream, right? Football and baseball national championships in one year… probably too much to dream about.

What are your 2017 RV Resolutions?

Happy New Year RV Tailgaters! Hoping for some more great times ahead!

What are your 2017 RV Resolutions? Comment below with your RV resolutions! What trips will you be taking this year? Any big RV plans ahead?

The post New Year, New Plans: 2017 RV Resolutions appeared first on RV Tailgate Life.

Homecoming is a great time for seeing friends and old classmates that you normally don’t get to see. It’s nice seeing the campus all decked out in school spirit and people coming back to Ma Tech. And of course, it is always good when your team gets the win on homecoming! To top it off, Tech fans got the “perfect weekend” with the Georgia loss and then on Sunday, a Falcons win. Props to the Tech tailgaters that spent all weekend at the RV tailgate and then made it to the Georgia Dome on Sunday to watch the Falcons take on the Packers. I definitely didn’t have the energy for all that!

Homecoming Traditions

Georgia Tech has a few unique homecoming traditions, include the Wreck Parade. As you probably know, one of our “mascots” or symbols is the Rambling Wreck, a restored 1930 Model A Ford Sport Coupe. In its honor, Tech has a Wreck Parade each homecoming, where students try to build contraptions. The rules state that the vehicles have an indirect drive system. Below is a video of the last “Wreck” of the 2016 Parade:

The only problem is that the parade starts at 8:00 AM. That’s early for people that were up late into the night partying at the RV tailgate! Fortunately, our new on-campus location is much closer to the parade route! This was the first time in years (and first time ever for some) that we’ve made the parade. All told though we were happy to get up early to see this Homecoming tradition!

On-Field Pregame Festivities

If you ever have the chance to be on the field pre-game, you definitely need to take the opportunity. It is such a different view of the festivities and definitely worth the change up in your plans. For us, it meant getting to the stadium a good 45 minutes before kickoff. We went in the same way the band and the Wreck get into the stadium, through the tunnel. Then after it was over, we had to exit the same way and go through our normal gate with our tickets to get to our seats. We ended up missing the first touchdown but hey, we were on the field!

Watch as the Yellow Jackets take the field:

We Gotta Eat

Another potluck dinner had us eating on fried chicken sliders. For dessert, I brought the banana pudding cake that everyone loved. This is a great tailgating dessert, because it holds up well if you make it early. No baking in your tiny RV oven required!

Also, don’t miss out on the Bacon Crack! Another great tailgate food!

Next up is two road games in a row, with games at North Carolina and Virginia Tech. Maybe by the time the team gets back home, it’ll actually be fall – just in time for our Thanksgiving Dinner tailgate!

How do you celebrate homecoming? Comment below!

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Sports Bars When You Can’t Travel to the Game

Most alumni associations have local clubs to support the school’s alumni around the country. One of the social aspects that many help with is bringing together fans for a game watch party at a local sports bar or restaurant. Even if you are traveling, you are sure to find someone local to watch the game and root for your team with! You can cheer them on and celebrate the win or commiserate the loss with people that are right there emotionally with you.

For us this week, there was plenty of alcohol as Tech lost its third game in a row. And the second in a row to Pittsburgh that they won on a walk-off field goal. Is Blewitt a senior? Because I’m really tired of seeing him across the field.

Once our game was over, we had the chance to catch a bunch of other games, including a good ACC matchup on prime time for the Miami-Florida State game. Sometimes, it is nice to sit back on the sofa at home to watch all the games instead of tailgating chairs in a parking lot. Not that we don’t all love that, but a break is good now and then. It was weird watching college football on a Sunday though.

RV Mods Had to Wait – Karaoke Was More Important

Going into the week, I had some plans to work on the RV. A bunch of little things needed work and I want to add a table inside, over the dog crate. Because of the Hurricane Matthew coverage and a house full of people, I didn’t get a chance to work on the RV at all. Not complaining since I’d rather hang with friends and family than be holed up in the RV.

One of the great things about this weekend was the chance to go to Metalsome and see one of my Savannah friends put on another awesome show.

Back at it Next Weekend

Tech is back at home next weekend for an in-state matchup against Georgia Southern – head coach Paul Johnson used to coach there and they still love him for bringing them several championships. We were expecting a lot of Southern fans before, but with many still in the Atlanta area from Hurricane Matthew fallout and several losses in a row from Tech… let’s just say that there will be a lot more Southern fans.

But our group will still be there – we haven’t lost a tailgate yet! Time to find some interesting concoctions for food and drink. Got to keep it interesting!

Did you come out of Hurricane Matthew safe and sound? Check in below in the comments!

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Raising Money for a Good Cause

Over the summer, one of our tailgaters was in a serious diving accident that left him paralyzed. He’s been in treatment ever since and the medical and related bills are heavy. His insurance and veteran’s benefits are covering a lot of the expenses, but there is just so much to do that they don’t cover. Fortunately, he’s gotten a lot of support from the community, including Home Depot’s community volunteer force that is helping to renovate his home for the wheelchair. Our tailgating group is heading up a campaign to help raise money for Chris. Immediately, we setup a GoFundMe account to help raise money that had a lot of initial success. But that hasn’t been enough and are now selling armbands and raffle tickets for $5 each.

If you can, we would really appreciate you donating to our friend Chris’s recovery fund! He is a veteran, having recently missed a year of tailgating to serve in Afghanistan. And he’s an awesome uber-fan. The tailgate has not been the same without him this year. The plan right now is that he will be released from the VA hospital around Thanksgiving! Let’s make sure that he can go home with all the equipment and support that he needs! Click here to donate at GoFundMe for GTFlunkout.

Theme Dinner

So we’ve talked about how kickoff times affect your tailgate. With the early game, we held the big tailgate meal until after the game. With the opponent being Miami and more than a few of us with some Cuban heritage, this week, we themed it up with a potluck Cuban dinner. The menu included ropa vieja and black beans.

One thing about Cuban food – it smells delicious! Definitely not something you want to cook in your RV if you are trying to avoid odors. There are some advantages to being a part-time RVer and being able to cook in a full kitchen ahead of time is one of them. Crockpots for the win!

Where there’s food, there’s drink

Georgia Tech has a marketing hashtag Together We Swarm. During last year’s rough season, we changed that to Together We Drink. Sometimes, it is rough being a Tech fan but we get through it with a lot of friends and alcohol.

There was plenty of moonshine at this week’s tailgate. Seems like as the weather cools and our team losses a couple of games, the alcohol gets stronger. Beer is just not enough for these die-hard tailgaters!

Don’t forget to check out the Pumpkin Spice Sangria that I mixed up for the Friday night portion of the tailgate – a perfect blend of fall in a pitcher! Requests for the recipe are coming in daily from those that tried it, so you will want to as well. Don’t be scared off by the pumpkin spice if you aren’t the biggest fan of pumpkin spice lattes. This drink is worth every bit of #basicwhitegirl grief you might get, even if you are a guy. Trust me.

Rooting for the Second Favorite Team

We have a saying around here that our second favorite team is whoever is playing Georgia, our in-state rivals. This week, that meant Tennessee. One of our tailgate members even went to Tennessee (she’s a GTer by marriage), so she was uber-excited by the Tennessee-Georgia matchup. And what a game that was. Multiple lead changes in the last minute are always fun – if you are watching from afar. The way that game ended was a sure fire way of ripping the hearts out of Georgia fans everywhere.

How do your friends help you through a team loss? Comment below!

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Guns N Roses Rocks for Almost Three Hours

Axl Rose, Slash, and the other members of the band put on a high-powered rock show for almost three hours. They hit all the big songs they are known for, including Welcome to the Jungle, Paradise City, and Sweet Child o Mine. They included a few covers and guitar solos to highlight Slash and Richard Fortus. The solos also gave Axl a chance to rest his voice.

Early reviews of the concert tour, “Not in this Lifetime” left many questioning whether Axl could survive an entire show. The band did well to arrange the show to give Axl breaks to rest his voice and come back strong. They kept the show moving, making it hard to skip out for beer or bathroom breaks. You wanted to be in your seats the whole time! And even though the band is notorious for starting late, you better be prepared for them to start on-time or even early. We’ve been told that GNR went onstage 15 minutes earlier than planned.

With the recent news release that the tour is scheduled into 2017 and no official end date in sight, you should have plenty of opportunities to see Guns N Roses in concert. Despite their aging years, it was still a great show and worthy of the ticket prices.

For many, they checked off a bucket list item last night. Or as one friend said, “I’ve waited 25 years for this.”

Dome Security Cracks Down on Purses

Ticketmaster and pre-concert media were clear to point out the Georgia Dome’s bag policy – clear bags only unless they were 4.5 x 6.5 inches or smaller (think really small wallet). Several people complained about how strict security was about the bags. Security scrutinized many bags and rejected many small clutches that ladies have taken into NFL events in various different stadiums. Fortunately, security lined the walkways into the stadium and the gate entrances. Security did not wait until people were at the gates to turn them away for violating the bag policy. People were able to return to their cars or check their bags for pickup after the concert. If this is a preview of NFL game security, fair warning that they are being tougher this year.

Based on the smells in the Dome during the concert, security wasn’t so good about finding illegal drugs.

Verizon Club had Football On

The Verizon Club had several different sports events on including baseball and most importantly football. Sure, it was a replay of the Miami-Duke game, but hey, it was football! You know you are hurting for some football when even a replay of a game without our favorite team is interesting.

The Verizon Club area also had all the normal club section food options and shorter lines for t-shirts, beer and restrooms. Last night, it was a welcome gift after fighting through the lower level concourses blocked as people waited to buy beer and concert t-shirts.

Less than a month until football returns. We can survive! We have to!

The post Guns N Roses at the Georgia Dome appeared first on RV Tailgate Life.

We are going to keep things simple here. Some people may give you a long list of tailgating rules, but we’ve got only one.

No really, only one tailgating rule.

Here it is, are you ready?

Don’t F* up the tailgate.

OK, so there’s a lot to that rule, but if you are ever in need of making a decision, just ask yourself if you will violate the only rule of the RV Tailgate Life.

Need More Help on the Tailgating Rules? Here’s Some General Guidance

1. No one is allowed to die at the tailgate. This means your number one concern is safety. Make sure the RV brakes are on. Perform proper food safety tactics – store and cook foods at proper temperatures. Keep your generator exhaust out of your own and others’ RVs. Clean your RV water tanks.
2. Have fun. No personal drama.
3. Don’t date within the tailgate. (ahem, Amanda, once was enough)

We hope to have lots of years of RV tailgating ahead of us, but only if it is fun. So, instead of a bunch of tailgating rules, we’ve boiled it down to just one. Don’t get a yellow flag (or a red card) by violating the RV tailgating rules!

The post Tailgating Rules for the RV Tailgate Life appeared first on RV Tailgate Life.

Are you new to the RV Tailgate Life?

First, let us say “Welcome and Thank You for visiting us.”

Second, let us introduce you to the RVTailgateLife.com – we are here for the RVer that likes to tailgate.

Mostly, RV Tailgate Life is focused on issues relating to tailgating for sporting events, concerts, and similar events. These are generally for the part-time RVer in mind.

Sure, full-time RVers tailgate too, but we couldn’t find many resources with the part-timer or vacationer in mind. So we learned by trial and error and are now letting you know how we did.

After all that, now you’ll want to dive into our site.

Find out who we are and about the current rig, a Tiffin 34PA and the old rig, Starter RV.

Categories and Popular Posts on RV Tailgate Life

Then move on to the RV Tailgate Gear, where we review products that you need at your RV tailgate.

We’ll cover the required gear, the needs and the wants. And maybe even a few wishlist items.

Popular posts include:

• Must Have RV Safety Gear
• 10 RV Gadgets You’ll Wish You Had For Your Next RV Tailgate
• 21 Essential RV Kitchen Tools
• The Future of RV Autotransformers
• Stocking Stuffers for RV Tailgaters
• Genturi RV Generator Exhaust System
• Add Flags and Flagpoles to Your RV Tailgate
• Costco Tailgating Chairs
• Back to School: Today’s RV was Yesterday’s Dorm Room

And did you know that the RV could be one big tax deduction? Find Out How Your RV Could Qualify for Tax Deductions

One of the best parts of tailgating is the food and drink with friends. Here we will give you some recipes of our favorites, for everything from easy Thursday night recipes to elaborate spreads fit for a king. Popular posts include:

• World’s Best Smoked Macaroni and Cheese
• Pumpkin Spice Sangria
• Low Country Boil
• The Best Chocolate Dessert Ever!
• Bacon Crack Snacks
• Absolutely Decadent Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies
• Crock-Pot Dump Cake
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Brownies
• Banana Pudding Cake
• Sweet Tea Vodka Lemonade

You’ll probably want to browse through our RV tailgating tips and tricks when you have a chance. Learn from our mistakes and our successes – we’ve got both and we try not to hide the mistakes.

• RV Black Tank Cleaning Bombs
• Plug Your RV Into Home Electric
• The Ultimate Dogs’ Guide to RVing
• Repel Mosquitoes, Ticks, and Fleas
• Prevent and Kill Fleas in Your RV
• Prevent Ants in the RV without Toxic Chemicals
• 30 Tips to Survive Until Football Season Kicks Off
• Tips for Dealing with RV Odors
• 10 Tips for Tailgating with Man’s Best Friend
• Stay Cool: 10 Tips for Surviving Early Season Tailgates
• 9 Easy RV Closet Organization Hacks
• Cutting the Cord on the Home Cable TV
• Guide for the New RV Tailgater
• NFL Clear Bag Policy

We have spent some time making Modifications to Starter RV, some which may even be useful for your own rig.

• RV K-Cup Storage Solutions
• No Sew! Upgrading the RV Windshield Curtains!
• Upgrade to a Digital Flatscreen TV
• Solo Cups Holder for the RV Kitchen
• Replacing the Awning Strap

RV Tailgating is about having fun with friends and family. What better way than to take your tailgate on the road? Find out where we’ve been and what we have to say in our RV Roadtrips Section. Popular posts include:

• Tios for Overnight RV Parking on a Road Trip
• How Tall Is Your RV? RV Clearance Tips
• Charleston, South Carolina
• Rock Out at Metalsome Live Band Karaoke!
• NASCAR Tailgating at Atlanta Motor Speedway
• Bobby Dodd Stadium, Georgia Tech, Atlanta
• Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia
• Tailgating in Dublin, Ireland
• Ultimate Road Trip: New Orleans (Tulane, Super Dome, Sugar Bowl)

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. Remember, the best tailgate is an RV tailgate!

The post Welcome to the RV Tailgate Life appeared first on RV Tailgate Life.