Three Days Out
Saturday, December 30
DINNER WITH THE STARS
After hearing Ken rave all week about the Flashback Diner, my wife and I head over there for dinner. Ken knows food and photography. The Elton John sandwich, charbroiled chicken breast with swiss cheese and bacon—the sandwiches are named after celebrities—is outstanding. While I’m paying, one of the locals at the counter asks me where Wake Forest is located; he had heard Raleigh but didn’t think that was right. He thought Louisville’s offense would be too much for us, but wished us luck. If you’re looking for a grocery store, drug store or Walmart while you’re in town, the area around the diner is the place to go if you’re staying at the Westin (from the hotel driveway, take a left onto Ocean Dr., right on Hallandale and a left on U.S. 1/Federal Highway.)
Posted by Kerry at 8:37 p.m.
SMILING DEACONS
Scott Fitzgerald (’83), a friend from college, and his wife, Pilar, drop by the Westin after reading that I’d be blogging in the lobby all afternoon. Scott is a producer for the local NBC station, but he won’t be covering the game, he’ll be enjoying it from the stands. “I told my wife that this is historic,” he says. “Where I work, everyone is for Florida State or Florida, so they want to know where Wake Forest is. I think they’ll know now.” The Fitzgeralds went to the ACC Championship game in Jacksonville, and Pilar said she couldn’t believe grown men were crying they were so happy with the outcome. Scott has already been to Dolphin Stadium to scout out a tailgate location for his fraternity, Sigma Pi, and he expects about 25 brothers from the early 80s to be there. One of them, Pat Noud (’84, MD ’88), who lives in Parkland, Florida, has invited them to his house Sunday night to watch the Rose Bowl. “Every time I see a Wake Forest person now, they’re smiling,” Fitzgerald says.
Posted by Kerry at 6:25 p.m.
WHY ARE YOU HERE?
The Westin is a huge hotel, about 1,000 rooms, and I keep forgetting that not everyone here is here for the game. A man from Philadelphia asks me what’s going on. He said he had noticed a lot of really big guys around the hotel. He must have missed all the Orange Bowl and Wake Forest banners hanging everywhere. A few minutes later, a bride and about 10 bridesmaids in beautiful red dresses rush by; no groom in sight.
Posted by Kerry at 5:45 p.m.
BEACHCOMBING
My wife and I went for a short walk down the beach just before sunset. We had to watch out for little jellyfish that had washed up on the shore—they were lovely, but I saw a sign that warned about their sting. We also found a small glass bottle that had several dozen barnacles attached, showing how long it had been in the ocean.
Posted by Ken at 5:28 p.m.
WELCOME TO MIAMI!
Ken Carlson Jr. (JD ’90) and his dad, Ken Carlson Sr., from Winston-Salem, walk by looking for the Wake Forest hospitality desk. It won’t be set up until tomorrow, so I welcome them to Miami. “Within 45 minutes of Riley Skinner’s last kneel down (in the ACC Championship game), I had called my dad and said ‘we’re going’ and had made our reservations,” Carlson says. “You never know when we’ll get this chance again. I told dad the stars and moon and Mars and Venus had to be aligned for us to go to the Orange Bowl, so that’s why we’re here.” The Carlsons flew into the Miami airport this morning. “We wore our hats through the airport and got a lot of cheers,” Carlson Jr. says. “We didn’t see any Louisville people, maybe they’re not going to show up.”
Posted by Kerry at 5:07 p.m.
WILL YOU SIGN THIS?
A steady stream of football players walk through the lobby on their way back from the pool throughout the afternoon. A couple of kids stop freshman Anthony Williams and ask for his autograph. Williams laughs and says a lot of people have been asking for autographs. “It’s a little unreal,” says Williams, who’s from Jacksonville, N.C. While he’s signing, a man walks by and says “beat Louisville.” He lives in Louisville, but he doesn’t pull for them, he explains. Williams heads upstairs to get dressed for tonight’s team dinner at the Hard Rock Café.
Posted by Kerry at 4:13 p.m.
A SEASON OF AUBURN GAMES
“Enjoying the blog,” says Chris Koontz (’86, MALS ’03) as he walks by with his wife, Pat, son Alex, 10, and his parents, Gary (’63) and Jenny Koontz. Chris Koontz and his family live in Clemmons; his parents live in nearby Advance. “I’ve been going to games since the 1970s with my dad. The only thing we had to look back on was the Auburn game (in 1979), and this year it seems like we’ve had four of those Auburn-type games.” Alex will be pulling especially hard for wide receiver Willie Idlette, who was his student-teacher in second grade at Clemmons Elementary School. Koontz said he was impressed that Wake Forest sold its allotment of 17,500 tickets to the Orange Bowl. “The thing that’s impressed me the most is we have so many new fans, not necessarily people who went to Wake, but new fans, and that will help us build for the future. It was always assumed that Wake wouldn’t travel well, but our people have really responded.”
Posted by Kerry at 3:17 p.m.
WRONG SCHOOL!
We’ve seen a lot of people wearing Wake Forest T-shirts in the Westin, but the man in the Duke shirt and hat definitely caught our attention. Was he in the wrong place? “Just scouting for next year,” laughed Michael Nitsberg. It turns out that he played for Duke in the 1955 and 1958 Orange Bowls, the last time a North Carolina school has been in the Orange Bowl. He and his wife split their time between New York City and Fort Lauderdale, where they have an apartment just down the street from the Westin. Nitsberg’s brother was visiting and they were in the Westin taking pictures in front of the Christmas tree, in front of the gingerbread houses, in front of the fountains … they take the same pictures every year, his wife says.
Posted by Kerry at 2:35 p.m.
PHOTOGRAPHERS EVERYWHERE
After I finished editing and transmitting my Saturday morning photos, I ran into my friend and colleague Bruce Chapman, a photographer from the Winston-Salem Journal, in the lobby of the team hotel. A few minutes later we were joined by Brian Westerholt, a freelancer who shoots for the Wake Forest athletics office. It’s great to see them here in Hollywood.
Posted by Ken at 1:42 p.m.
FREE ENTERTAINMENT
There’s not much in South Florida that’s cheap, much less free. But tonight and on New Year’s Eve there will be free entertainment on the Broadwalk in Hollywood. As we walk along the brick walkway adjacent to the beach, workers are putting up a stage and tents for the upcoming performances by Philadanco, which a sign says is one of the most sought-after dance companies in the U.S.: “highly skilled dancers performing pieces set to the music of Earth Wind and Fire, Steve Reich and Lauryn Hill.” Performances are tonight at 8 and New Year’s Eve at 9:30. The New Year’s Eve performance will be followed by fireworks at midnight.
Posted by Kerry at 12:20 p.m.
STROLLING THROUGH HOLLYWOOD
My wife came with me to Miami, but we had to leave the children, Spinner and Cody, back home. We miss them terribly so we head to downtown Hollywood to pick up something for them at the doggie boutique. (Downtown’s a five-minute drive from the Westin; turn right out the Westin driveway, head down Ocean Blvd., turn right onto Hollywood Blvd. and follow the signs.) Unfortunately, it’s closed so we decide to head for Broadwalk (again a short drive from the Westin; turn right out the Westin driveway, go a couple of miles, turn right on Johnson Street by the Wing’s beachwear store and park in the deck across from Wings; $5 flat rate.)
The Broadwalk is a long stretch of Greek and Italian restaurants, bars, ice cream shops, and t-shirt and beachwear shops. There’s also a mini-golf course. It’s very hot (80 plus degrees), and the beach is a mass of humanity. The ocean is a beautiful shade of blue. We stop for lunch at La Brochetterie Grill, which despite its French name, serves Italian food (pizza by the slice for $1.70), after the owner beckoned us in with his promise that it was the best pizza on the beach; it was very good.
Posted by Kerry at 12:05 p.m.
LOCAL JOINT
Breakfast at the Flashback Diner in Hallendale is my third meal at this local hangout. I’m starting to see the same faces at the lunch counter, and yesterday one of the regulars told me not to forget “all those cameras you brought in with you” when I was paying my lunch tab. They serve breakfast 24 hours a day, and their blueberry pancakes are quite tasty. But my favorite so far was the Rachel sandwich—that’s a Reuben made with pastrami instead of corned beef. It was perfectly grilled, with plenty of pastrami and cheese oozing out. Good stuff.
Posted by Ken at 9:12 a.m.
COME SEE US!
Sitting in the lobby updating the blog and watching the people go by. Water shoots up from a long fountain, lined with white poinsettas, in the center of the beautiful lobby. Christmas tree lights and garland wind around the palm trees that run alongside the fountain; FedEx Orange Bowl banners hang down from the palm trees. There’s a huge Christmas tree at one end of the fountain, and a display of gingerbread houses across the way. Ken went to South Beach early this morning and is on his way back with some great photos. This afternoon we’ll be blogging from the lobby—drop by to say hello!
Posted by Kerry at 8:41 a.m.
LIVE FROM SOUTH BEACH
Reporter Kenneth Moton and photographer Bill Welch work for the new Carolina News 14 all-news channel. We found them doing a live shot in South Beach to introduce a package of stories on the Orange Bowl. Moton says this is the first time he’s ever reported on the air while wearing shorts and a sport shirt, but he’s enjoying every minute of it. We trade photo opportunities—Bill takes a family photo for me, and I shoot the two of them with the historic area in the background.
Posted by Ken at 8:09 a.m.
SUNRISE ON SOUTH BEACH
South Beach is the happening place in Miami, home to beautiful people from around the world against a backdrop of stunning Art Deco architecture. But at sunrise on a Saturday morning, it’s almost empty. The sun keeps going behind the clouds, frustrating my attempts at photography, but I get the occasional great South Beach light. It’s a pleasant place for a walk, with sidewalk cafes on every block, and large, open public spaces under the palm trees.
Posted by Ken at 7:40 a.m.
EARLY MORNING
As we leave the hotel for an early morning trip to South Beach, we pass head coach Jim Grobe standing on the hotel steps. I grab a few quick photos, but I don’t want to intrude, so I’m not sure where he’s headed.
Posted by Ken at 7:03 a.m.
Bloggers
Live from Miami, it’s Window on Wake Forest’s crack team of Deacon fans:
Kerry King (’85)
Writer
Ken Bennett
Photographer
Matt Nelkin (’03)
Web Guru
Follow our blog during the week leading up to the Orange Bowl.
