The Short Bus is being packed at the meeting place in Waltham, Mass.

We picked up this spare tire just before the trip.
We didn't need it.

Steve continues loading the roof rack.

The Short Bus is eager to start the trip.

Organization is key as space is limited.

Brett's all ready to go!

Chris takes some photos of his own.

In fact, this is the picture that Chris took.  You can see me on the right
checking the above photo that I just took of him taking the photo.

It was very cold on the morning we left.

Finally on the road.

Bill is driving the first leg of the journey.

Always working, Steve installs a new cup holder.  The new
one was broken by the end of the trip.

We stopped in the right place, I guess.

It says so right here.

Chris is catching some Z's.

Bruce, too.

Ray submits to the peer pressure.

I think Ray is sleep walking or something.

I'll leave it to your imagination as to what's going on here.

Whatever it is, Ray's enjoying it.

Steve enjoys the ride from the co-pilot's seat.

Sean plays navigator while Bill drives.

Chris thinks something is pretty funny.

Welcome back to the waking world, Ray!

Now we're all awake!

Brett looks a little sad now.  Maybe he's homesick.

We drove from daylight into darkness.

Almost to the motel now.

Brett rests after a long ride.

The computers are set up.  Ray checks his email.

One of these day's we're all going to spring for nice hotel.

Dinner at The Warehouse after our arrival in Buffalo.

Santa Claus arrived to ask trivia questions and
pelt innocent diners with t-shirts.

Chris and Bill enjoy the conversation.

Bill and Bruce stop long enough to smile for the camera.

Brett, Steve and Ray.  Look at the size of that Guinness!

Chris and Bill from Ray's angle.

Here's Ray and Sean with our Drew Barrymore look-alike server.

The Warehouse is rockin'.

Another of the dinner crowd at The Warehouse.

Here's a shot of dinner from the "eye in the sky".

And another from up top.

Back at the motel, it's almost time to play cards.

Actually, it's a dice game going on right now.

Ray is such a bully beating up on a poor, helpless Yankees fan.

Now the card game is underway.  Sean deals.

I think it was a game of Texas hold 'em.

This is Tom.  We met him outside the room and invited him in for a beer.

The card game continues.

Ray, Bruce and Chris.  Bruce is chillin' because he doesn't play cards.

Still chillin' and managing the poker chip case.

Bill ponders creationism vs. evolution.

Bruce is dreaming of a Buffalo beat-down by the Patriots on Sunday.

Ray broke the drawer in the motel room table.  Vandal!

Here's Ray still trying to fix the drawer.

Having given up on the drawer, Ray and Chris
get back to what's important...poker.

Ray says, "I just pooped my pants!"

Brett reads and practices "Insults for Dummies" on-line.

Steve tries to make a point about something.

Ray's hammin' it up.

Sleepy Sleepinsteen is still at it.

Ray seems to be unaware of the dangers of waking Bruce from a sound sleep.

On Saturday morning we went to the local IHOP for breakfast.

We consumed 18 pots of coffee.

Ray's trying to laugh without blowing coffee out of his nose.

Steve and Brett dig in.

Bill (again) looks like he's up to something.

Sean gives the camera a sideways glance.

Looking for an auto parts store.

We found one!  The exhaust pipe broke during the ride up
to Buffalo.  This was an attempt to fix it.

Coming back from Canada on Saturday evening.

Steve pilots the Short Bus in foreign waters.

Concentration when driving the Short Bus is very important.

Brett can't seem to sit still.

Bill enjoys the ride.

Brett and Chris discuss how to smuggle cigars across over the border.

This is my room number at the Econolodge.

The Short Bus rests before the big day tomorrow.

After hours at The Warehouse, Ray enjoys some wings.

I don't know who this young lady is but I like her style!

That's a big glass of beer for a little lady!

Laura and Shannon hang with us on gameday eve.

I have no idea what Bruce is looking at.

Something interesting, I'm sure.

Gameday.  The Short Bus is being readied.

Loading food and supplies into the Short Bus.

Attempting a group photo here.

Still trying to get all seven of us in to the picture.

Bill is still missing.

Still waiting...

Kicking around and waiting still.

dum de dum...

There's all of us!

And that's what we ended up with.

And a fuzzy one.

Finally on our way to the game.  Laura and Shannon
hitched a ride with us to the stadium.

Sean and Bruce.

Chris with the thumbs-up from the captain's chair.

Arriving at the parking lot.

Brett's buddy Mike from Buffalo, shown here with Chris, joined us for the game.

Brett, Ray and Chris.

I'm beginning to think that Brett and Ray have some kind
of animosity towards each other going on.

Sean is obviously having a really good time.

Bill checks the grill.

This is Paul.  He was tailgating alone so we invited
him to join us.  He's taking a picture of...

...these guys.

Chris gets up close and personal.

Here's Chris and Sean.

Here's Paul again.

Paul, Chris and Sean.

Paul and Brett.

Brett and Ray.  And they're not trying to punch each other.

Ray manned the grill for a good portion of the day.

This is another short bus we saw in the parking lot.

It's the Buffalo Bills Zubus!

It looks pretty dark but it wasn't.  It was a beautiful day for football.

I was trying to get a good shot of the Short Bus
with the Stadium in the background.

Eh...still not so good.

Still no.

Can't see much of the stadium here.

More tailgating.

Old Glory and Flying Elvis tower above the Short Bus.

Laura smiles for the camera.

Here's Susan.  She was also staying in our motel with her son, Hunter.

Speaking of Hunter, here he is.

I have no idea who this guy is but my guess is that he has brain damage.

Wait a minute, how come we've never seen Ray and
Superman in the same room together?

Susan stands by with camera in hand waiting for a photo op.

Laura enjoys the tailgate feast.

Mike is pointing out what a great job we did on the Short bus.

Laura is still feasting.

A random photo of tailgating going on.

An attempt at a tailgating group photo.

Ray looks like he's trying to play choir director only nobody's singing.

There's a good one.

And another good one.

Susan starting doing some kind of tribal dance.

Here's one last attempt at a group tailgate photo.

People are heading into the game now.

Fans pass by the Short Bus.

Steve and I decided it would be best to wait until after kickoff to go in.

Steve and Bruce stand guard by the Short Bus as the the game starts.

It's not that we don't trust Bills fans in general but, realistically,
there are jerks in every crowd.  Better safe than sorry.

Most of the people that passed by, while not expressing a lot of love for the
Patriots, did show a lot of respect for the work we put into the Short Bus.

Steve and I are finally on our way in.

Steve, being a goof, in mid-stride.

Inside The Ralph.

It kind of reminds me of the old Shaeffer/Sullivan/Foxboro Stadium.

The Bills are driving.

The Jills are in the holiday spirit!

Smile, ladies!

These 6th row seats definitely have their advantages.

This camera guy is wearing shorts with the temperature in the 20s.
We New Englanders take pride in our hardiness in cold
weather but I gotta tip my hat to this guy.

Here's a game action photo.

Bruce seems to be having a good time flanked by Bill, Steve and Mike.

Looking a little more serious now, he's probably just now
realizing that he's standing next to Mike, a Bills fan.

These nice folks were sitting behind us.

I have no idea who she is.  This is a photo of convenience.

Ditched the chick.  Here's what I went down there for.

Chris took this one on his cell phone.

Sean, Steve and Bruce stand with Ed the Bills fan.  Ed's been sitting in
front of us in our end zone seats for a number of years now.

Steve and Ed share a laugh.

Five little Patriots fans all in a row.

More game action for you here.

Tom Brady barks out signals.

I don't remember what happened on this play.

Mike, Brett and Ed with two guys I don't know.

Here's Ed, a guy I don't know and Chris.

Fred Smerlas on the Wall of Fame.

Click here to see where O.J. lives now!

NUMNUMNUMNUM!

"Who wants to fight a Pats fan?"

Chris and Ray in the smoking section.

The Jills have changed into these very unflattering jackets and pants.

Yeah, move along.  Nothing to look at now anyway.

Okay, maybe that was a little harsh.

Steve and Sean after the Patriots have secured yet another road win at Gillette West.

Sean has again taken this photo with his long, sasquatch arms.

Fans exit The Ralph.

Chris arrives back at the Short Bus following the game.

Looks like Laura and Shannon had a good time.

Hunter and Susan made it back alive.

Post game munching.

Getting ready to pack up another day at The Ralph.

Bruce has himself a nappy while waiting to leave the parking lot.

He never naps without his NFL cookie tin nearby.

Ray catches the nappy fever.

Ray tries to hide from the camera's glare.

Seems it's contagious.

Hunter rode back to the motel with us.  He
really wanted to ride in the Short Bus.

Steve usually drives with his eyes open.

We again stopped for breakfast at the local IHOP before
leaving Buffalo for the long ride home to Boston.

After breakfast and before starting out, we stopped for
a couple of more Short Bus photos at the stadium.

We couldn't really get close enough to get anything better than these.

Arriving back in Waltham, we began the process of unloading the Short Bus.

Chris gathers his things and loads them into his car.

Ray hops out of the back of the Short Bus with one of his bags.

Steve pauses to reflect on another fun road trip to Buffalo.

Our final photo from the 2009 Buffalo road trip.  From here, Bruce
drove the Short Bus home and went to bed.It's back to work tomorrow.