i park about 2 blocks from the quad for every game we tailgate. sure, i have to get there about 6:30 am saturday morning. but that ensures that i get a spot as close as possible to the quad. and speaking of tailgating, my friend goes down on thursday to drop off the tents to secure our spot (usually the same spot each time, but we do have a backup spot...just in case). we both go down on friday to put the tents up, put up the lights, put the tables out, and get everything ready for saturday. on saturday, it's up ~5:00 am to be on-campus by no later than 6:30. my friend usually gets a room at the hotel for friday and saturday nights. he lives in huntsville so he'd have to get up even earlier than me to get there at the same time if stayed at home.
after the game, we hang around a while and let traffic die down a bit before we start to take down the tailgate (6 tents, 11 tables of various sizes, numerous chairs, lights, tv, food, dishes, etc.) after it's all down, we walk over to get our vehicles and drive them to the quad (by that time, they've opened up the streets to allow loading by the quad). then we load all the stuff onto the dolly and roll it over to the vehicles. we load up and head home.
it can get tiring, especially if it's a 6:00-6:30 game. but i think we've decided we're not gonna tailgate any late games like that. it just makes it too long of a day (up at 5:00 am and back home by about midnight or later). and neither of us is getting any younger, lol. still, we have a good time and it's good to see friends and family that you otherwise wouldn't get to see without a special trip or circumstance.