Road trip…..

By M.Swint

The day started out Cloudy and Rainy, of course right when you are scheduled to take a road trip, I was hoping that the 🌞sun would  show it’s face just for a little while, but to my disappointment no sun. My buddy Rob and I loaded the suit cases in my vehicle then we hit the road, driving from Michigan to the fine state of Pennsylvania with our destination Pittsburgh, but make no mistake about it, the weather did not put a damper on our plans, nor did it set the pace for an exciting fun filled fellas weekend to go see my favorite NFL team, The Pittsburgh Steelers.
On our way to Pittsburgh, Rob and I was scheduled to stop in the city of Erie for the night. Erie is a small city in Pennsylvania located off of (guess where) Lake Erie,  🤔 Erie is also the hometown of two of our good friends, Donny and Marcus. In the city of Erie everything is 15 minutes away and my buddy Donny knows everyone around town, the people are very laid back and peaceful.

When we arrived I parked my vehicle at the Hotel and that is where  Donny came and got us. Donny took us all around town and then back to his home to watch college football. On the menu? wing dings from a small bar they call the Red Fox Inn, excellent wings in many flavors.

Red Fox Inn Bar food

Hilton Garden Erie

Hotel in Erie: http://hiltongardeninn3.hilton.com/en/hotels/pennsylvania/hilton-garden-inn-erie-ERIGIGI/index.htm

The next day was game day, football Sunday. Getting tickets to a Steelers game is not easy for out of towners, but good ole Donny being the Socialite that he is, secured 4 tickets under the pavilion in Hienz Field, thanks Donny🤗 you are quite the man!

Rob and I hit the local mall in search of some Pittsburgh Steelers gear before the game

The city of Pittsburgh is about 2 hours from the city of Erie, so we got on the road, Rob and I following Donny and Marcus, Donny drove his fast Nissan Maximum, 🏁 we made it to Pittsburgh in record time, let’s say about an hour and a half, my good friend Donny was doing about 95 mph on the e-way 😂 😅 and of course he has a badge to flash in case the good ole boys pulled him over 🚔 lol.

Meanwhile, Safe and sound, we arrived in Pittsburgh. First stop, we went to see Marcus family, some of the most hospitable people you ever want to meet, and of course we are related in the faith as well. Marcus family live about 15 minutes from the downtown area, very nice neighborhood with it’s valleys and hills. His family wanted us to stay for dinner, the aroma of the food smelled Great! and I was tempted to stay, but that wasn’t gonna happen because I was too anxious to get downtown to the festivities.

So the 4 of us finally arrived downtown Pittsburgh, My freelance writing skills went haywire, so much to take in. Checking into the Doubletree Hilton, downtown Pittsburgh, this Hotel had met all of my expectations and some. Tailgaters all over downtown, Black and Gold everywhere, cars and trucks custom painted Pittsburgh Steelers colors and logos. The focal point of downtown being Heinz field the home of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Doubletree Hilton Downtown Pittsburgh

Doubletree

I began to make the conclusions that the entire city of Pittsburgh as we know it today is built around this very popular football team known as the Pittsburgh Steelers. Everywhere you go on the western side of the state of Pennsylvania is Steeler country or you can say Steeler Nation. All the stores in Pittsburgh will have something from the Steeler team for sale. Restaurants and bars are filled with Pittsburgh Steeler collectables, pictures, and team logos, the black and gold is in abundance.

Black and Gold everywhere

Marcus and I with Heinz Field in the background

I observed men, women and children, having the enthusiasm for the home team, in fact the Pittsburgh Steelers sell just as much women gear as they sell men gear.

Downtown Pittsburgh is a photographers Dream with its hills and bridges, water landscape and New buildings, all of downtown revamped in the last 10 years.

Finally to the game……. A night game to remember!

Many Steeler fans go all out on home game Day, especially night games on prime time television, it’s an atmosphere that you would have to be there to see. Face paintings, Tattoos,costumes, The whole nine yards, you can get caught in the moment.

The Costumes and gear that Pittsburgh fan wear is unbelievable

The food in the Heinz Field Stadium is Phenomenal

Walking Into The monstrous Hienz Field Stadium, what a site to see. Any visiting team or fans coming  into this stadium will be intimidated by the overwhelming support of the home team and its winning atmosphere. The Steelers organization have this business down to a science, starting the game off with its loud fireworks before the game, in fact it’s a celebration before the game starts as if they already won.

The six time Super Bowl champions certainly pulled through to put on a good show beating the Kansas City Chiefs 38 to 16, my mission was accomplished!

The pictures says it all, I’m Looking forward to a strong ending for the Steelers this season, starting out at 4-1.  I’m already planning on going back to see another home game. This was a great experience for me and those who were there with me, Rob, Marcus and special thanks to Donny for making all this happen and thank you for your gracious hospitality!

Please share your thoughts and suggestions on the state of Pennsylvania and/or the Pittsburgh Steelers. The original date of this story Oct.24,2016, Game day Oct. 2, 2016

Meet The Author 

Welcome to Swint Travel Blog! My name is Mark A Swint and I enjoy Traveling or you can say that I have the travel bug. The purpose of this website is to share travel ideas and travel tips that will invite inexperienced travelers as well as those who are well traveled get away and try something new. My family and I have traveled to many places around the United States as well as the Caribbean, Central America, and Europe. My goal is to get viewers and bloggers excited about going to see places you have never been. (Switching Careers) Living in beautiful Michigan all my life, I currently work in the Auto Industry, however it is my goal to switch to the hospitality/travel industry in the near future. There are so many places on my bucket list for travel, please feel free to share your travel experience with me so that we can have an exchange of ideas.

Thank you for visiting my website and I hope that the pictures and the travel tips get you motivated to try some place new!

Happy Travels!

M.Swint