Road Trip: State College, PA

Mandatory Nittany Lion Shrine Picture.

So I've been promising to add some non-restaurant content to this blog. Here's the first installment of our Road Trip series. It was our first chance to get out of town since Christmas (although Kathryn described Bethesda as "a hike" the other day), and we both needed a weekend away. We had yet to fulfill our annual Purdue road game commitment, so we headed off to State College, PA for the Boilermakers vs. Penn State. It's worth noting that we have now attended a game at 40% of Big Ten campuses over the last three seasons, not counting home games. (Next year - Northwestern? )

Penn State is supposedly the nation's #1 party school, so we hit the town ready to see some crazies. Turns out that it was the first weekend of spring break. We still found plenty of fun things to do. Here they are:

Kathryn enjoying some strawberry ice cream at Penn State's Creamery. Every ag college in the country needs one of these things.

So everyone says Penn State isn't into basketball. I guess that's especially true when your team is 11-19. Upside? Easy to get good seats!

After the game.

I would be lying if I didn't say that Chris Kramer was one of the major reasons we went to Penn State. Last chance to see one of our very favorite ball players.

(Also, I thought Kathryn was going to come around to the other side. I'm not intentionally hogging all the Chris Kramer.)

Kathryn and JaJuan Johnson. Kathryn claims it's blurry because I was so nervous. (Also, my theory is that she's goosing him in this picture.)

Keaton Grant. He scored his 1,000th point that day!

I guess we have to have some restaurant entry. We went to Herwig's Austrian Bistro in downtown State College after the game. The food was outstanding, but exceptionally filling. I'm a sucker for the sampler plate, but after I only managed to eat half...

...the waiter made me wear this stupid hat - "the chicken of shame." Notice how I'm about to puke. I look like Chet Ripley after he polishes off the Old 96-er.

I, of course, grabbed some regional snacks on the way home. Boyers Smoothi Cups (peanut butter and butterscotch) and birch beer - it's like a super bitey root beer.

Oh yeah, some how I forgot to mention that we stayed on campus at the beautiful Nittany Lion Inn. It was nice because Purdue stayed there, too. We saw Robbie Hummel, and rode in the elevator with (former SIU assistant) Jack Owens. Curiously, Penn State's mens basketball team was also staying there...