Whew... Finally back in Stamford, CT, after chalking up 1,750 miles on my "Drive to SummerSlam" in Indianapolis.
It was a fun ride across through six states to get to the "Biggest Blockbuster of the Summer" and see one of the most exciting pay-per-view events I've ever seen. You can see my travels in the Google Map below
And thanks to everyone who took part in the SummerSlam Live Blog at the Conseco Fieldhouse -- Edge, Natalya, John Morrison, Michelle McCool, Joey Styles and Mike Adamle, as well as our host, Howard Finkel. You can read the transcript at the link above.
Here's a couple of pictures from the road that I didn't include in the SummerSlam diary posts (Day 1, Day 2, Days 3 & 4).
** First off, if you ever hear a strange knocking and you think your engine is about to die, be sure to check your gas cap. I drove the first 300 miles Thursday with the gas cap off. I don't think I've ever done that before.
** In my hometown of Sharon, there is a huge chocolate factory called Daffins' Candies, where they make some of the best milk chocolate I've ever had. It's trademarked as the "World's Largest Candy Store", and its prized attraction are these Big Show-sized chocolate sculptures. The chocolate turtle in the center weighs 400 lbs.
I took some Daffins' potato chip bark (chocolate mixed with potato chip pieces) and some jellybeans to the show for the Superstars and crew at SummerSlam -- both got rave reviews.
** Finally, being back home allows me to hang with our family dog, Crosby, who watched Raw with me on Monday night as I moderated the Raw Live Blog. Good boy!
Sunday 5:15 p.m. ET --Only two hours left until the Live Blog tonight, and I'm sitting next to Raw General Manager Mike Adamle, discussing tonight's big Raw matches and some of the finer points of Ronald Reagan's foreign policy. Hail the Gipper!
No matter what the detractors say on the WWE Fan Nation Forums, Adamle has put together a great Raw side of the SummerSlam card, featuring both titanic battles (Cena vs. Batista) and innovation (Winner Take All Titles Match).
And surprise.... just as Adamle walks away, he passes SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero. They exchange nods, but no words. Maybe Vickie feels threatened by the new innovative GM?
Brrr...did it just get cold in here?
Sunday 3:00 p.m. ET -- Four hours until the Live Blog tonight. I took a walk into the arena, and was blown away by the sight of the Hell in a Cell, hanging ominously above the ring.
This will be the 16th Hell in a Cell matchup in WWE history. Undertaker will have been in half of them, going 3-3 in one-on-one matchups and 0-1 in a six-pack challenge.
Will he be able to turn away the challenge of the newly-energized Edge? We'll find out by 11 p.m. tonight.
In the meantime, the Nation continues to talk about tonight's action in the WWE Fan Nation Forums. Interesting arguments and predictions being made.
Sunday 12:42 p.m. ET (Miles Driven: 980) -- After 5 hours driving across Ohio, I'm finally live at the Conseco Fieldhouse, getting set for tonight's SummerSlam Live Blog with our special guest, Edge. Our position is just feet away from the stage set, so I hope we'll be able to quickly get winners from tonight's matches on the LIve Blog.
BTW, Brandon Campbell from WWE.com is following our Live Blog guest all day long. Follow Edge's Superstar Diary all night on WWE.com.
This is my first visit to the "crossroads of America", and when you get off the highway in Indy, the first thing you see is the ENORMOUS new Lucas Oil Stadium, the home field for the Indianapolis Colts. It's easily the biggest stadium building I've ever seen (until Dallas gets the new Cowboys Stadium done) ... I can definately see this place hosting a WrestleMania down the road.
Saturday 4:48 p.m. ET (Miles Driven: 705) --I'm back in Sharon, Pa. resting up for my drive to Indianapolis tomorrow. So while in town, I'm going to take advantage of one of Sharon's unique places.
Buhl Farm is a nearly 2,400-yard golf course that was created by Pennsylvania steel magnate Frank Buhl. It's 9 holes, par 34, and the best thing... it's completely FREE!
Thanks to the millionaire's trust fund left to manage the course, it's free to anyone that wants to play, provided you have clubs and balls. The final two holes of the course were designed by the great Arnold Palmer.
As usual, I hit about 50 for 9 holes.... I'm no good at golf that doesn't involve hitting the ball around waterfalls or through windmills. :-)
4:00 p.m. Friday (Miles Driven: 562) -- After spending some time in my hometown of Sharon, Pa., I decided to head down the Pa. border to the home of all my favorite sports teams, the Steel City of Pittsburgh, Pa. -- partly to see family, but mainly to eat my favorite delicacy that you just can't get in Connecticut.
Primanti Brothers restaurant in Pittsburgh is the home of a unique sandwich that smashes french fries and cole slaw on top of a wide array of meat or fish between big sourdough slices of bread. It's one of the best steak sandwiches you'll ever eat ... and it's even better with kielbasa. Yum to the 100th power!
Took a drive on the south side of Pittsburgh, and went past the Duquesne Incline (pronounced 'Du-KANE'), which goes up and down the side of Mount Washington, giving you a beautiful view of the "confluence" of the city's Three Rivers (Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio). It was the way workers got from their homes on top of the mountain to the shoreline quickly, and is over 100 years old.
I'm heading home back to Sharon for the overnight, then off to Cleveland on Saturday. For more about Day 1 of my trip, visit my previous blog entry. And be on WWE Fan Nation this Sunday night for our big SummerSlam Live Blog!
Don't miss the Live Blog this Sunday night!! See you there!
2:00 a.m. Friday (Miles Driven: 490) -- Finally reached the family home in Sharon, Pa. earlier this evening (more about this town tomorrow, including two of its unique sights). Got some WWE.com work done and am off to sleep.
I'm hoping to stop by Pittsburgh on Saturday, then Cleveland on Sunday, before heading west to Indianapolis for Sunday's SummerSlam and our huge Live Blog.
You can follow my adventures on the interactive map below. (link) Good night Nation!
6:00 p.m. Thursday (Miles Driven: 320) -- Stopping by one of my favorite towns in Pennsylvania, State College (or University Park, if you're a PennState student).
Stopped by the Nittany Lion Shrine (seen above, not my picture) and the famous Penn State Creamery, for some freshly-made "Paterno Peach" ice cream. No one makes it better.
I hope to be back here for a few Nittany Lions football games this season, and I pray it doesn't snow on those trips. This might be the only campus where you're going uphill both ways to enter and leave the area.
3:30 p.m. Thursday (Miles Driven: 159) -- Scranton, Pa. has some cool things going for it. It's the home city for the minor-league farm teams of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Yankees, as well as a wicked-good AFL2 team. But lately, it's become famous for being the setting of one of the top shows on TV -- NBC's "The Office."
Drove around and tried to find the famous clock tower from the show's opening, but couldn't find it. Was looking for the pictured banner as well, featuring fictional Dunder Mifflin Paper Company.
Oh well... maybe I'll look for Schrute Farms while I'm on my way out of town...
2 p.m. Thursday (Miles Driven: 47.2) -- No problems getting through New York City. Zipped across the George Washington Bridge, and am on my way West!
I've always wanted to stop by a place in New Jersey famous for its hot dogs. "Rutt's Hut" has been featured on the Food Network and Travel Channel for its famous "ripper" hot dogs that are deep-fried to the point that their skins rip -- hence the name.
So, I pull into Clifton, NJ, and stop by for a few dogs, fries and a soda. The yellow relish absolutely blew me away -- so so good!
On now to another city that I've always wanted to take a peak at...
11:45 a.m. Thursday -- The Road to SummerSlam begins for me!!!
Me, my Chevy Cobalt, my GPS, a bunch of 418 Energy (thanks JBL!) are off and running, leaving the WWE.com World HQ parking lot on the way to Indianapolis, Ind. for SummerSlam to host our exclusive Live Blog coverage.
I'm hoping to get through New York City with no incidents (by that, I mean TRAFFIC JAMS) and get into the Keystone State by about 2 p.m. today.
I will update my adventures later tonight with pictures from the trusty iPhone. More to come...
Don't miss the Live Blog this Sunday night!! See you there!
Some random thoughts and musings from your friendly neighborhood Community Leader here at WWE Fan Nation:
First, thanks to everyone who's been part of the Live Blogs here on the site. We get a great crowd every Monday night for Raw, and the pay-per-view Live Blogs are packed with surprise Superstar "run-ins" throughout the night. It's really becoming the place to be while we're on the air, and we thank you, the Nation, for making it that way.
As you can see from the map above, I've got my 700+-mile journey all mapped out, and I'm hitting the road to SummerSlam in a very literal fashion -- Me, my Chevy Cobalt, my GPS, a bunch of 418 Energy (thanks JBL!) and the open road.
I'm leaving Stamford on Thursday, and will be blogging all the way across a third of this great country, all the way until Sunday night at SummerSlam. Be sure to check back on my blog over the weekend for updates, just in case I come across something like the world's biggest ball of twine...
Second, I've seen a ton of activity in the Forums lately. And while me and your Nation Moderation Team see the usual "Cena Rocks / Cena Sucks"-type of banter, we're seeing a bunch of activity in the "Off Topic" area ... and much of it is actually "on topic", on the topics of Fantasy Wrestling (or "e-feds") and "Name Game" threads.
So, to help the fans of these two activites market to like-minded members of the Nation, we're setting up a "Fantasy Wrestling"Forum and a "Game Threads" Forum in the "WWE Fan Nation" section of the Forums. They are both active now and are waiting for your creativity.
That's all from here ... hope to see you all in a little bit for Raw's weekly Live Blog at the link below. Good night, and you stay classy, Fan Nation!
