Road trip to Title Town
Friends of ours from Cincinnati had two extra tickets available for NFL kick-off weekend for the Green Bay Packers 
host their rival, the Chicago Bears. They asked if we wanted to join them for a trip. Well, why wouldn’t we?
Although I am not particularly a fan of either team, Green Bay’s Lambeau Field is the legendary home of the frozen tundra. As a football fan, I thought it would be great fun to witness it in person. Plus, on paper, it looked like a nice matchup to start the season.
We left on Saturday morning en route to Green Bay. We grabbed some breakfast in Lafayette, IN, had some snacks to hold us through Chicago and 
Milwaukee and had a late lunch at the Lake Church Pub & Grill. The Grill carried the legendary, Wisconsin -only beer, Spotted Cow. So, we enjoyed a couple of beers and sandwiches for a late-lunch. The weather was perfect and it was great to get off the road and relax a bit in the beautiful Wisconsin air. After lunch, we drove a mile to Lake Michigan and stuck our feet in the lake and enjoyed the view.
Time in Green Bay
An hour later, we arrived in Green Bay. First of all, what an interesting town. The town is quaint with a lot of ranch style homes laid out suburban style. The tallest building in town is Lambeau Field. 
You can see it above the trees as you cross the Fox River. No other building breaches the tree line. I went to school at Penn State and the town reminded me of that small town that revolved around football. We grabbed some Packers gear at Kohl’s then headed over to Jake’s Pizza for dinner. What a great place! The server, Hanna (no palindrome!), was fantastic and played along with our excitement the whole time. Fantastic beer selection, homemade crust with fresh ingredients made to order. We laughed and split a couple of pizzas, one with pepperoni and sausage and the other was a reuben pizza. Yummy! We capped the night off back at the hotel with some late college football as the Packers and a few Bears fans rolled in. Since it was a Sunday night game, we took our time in the morning and then strolled over the St. Brendan’s Inn for some breakfast and wonderful Bloody Mary’s. We caught some of the early NFL schedule and then picked up some tailgating supplies and headed over to the stadium. I have never tailgated in someone’s driveway for an NFL game, but it is definitely the thing to do. Everybody was doing it! We wandered around the stadium and the houses and it is a very unique environment.
Game Time
When you wait all day for your game to kick-off, you are hoping for a spectacular game. For Pack fans, the first half did not go well. The Bears offense was efficiently moving the ball and their new superstar, Khalil Mack was dominating on the defensive side of the ball. It may have been the best half of football I have seen from a defensive player – 2 sacks, forced fumble, recovery, interception and return for a touchdown. On top of all that, Aaron Rodgers was hurt on a play and went to the locker room for the rest of the half. The score at halftime was 17-0 in the Bears favor.The Bears received the second half kickoff and promptly registered a field goal and hope started to leave the stadium to get the car warmed up. To everyone’s surprise Aaron Rodgers came back into the game. He led the Packers down the field into the red zone but the drive stalled. At this point, most fans thought they should go for it, but Mike McCarthy, the Packers coach decided to take the field goal. I agreed with taking the 3 to get off the schneid. You always want to get off of zero. Even down by 20 points, you need momentum and any points is the best place to start. The next drive was a touchdown for the Packers and the comeback was on. The game ended with a thrill and the Packers coming out on top 24-23. 
Based on the great time we had, if you are ever offered the opportunity to visit Green Bay, take the chance and get off the schneid. Green Bay is a comfortable town with good-hearted, inviting people and a one-of-a-kind football tradition in the NFL. Plus, if you go in September, the temperature is perfect and will get you ready for fall in all it’s glory.