{"id":1892,"date":"2022-01-05T04:14:36","date_gmt":"2022-01-05T04:14:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sykotyk.com\/football\/?p=1892"},"modified":"2022-01-05T04:22:34","modified_gmt":"2022-01-05T04:22:34","slug":"2021-week-12-iowa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sykotyk.com\/football\/2022\/01\/05\/2021-week-12-iowa\/","title":{"rendered":"2021 Week 12 (Iowa)"},"content":{"rendered":"

2021 Week 12 (Iowa)<\/strong><\/p>\n

There was a rather good reason I didn’t see any games during Week 11. I had plans. But, my back had other plans. With my Week 12 plans including heading out Monday, I decided that missing a few games and healing up was the best situation. Though, that didn’t make Week 12 any easier.<\/p>\n

First, a couple of issues. My car had died earlier this year, and I had bounced between rental cars, my wife’s car once, and my sister’s car. I wasn’t about to drive my truck. A 1987 F-150, as it has mostly sat dormant the past few years. It runs, but it’s more for only when something needs hauled. At about 9mpg and burning off a quart of oil every 100 miles, it’s not exactly efficient.<\/p>\n

Now, I was taking my sister to the airport Monday morning, and then was heading out for the weekend. I was going to use her car, as it would be sitting in Pennsylvania for the next month until she returned home. However, on Saturday, I was at home without a car. I had ordered a car, but the build and delivery kept getting pushed back by Ford.<\/p>\n

So, I went and bought a used car because I was bored and tired of bouncing from car to car. So, I walked to the used car lot not too far from my house with a few grand and bought a car. A 2006 Town and Country. Not exactly stylish. But, it was dirt cheap, low mileage and just a hint of rust to compliment the missing hubcaps. With the used car market being what it was, I probably never would’ve spent much on a used van. But, it has served its purpose until my truck is delivered.<\/p>\n

I bought that van on Saturday afternoon. Monday morning, I was driving it to Iowa. Yes, I do like to take chances. If all else failed, a rental car for the two week trip wouldn’t be astronomical. But it would still cost more than the van I had just purchased. Given that rentals are hovering around $100\/day for the cheapest available vehicles.<\/p>\n

I left home Monday morning to take my sister to Pittsburgh International Airport, and then headed south along the newly built 579 toll road to Bridgeville and I-79 south of Pittsburgh. And then to I-70 west into Ohio.<\/p>\n

There, I stopped to pick up my friend who travels with me to some of the games with me. I got him involved with PA Football News as a writer, and since we both plan to attend a ridiculous amount of games each year, our plans converge often, and we’ll carpool. This was one such trip.<\/p>\n

Despite the pitfalls of back pain, I made the drive to Peoria that night. Along they way, we stopped at Benjamin’s in Covington, Indiana. A place we stumbled upon on our last trip to Iowa. And well worth stopping again. The Ribeye Sandwich was well worth the detour from I-74.<\/p>\n

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Ribeye Sandwich at Benjamin's in Covington, Indiana. #roadtrippin<\/a> #dinner<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ELjzOfj0mn<\/a><\/p>\n

— Sykotyk (@Sykotyk) November 8, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n