Hokies in Dallas: Our Plan for the SMU Trip
A big game and a new adventure awaits later this week.
(Quick pre-blog note: head over to ACCRoadTrip.net and enter the Promo Code TAILGATE if you're interested in a free giveaway!)
I’ve been looking forward to this game since the schedule came out. Virginia Tech at SMU, Friday night, in Dallas. For once, a Hokie road trip I can easily drive to from here in Texas. And there's plenty on the line with a pair of 6-2 teams battling for an outside shot at the ACC Championship game (rankings not yet updated as of this writing):
We’re heading up Thursday, staying downtown, and driving back Saturday. Here’s the plan, in case it helps with yours.
Thursday breweries: Dallas has a pretty good beer scene, and we’re spending Thursday enjoying it. Later today, we’re posting a Dallas beer guide on Instagram (@acc_roadtrip) with a few spots worth a stop: Barley House, Celestial Beerworks, Community Beer Co., and Pegasus City Brewery. Take a look if you’re getting in early too. We’ll be hitting a few of them ourselves.
Friday is the SMU experience: Kickoff is 6 p.m. CST (7 EST) on ESPN, so the afternoon is for Boulevarding. Bishop Boulevard is the tree-lined stretch running from Dallas Hall down to Mockingbird Lane, and it turns into SMU’s big tailgate about four hours before kickoff. It’s a little dressier than a Lane Stadium lot. Think linen and cowboy boots. Around two hours before kickoff, the Mustang Band, the cheerleaders, and Peruna (a real Shetland pony!) march through the Boulevard. Then it’s on to Ford Stadium. It’s a smaller, close-to-the-field kind of place, and Peruna gallops across the field after every SMU touchdown. Here’s hoping we don’t see him run too often.
Since it’s a weeknight in Dallas, give yourself extra time to get to campus.
Saturday we’ll grab breakfast and head home. I’ll write up what we found when we get back: what was great, what we’d skip, and what we’d do differently.
Everything we used to plan this trip is in the SMU guide at accroadtrip.net. It covers hotels, food, drinks, the Boulevard, and travel tips. It’s free. Just enter your email and it’s yours. We’re constantly refining our guides, and this trip is part of that work.
If you’re making the trip too, let me know!
See you on the road,
Paul