A free weekend in the fall comes few and far between for NFL players, but the Patriots were able to take full advantage of having Saturday and Sunday off this week.
Running back Antonio Gibson and safety Jaylinn Hawkins, both new to New England this season, figured they'd drive out to the Eastern States Exposition (better known as The Big E) to get a better taste of what the region has to offer.
Literally, and figuratively.
"We tried everything we could," Hawkins said of his experience at the multi-state fair that offers entertainment and some rather unique foods.
"Living it up a little bit, getting away, but not eating too much. Just ate to a point where we would still feel ok afterward and we weren't weighed down."
The teammates traveled to West Springfield, Mass. with their fiancées on Saturday and spent hours at the fair trying food and playing games.
Both Gibson and Hawkins raved over the massive mozzarella stick and the "Bacon Bomb" -- a bacon-wrapped cheeseburger with barbecue sauce.
"They had a big fried mozzarella stick," Gibson said.
"That was amazing. We also tried something called the Bacon Bomb. It was a sandwich, it was crazy. We had some good donuts and played a whole bunch of games."
With the Big E announcing record-breaking turnouts this weekend, the Patriots players weren't able to try everything on their list.
Still, they had a great Saturday, and probably didn't regret missing out on a few food vendors by the time practice rolled back around Monday.
"We saw people getting donut burgers and all sorts of crazy deep fried stuff," Hawkins said.
"We didn't get to try the burger chowder. That was one thing thing I wasn't able to get to, but we had a great time."
