So this past weekend, I took a trip to Pittsburgh PA to visit Nabil, my friend from college. The plan of the trip was to have a good time and not think about anything that might be close to work. I thought about posting from Pittsburgh, but decided to go do things rather than sit at my computer.
Should be noted that this was my first trip anywhere since college that I didn't take my camera gear with me. I only took along my new, little point and shoot camera. It fit great in my pocket and not once did I get a "Wow, what kind of camera is that?" or "That sure is a big camera..."
Anyway I figured I better get something posted about this trip or I might never get around to posting anything. The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy.
So here we go....
Pittsburgh PA; Home of the first Big Mac. The only town in PA whose name ends in "gh" and the only city with pro sports teams that all share the same colors. (You know you knew that but just never put it together until now uh?)
Here's downtown Pittsburgh. There are two rivers that join to make the Ohio River smack in the middle of this town. I'm not even going to try an name those two rivers... but they make a point that's home to a state park called... you guessed it.. Point Park. And it just so happens that Nabil is getting his masters from Point Park University. So there you go.
And yes, we rode that little thing up to the top of the big hill. The "lifts" were built in 1877 I believe... two years before the Pittsburgh Pirates became a pro team. They were used to transport steel workers back home. They still serve the same purpose, But now they're a little more touristy.
Speaking of the Pirates. Nabs and I took in the Pirates vs Astros series on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
With Nabil being a student, he hooked us up with "College Cove" tickets for 20 bucks on the first night. And for that 20 bucks we got a ticket to the game, a t-shirt, and a $10 coupon to the concession stand. So basically we got stuck in deep right field, got a new "work out" shirt, and my first hot dog and beer were free. I'll take that any day.
Here's the view from those seats. Yea, that window thing was kind of annoying, but made for a cool pic.
Houston won game one.
Quick funny story... Houston has a pitcher named Roy Oswalt. He's pretty good. And the Houston fans at the game would shout "Go Roy Ols! Go Roy Ols" I felt like I was back home at the K watching Mike Sweeney again.
I decided to splurge a little bit for game two. When I went to the ticket booth I told the dude "two seats as close as you can get." We were in prime foul ball location ... but no luck. (Side Note: It's been a life long dream to catch a major league foul ball.... or home run)
Before the game, the Pirates retired a jersey of some dude who played for them in the 20's. They had a nice little ceremony before the game where Hall of Fame member Bill Mazeroski made an appearance. As you know, Bill hit a home run to win the 1960 world series. I think it's safe to say that he's a baseball legend.
So here's Bill walking onto the field... and this will also show you our view.
Oh, this was also 1980's Pirates Logo bobble head night.
Pirates won an exciting game two... 21 total hits I believe. Home runs by Carlos Lee and Freddie Sanchez.
For the Rubber Match, we decided on left field. Figured we should try as many vantage points as possible in the ball park that ESPN/USA Today calls "the best major league ball park." So we got pretty close to the field out in Left and watched the Astros win 1-0. Highlights from game three include. 1: Me watching every pitch of the game because I was keeping score on the score card.... was my first time doing that. It helps that Nabil has been a sports writer for some time now. 2: A closeup visit from the mascot.
So after three days of expensive beer I think we were pretty baseballed out. But it was very much worth it.
In college, I took a history of baseball class my senior year. By far one of my favorite classes. But our final project was to write a 10-page paper on who I thought was the greatest baseball player of all time. Very cool assignment. Most people in the class picked Ruth or Mays or Mantle... but I picked Roberto Clemente. He was a solid ball player... but a better man off the field.
On the final game of the 1972 season, he hit his 3,000th hit. And during the off season, he was killed while on a plane to deliver supplies to an area hit with an earthquake.
He was a Pittsburgh Pirate and there was a statue of him outside PNC Park. So it was pretty cool to be in the city where he used to play. (The Ball Park he played in has been torn down). We even had to walk across the "Roberto Clemente Bridge" to get to the stadium.
So here's me in my #21 jersey by the statue.
On Monday, Nabil and I took a little drive to the Zoo. Yep, two 26-year-olds chilln' at the Zoo. (he got free passes so why not?)
Their newest (and best) exhibit is a tunnel where their Polar Bear swims over your head as you walk through. We saw the bear, but it wasn't in the tunnel area. So we pretty much just walked through this giant blue tube. But, not all was lost because they have another tunnel where the sea otters swim all around you.
And that pretty much wraps up the major highlights of the trip. Or at least the high lights that I felt like working up photos for.
Other points of interest during the trip include.
-Stupid Airlines. My Ticket says US Airways. So I go to their counter and they can't find my information. Turns out, they're partners with United and that's who I'm flying on. But it doesn't say that anywhere. So on the Return flight I go to United and they don't have my information b/c I'm supposed to be on US Airways. Frustrating.
-Lunch at the place Jerome Bettis owns.... right next to Heinz field.
-A tour of PNC Park. We got to sit in the home dugout. (which is on the third base line btw)
-Fireworks show against the Skyline after game one.
-Waiting in line with Nabil at Barnes and Noble to buy the Harry Potter book... only to walk to Wal-Mart and get it there. I did pull a funny joke there though... there was a group of teenage kids behind us in line, so when Nabil got the book, I opened it up to the last page and said "alright, I'm going to read the last page out loud... ready?" And they all started to scream for me to stop. I thought that was funny.
- Trying to catch home run balls during batting practice of game two.
-An interesting conversation with Nabil's neighbor on Saturday night.
-Ordering food from the kids concession stand at PNC park. Smaller portion sizes, but... a pretzel, nachos and a Mt. Dew for 4 bucks... that's less than a beer.
-Lunch at this local downtown Pittsburgh place that serves it's hamburgers with the french fries between the bread. Yep, it's heart stopping (clogging). It goes like this Bread, meat, cheese, fries, cole slaw, bread. There's also a tomato in there, but not for me.
I'm sure I'm missing something... so Nabil, feel free to add anything I might have left out.
It was a great trip and it got topped off with a surprise birthday cake from Misty on my day off. I came home from getting my oil changed to find Misty in my kitchen with a cake.
Up next, the Grand Isle International Tarpon Fishing Rodeo. Yep, be jealous that I'll be there. It's the summer version of Mardi Gras with out the parades.
