Wednesday, July 1, 2009

The Boys that Saved Pittsburgh*


*adapted from cheesy 1970's basketball classic, The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh. A thousand points to anyone who has actually seen it.

We had a relaxing drive to PA but bad Arby's...we'll be crossing that one off our safe fast food list. It was great to see our good friends, the Norths, and our most favorite under-hyped (in that it is such a cool place but nobody really knows it) city in America.

The North girls were so sweet to Noe and Asher. Asher followed all three of them around in a lovesick puppy haze. Noe also did his share of following and admiring. We ate the biggest pancakes in the world and played a lot in the vast open spaces of the North's backyard. Friday evening we ate at a Peruvian restaurant in the Strip District and went to a Pirates game. After some thunderstorms, the night turned out perfect....and the game was short and sweet. PNC Park has such an amazing view of the rivers flowing through Pittsburgh's downtown. The boys enjoyed spotting boats out on the water when the game could not hold their interest.

Saturday we went back to the city for a day at the Children's Museum ... another favorite. I was pleased to see Noe's improved play skills from a year ago (the last time we visited the museum). Last year, I spent most of my day chasing him through the museum. This year he had long periods of appropriate sustained play and seemed to really enjoy himself.

I truly believe Pittsburgh is the most underrated city in America. It is a perfect size and has so much character and history. The sports scene is great. There is a strong academic and arts base, but plenty of diversity. Every time we go I like it more and more. Don't even get me started on how affordable it is compared to other cities that we've lived in.....

Here's to a good weekend away.... minus our 30 mile detour to retrieve Asher's beloved Bear and the deer that we saw in our headlights that too freakishly resembled George W. on our trip home.

4 comments:

Belle said...

Oh. I miss Pittsburgh sooo much. We wished we could have stayed. It's my favorite place out of everywhere that we have lived. I totally agree with everything you said--it's got everything that you'd find in a much bigger city, but there's not a lot of traffic and housing is so cheap. We love the children's museum there. I could live there forever. Which part of the city do your friends live in?

Jen said...

Belle,

I always think of you guys when we are there and wonder where you lived...I am guessing somewhere close to the college?

Our friends teach at Washington & Jefferson, a small liberal arts college in Washington, PA....so they actually live down there. It is about 25 min from downtown without traffic. He is the bishop of their ward, which spans almost all of the way to the West Virginia border. They always have lots of interesting stories to tell about their ward.

Matt said...

'Twas good to have you here and you're always welcome. Of course we'll see you guys first when we're in DC a short while from now.

Anonymous said...

.....we dont have much traffic in Oregon City...... :}

love, Aunti Jan