Anniversary Present

Since this was the first year since Pete and I have been together that we didn't get to spend our anniversary together, we planned an anniversary weekend for once I got back to Milwaukee. We also were afraid of not being able to see a new major league baseball park this summer. All of that was solved when we discovered that the Cardinals were in Pittsburgh labor day weekend!. Pete took a personal day on Friday and we took a 4-day weekend. Our plan was to drive to Pittsburgh on Friday, check into the hotel and finda bar where we could watch the game. We had tickets for Saturday's game and then we would drive back on Sunday so we could listen to the game and catch the Cardinals at Brewers on Monday (Labor Day). It was a good plan.

We did drive on Friday. We got out a little later than we thought we would, but it was a long game and we were still able to watch a few innings of the game. After we got checked into the hotel and got the dogs settled, we headed out to find a bar where we could get some dinner and watch the end of the game. We came around a curve and right in front of us was a Primanti Brothers restaurant. One of the guys at work had recommended that we eat there while we were in Pittsburgh and there it was with TVs big enough that we could see from the street that the game was on! It WAS a great sandwich and the Cardinals won!


Saturday we relaxed in the room and then headed in to town to explore downtown Pittsburgh. It is a beautiful area. We went to an old market type area and prowled around the shops and took a ride on an Incline. Sort of a tram that you take from the riverside area to the upper bluff area. We rode up, took a ton of pictures, got some ice cream and then took the incline back down. By this time, we needed to head to the game! The converging highways/bridges at the three rivers area are a little confusing and we somehow headed to the wrong parking lot and were on our way to a football game. But it didn't take too long to get back on the right track and back over to the correct side of the river and baseball parking. There are three bridges that cross from North to South and on game days, they turn one of them into a pedestrian bridge. It was a great walk over to the park. ON the street in front of the park, there was a street fair/ Irish fest going on which we wandered around just a little before we headed into the park.

The game was great and our seats were great and there were a lot of Cardinals fans in the park. We had Philly Cheese steaks that were enormous for dinner and generally had a great time. After the game there were fireworks and they were fantastic! Pete had been talking to a Cardinals fan sitting next to him throughout the game and after the game he asked if we would be at the game on Sunday, we said no we had to drive back. He had a sick kid at home so he had extra tickets, we must have hesitated because he said, here, let me make it easy for you and just gave us the tickets. We really thought there was no way to do it, especially with the puppies. But then we looked at the seats - they were 10th row, right behind the 1st base dug-out and fantastic. So now we were thinking about it.

Pete talked to his Dad while we were on our way back to the hotel and public opinion seemed to be that we find a way to see the game! We chatted with the hotel front desk in the morning and they agreed to give us another night for the single person rate and we found a way to go to the game with the pups nicely settled!

It was not a great game, we were ahead for much of it, but then Ryan Franklin melted down and gave it up. Blech. I'm still glad that we stayed and went to the game! The drive back wasn't even that bad. We had a plan to switch drivers every two hours, another plan we didn't stick to! But once you get into a driving groove, it's hard to give it up.

It was a fantastic trip!