Pens Stanley Cup Playoffs 2012: v. Flyers, Game 2

Well. That was certainly not how anyone (in Pittsburgh) wanted things to go. But, I guess that's hockey. Now we're down 0-2 in the series and there's undoubtedly a lot of nervous anxiety going on inside all Pens fans. My friend Rob reminded me that we went down 0-2 in a couple series the year we won the Cup; so this is not over yet.

Even though the game got more miserably depressing as the periods went on, I still had a blast. I was able to spring myself from work an hour early by skipping lunch. This gave me time to head to Shale's across from the Consol to meet up with one of my hockey-family buds named Matt. We had delicious Molsons on the back deck; it was a gorgeous evening for outdoor drinking. Eventually Matt's friends and my dad got to the bar for a couple before heading over the arena. Matt and I met a couple farmers who had come from Butler County for the night. The boys kept sending me inside for beers because I am a girl, and in a bar before a Penguins game full of bro-dudes, that is how you get beer quickest.

1. Back deck @ Shale's; 2. This dino is named "Dark Horse" after James Neal and it is pretty awesome; 3. In PGH, we put our churches to work...

One of my favorite things about games at the Consol is the sense of family we've created for ourselves. My dad knows most all of the ushers there by now, but last night a new guy named "Norm" was watching over our section. Norm looked to be in his late 60s, early 70s. He looked like a grandpa. My dad has a very particular way of singing the National Anthem when Jeff Jimerson is the game's opening act. He's loud and kind of obnoxious in a way, but he is sincere and earnest in his efforts, so it ends up being really endearing. Norm, through the boisterous applause after the Anthem was over turned to my dad, shook his hand, and said that was one of the best renditions of the Anthem that he's ever heard. My heart melted.

I hope Norm liked us as much as we liked him. He must have, because at one point me, my dad, Matt, two of my dad's CMU fraternity brothers, and Ron were all crowded behind the two seats in my dad's possession. We were having a blast.

1. Taken from inside the Consol - we live in a beautiful city; 2. Crazy crowd explosion during the Pens' entry onto the ice; 3. THE RARE PAUL MARTIN GOAL!

The last exciting moment of the night was a goal by TYLER KENNEDY.........KENNEDY! By this point, most everyone who frequents the area around the top of Section 227 knows about my obsession with the little pig man. So, when he scored a go-ahead goal, everyone in the vicinity went NUTS. Tommy, the beer vendor who seriously loves my dad and me, came RUNNING over to us with cans of Labatt and shouting my name and Kennedy's name over and over. He gave us those beers to celebrate; what a good guy.

1. When things were still going good; 2. For whatever reason, I always look like a maniac in the photos I take with Iceburgh; 3. Toward the end of the game when sadness was growing and my hiccups were ceaseless...

So. We lost. Yikes. Well, at least it was a super fun night spent with people I don't get to see all the time. Next game is tomorrow, and I think I'm having people over (woo! go NHL on NBC!). For now, it's time to fill the gaping hole in my stomach with pizza from Big Jim's.

Oh! And if you like those photos, you can follow me on Instagram, which I'm currently obsessed it. Communicating through photos?! Yes. Please.

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Pittsburgh Legs: StepTrek 2011 - Gold Route

Halfway through StepTrek 2011 I knew I was going to have to split the event into two separate posts. The combination of several factors (a beautiful fall day, a neighborhood I'd never been to before, and the little Pittsburgh surprises that kept popping up) led to this becoming a series of posts. So, if you weren't around last week, make sure to check out the first post about StepTrek with pictures and stories from the Black Route. Today, we finish up with the second half of my adventure: the Gold Route.

The first thing I passed on the Gold Route was the field for the South Side Sabers. As I walked by, little kids were dressed in Steelers-esque jerseys tossing footballs back and forth. It was beyond adorable. Their signage was awesome.



From football to faith, the Gold Route next took me to St. Paul of the Cross Monastery, a beautiful church sitting on the edge of the slopes with a great view of downtown. On the side of the monastery was this beautiful and bright mosaic.

Graves in the monastery cemetery, on a slope like everything else in the neighborhood.

View of downtown from the monastery parking lot.

One of the monks was passing out water in a StepTrek tent and as I passed by he said hello. I said hello back and remarked that it was a beautiful day. He smiled and said to me, "Another day in paradise." I walked away smiling and thinking, "This is paradise."

St. Paul of the Cross Monastery as seen from the bottom of the hill.

The Gold Route brought me to several pedestrian bridges over the train tracks that run through the South Side. While crossing the first of these bridges, a train was barreling down the tracks under me.

At the end of another of the bridges I found this graffiti/street art. The South Side Slopes appeared to be a little lacking in the graffiti/street art department, which could be a consequence of location. It seemed to be the antithesis of a neighborhood like Polish Hill where you can't walk two feet without seeing something non-commissioned added to the landscape. But this find was charming enough to make up for the lack of it on both routes.


And, to balance out the sweet with something sinister, directly across from the thoughtful poem was this "Meanie Babies" sticker, which shows a lion eating his own leg. Of course it does.


In total, I walked close to 2,500 steps as part of the Trek. Stairs have never been my favorite form of exercise, but I am a thousand percent glad I took part in StepTrek 2011. It was a great way to see some new sights and get a feel for a Pittsburgh neighborhood that's new to me. I found my dream house. I saw the city from a new vantage point. And I did some intense work on my Pittsburgh legs, which were beyond sore in the days that followed. Well worth it, because (to me and my monk friend at least) every day in Pittsburgh is another day in paradise.

Friday Night Light (on Penn): Evolution of a Main Drag, Vol. 1

A couple Fridays ago I got home from work with time to spare before my plans for the evening started. I was feeling restless. The weather was stunning. I decided to take a quick bike ride down Penn Ave to the East Liberty main business stretch and wander about.

I parked my bike at the new Target. Unlike the Market District, Target has mastered bike racks. There are so many of them. They are not parallel to the building or a foot from the building. Good work, Target.

This mural is directly across from the Target parking garage. There are many things I love about this mural: the various building in the skyline, the people on the street, and the two random German shepherds who are just hanging out unleashed.

Actually, they look more like wolves, now that I've taken another look at this photo. From my experience, wolves are not roaming the streets of Eat Liberty. But I kinda wish they were.

What a great mural. Good work, East Liberty.

I thought this was an interesting choice for the facade of this building.

And this building I thought was just plain awesome. Oh, to have the disposable income to buy all of the beautiful abandoned buildings in and around East Liberty and Garfield and rehabilitate them to their former glory.

Facade of the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater. I've never been inside the theater, but I hope that changes soon. Below is a mosaic (I think?) that is right before the main doors into the theater.

I love the long staircase leading up to the house. How very Pittsburgh.

The East Liberty Presbyterian Church intrigues me. I wanted to go in, but time did not allow it on this trip.

Names on the ground outside of the theater.

Two huge murals on the sides of the Novum research building. When you come into East Liberty on Penn from the Bloomfield/Friendship area, this is one of the first things you notice.

Love that these boys are on bikes.

Constantly changing sign atop the Waffle Shop, one of a few Carnegie Mellon University projects scattered around this area of the neighborhood.

I believe this is the building that will be coming down in order to build a small-ish movie theater. (I say small-ish because I've read it's only going to have 5-7 screens, which I'm totally in favor of. Not having to go to the South Side or -ugh- the Waterfront to see a movie will be wonderful...one day.)

Not really sure what this is, but I couldn't help but stop and look at it for a few minutes to try and figure it out. Eventually I decided I just enjoyed that he was trying to play lacrosse with these butterflies.

A fake movie poster in the window of the MT Theater, yet another CMU art project.

Most of the businesses have murals on the gates that protect their businesses after hours. Which means that after business is done for the day, this stretch of Penn gets even more colorful.

I got back on my bike and started back toward Bloomfield, but I had to stop and take a picture of this amazing sunset. It was a beautiful night to get out of the apartment and see some things I'd forever taken note of while passing by. Along the way I got to discover a little more of this stretch of Penn Ave. I rode back up the hill and had to make myself focus on the traffic around me. The sky was just too hard to ignore, and I kept looking up taking it all in.