Frankie and Eric's Adventure, Vol 4.

Written on a bus from Boston to New York at 10AM, on 6 hours of sleep. Note the coherence.

Vol 4.

It's been quite some time since I had a moment to chronicle all that has occurred on this trip. Nay, trip is not the correct word. It's an odyssey. Maybe a journey. I'm getting reminiscient already and we're still on it. I'm currenty on the bus to New York to visit the great Dagle.

I wish I could adequately remember everything that has happened. Ann Arbor was a hell of a town. We were only there less than 24 hours, but they were 24 great ones. We got to see the Big House, we got to see the Law Quad, we even got to take a nap on the Diag. We got fantastic Cuban food that I am going to steal the recipe for an open a restaurant in Berkeley or San Francisco and make a killing. I have to extend the greatest thanks to our host, the great Anna W. She was out of this world with her generosity, and made Ann Arbor a special place, even if the drivers think that killing pedestrians is a sport.

Also, I have coined a new phrase. You've heard it here first. When your legs are tired, it is common to say that your dogs are barking, correct? So, Frankie and my legs were totally spent in Ann Arbor, and I believe it was Frankie to declared that he was beating his dogs. To this, I replied that he was definitely Michael Vicking it. Boom. Michael Vicking. Now a verb. Too soon? I don't think so. But then again, as Frankie has reminded me numerous times, my censor could probably use an upgrade.

We then drove to Pittsburgh. The ride was fairly uneventful, though I would not reccomend eating at Hardee's. Actually, I would not recommend ever being in Ohio. For any reason. It was pretty much, the worst. It made me feel prettttty, pretty good about myself. For those of you who like Ohio, I'm sorry. But I'm pretty glad we didn't stay there long. We then got to stay with Frankie's Aunt and Uncle in the 'burbs of the 'Burgh.

Frankie's family were all great. When my extended family gets together, we spend most of the conversation making fun of each other. It's all in good fun. But when Frankie's family parties, they're all genuinely nice to each other. It was alien. But it was really fun. It was also freaking hot in Pittsburgh. Outside was not much of an option.

Saturday was our day to truly explore the city. After dropping off the car at the airport, we headed "dahntahn" on the bus. Our first stop was the Western Pennsylvania History Museum. It has five floors, two of which are devoted to sports, and another half floor is devoted to ketchup. There were also dinosaurs dressed patriotically. That was pretty sweet.

The sports section of the museum actually was really cool. There was a lot of memorabilia courtesy of the Pirates and Steelers. There was also a great section devoted to Negro League Baseball. Pittsburgh had the Crawfords and the Grays, two of the best teams in the game. The best part of the exhibit also is the quote of the post. The museum had set up a place for people to write down their comments and memories regarding the Pirates. A school group of third graders had been through recently, and filled many pages with their thoughts. The best one was, "The Pirates aren't very good." Frankie and I laughed for hours.

We walked around Pittsburgh for a few more hours; taking in the sights, eating monster fish sandwiches, drinking Iron City beers, and playing catch at Fort Pitt. Frankie made a fantastic diving catch and skinned up his leg. But it was worth it. But it would prove to plague him for the rest of the trip.

We then made it to PNC Park. And there's no two ways about it, it's an absolute gem. Sitting on the north bank of the Allegheny River, Pittsburgh has built a monument of a park well worthy of the history of the city of Pittsburgh. The outfield opens right up for a view of the bridges and the city. The confines are cozy, even sitting in the outfield I felt like I had a good view of the game. They had interesting architecture and it was a generally pleasant experience. The 21 foot right field wall in homage to "The Great One", Roberto Clemente, was a nice touch to make it a little more difficult for lefties to take advantage of the short porch. The fireworks after the game over the water with the city in the background were exquisite. Even the game was good, a 3-2 Pirates victory on a walk-off hit batter sent everyone home happy.

Yes, Pittsburgh was a fair and just mistress, but after many games of ladder golf, we were on our way to Boston, the real gem of the trip.