Pitt Stop

A couple weekends ago we went back to Pittsburgh.  We wanted to get to a Pirates game, since Craig and Carter didn't get to go to the one Jacob and I went to a couple months earlier.  And in the midst of all of the back-and-forth with the change of plans with Jacob's schooling, Craig felt like it would be a good mental break and reset before making a final decision.  We ended up taking Craig's dad with us, too, but his mom had to stay home to be with their dog, who was a bit under the weather.  It worked out, though, since we only have five seats in Craig's new vehicle--though it meant I'd be squished between the boys in the back.  It was doable, though.

The weather was looking pretty sketchy, but it seemed to be trending in a better direction so we went ahead and got Saturday tickets, figuring that if it got really bad, we'd always have Sunday as a backup.  

It was raining pretty good already when we got there, but we had faith that the grounds crew would do a good job keeping the field playable.  We made it in time to stop at Condado Taco, Jacob's new favorite go-to between Pittsburgh and now Kentucky.  Craig snapped this picture across the table while we waited for our food.

 
It was delicious as usual and gave all of us--but especially Jacob--a good base ahead of the game.  The rain was letting up a bit by the time we went back across the river to the North Shore to park.  We got into the park and got our World Cup-honoring giveaway, a Pirates soccer jersey.  Our first stop was the store, as Carter and I both needed hats.  I had put it off long enough, and it was time to get one.  I tried to get one cheap (because I don't care) from one of the vendors outside, but Jacob vetoed that.  In the store, I finally narrowed it down to two--one classic but cute one, and another that uses a new City Connect logo that had some sparkle to it.  While I loved the City Connect one, the classic one better matched anything I'd normally wear to the games (the yellow is more of a goldenrod than the usual yellow), so I went with that.  We headed out into the stadium, and while we got our bearings, I snapped a couple pics.  First a beauty shot... 

...and then the boys + 1!

We were sitting in the same bleachers where Jacob and I sat in the spring.  Quite the crew!

I was hell-bent on seeing the Pierogy Race this time because we missed it while we were at the concession stand last time.  We had a good view of them getting ready to start.

It felt a lot like the spring game, except it was a bit warmer this time.  Just like that one, it clouded over and stayed a bit cooler than expected.  And then I started noticing that Mt. Washington in the distance was looking a little hazy, which usually means that rain is coming.  Sure enough, the skies opened.  It was raining pretty good, but oddly they were able to keep playing through it.  I guess the drops were small enough to not be intolerable, but there were a lot of them!

We spent much of the game watching from the patio, just under the seating above us.  Jacob and I had run off to the concession stands sooner than the rest of our crew, so we didn't get too wet.  I wore my water-friendly sandals and came prepared with my poncho.

This season in MLB there's been a trend to have an entire section of shirtless fans, referred to as "Tarps Off".  Despite the rain, the tarps were off at this game, and it looked pretty funny!

The other three of our group got a bit more damp remaining in the seats for longer, but considering it rained most of the rest of the game, it wasn't as bad as it could have been.  Unfortunately, the Pirates had a breakdown near the end of the game, giving up a three-run homer (and the lead) with two outs in the top of the 9th, and lost.  That was a bummer, especially considering the rain made the game a little less enjoyable despite the high-scoring affair.

We figured out that Craig's dad was going to have a hard time making it back to the car as we had walked a lot already and he'd had a couple beverages on top of that, so Jacob and I walked to get the car and had to make our way out of the garage and work around stadium traffic and crowds to pick the rest of the group up.  I took this picture from the parking ramp.  UPMC was in the clouds!

We made our way to the hotel about 20 minutes outside the city.  Craig's dad headed right to his room, and we ventured back out to get a late dinner.  We found a nearby Five Guys and inhaled our food to get out of there before they closed for the night.

We were staying at a Holiday Inn Express (the same one we stayed at a couple years ago, in fact), and I was all excited for my cinnamon rolls, but sadly by the time we got down to breakfast on Sunday, there weren't any rolls out.  But as has been happening lately, Jacob pretty much refuses to eat anywhere he can't see reviews on, so he wasn't eating there anyway.  We found a place close by with good gluten-free reviews, and headed there for breakfast.  It was clearly a very popular brunch restaurant called First Watch, and we had about a half hour wait just to get a table.  The food ended up being fantastic--I had a breakfast sandwich with hot honey and amazing bacon, Jacob had a frittata, and Carter had this massive sausage hash skillet, which he pretty much devoured.  We all had great meals, and since we were all wearing Pirates gear, we struck up a couple interactions with other patrons hoping the Pirates could win that day.  We had been debating going to the Sunday game, especially after the bad weather, and at the last minute (with assurances beer consumption would be at a minimum because of our long drive and my inability to drive since no one else could fit in the back seat), we decided to go.

While it had rained overnight and was a damp morning, the weather on the way in was much better!

We parked in the same ramp Jacob and I had parked in, although we ended up in a different section, and walked across the Clemente Bridge.  We figured it might be a slightly shorter walk than what we had attempted the prior day, even if just because we were sitting closer to that side of the stadium.

It was quite a bit warmer for this game.  It didn't really start out that way--it was humid but in the 70s, but whenever the sun came out for any extended period of time, it got hotter and hotter.  The temperature pretty much spiked to the upper 80s by early in the game, and it was a rough one to sit through.  I found myself wishing for the clouds we'd had the prior two games, but every time it seemed like one was coming, it would shift or dissolve before it covered the sun.

We were a few sections over from the previous day, and these were our views.
 

At least we could see some of the skyline this time!

It also happened to be our 23rd anniversary that day, so we had to take a selfie!

Not exactly the same type of day as 23 years earlier, but a good one nonetheless.

This game had us out of our seats much like the previous day, but for the opposite reason.  The sun was just too hot to sit in.  My shorts were soaked when I finally got up to walk.  I snapped a picture of this cool artwork in the concourse on my way back from the bathroom.  It represented a pitcher who in 1959 had a perfect game through 12 innings and still managed to lose.  Behind him are game stats.  It just struck me as a cool painting.

Eventually the clouds starting moving in again, which helped the heat but also meant rain was coming.  While we could be back in our seats, I took this shot of the one gorgeous church on Mt. Washington.  It's not well-centered because my camera screen was malfunctioning when I turned it on its side, so I could never see the view before I snapped.  But this was good enough to capture how pretty it is.

Ironically, later that week a bunch of photos and stories popped up online about a church fire on Mt. Washington that was visible from the stadium.  Immmediately I was worried and my thoughts went to this photo, but thankfully, the fire was actually in an abandoned church a few buildings down the street from this one.  That one couldn't be seen from where we were sitting that game, but I did find a picture of it from a past game.  Not quite as gorgeous as this beautiful Catholic church, but still sad that it was destroyed.

This was another crazy game.  At one point the Pirates had the bases loaded and I caught this whole crew chatting at 3rd base.

One of the subplots of the weekend was that Jacob was obsessed with the game-used batting helmets in the authentic store.  He would not stop talking about it all weekend, and had actually started talking about it when he and I went to the game in the spring.  I kept saying no, but eventually the boys hatched a plan to split it, and at that point, I mean...it was their money, right?  

Jacob modeling their purchase

As the game went on, the sky got cloudier and then darker.

When it finally hit, the rain came fast and furious this time.  None of the small drop stuff from the day before--this was big drops and a lot of them.  That led to an hour-long rain delay, which of course was the last thing we needed on a day when we were driving home.  We hung out in the concourse and then later in the high seats undercover since enough people left (although we questioned why they'd want to walk in the rain to their cars rather than stay dry at the stadium).  I eventually walked up and down the nearby helix just to kill time, and I grabbed a couple pretty pictures.  

When we were finally back sitting in anticipation of the end of the rain delay, Carter decided to eat his giveaway that day--all the kids got an Eat'n Park smile cookie.

When the grounds crew came out, the remaining crowd roared, but boy did they have a job on their hands.  In this picture, the guys on the left are brushing the water that came off the tarp through the outfield (presumably toward a drain) and the guys on the right are using leaf blowers to evaporate more water.  You can see the wave of water the brushers were kicking up.  It was crazy.

How they ever got the field playable, I'll never know--although I did see one played run through there and splash up quite a bit.  Yuck!

Fortunately, the Pirates had a huge inning after the game restarted, and eventually won 9-4.  That was a really nice outcome after the tough loss the prior day (and a tough series in general).

The Pirate Parrot raises the Jolly Roger!

Just as the game ended, the rain made a comeback, so we spent some time in the store trying to wait it out again.  It was much better when we came out.  This was a cool looking vehicle outside the store.

The rain had been a pain once again, but I did get this sort of pretty picture out of the deal.

We took a very slow walk over the bridge and finally made it back to the car, only to sit in traffic forever.  I don't think the ramp was quite that slow the last time, but oh well.  On our way out of town we stopped at Mandy's Pizza, the same hole-in-the-wall pizza joint Jacob and I ate at back in April.  The food was once again delicious.  We hopped back in the car and started the long drive home.  We did get some interesting views as the sun set among all the clouds and rain.  This one is hard to see, but the sun was shining through a literal hole in the cloud.

We had a bathroom break or two, dropped Craig's dad off, and finally had a chance to switch drivers for the last leg home.  We once again got home well after midnight.  It was worth it, but boy, were we ever tired!  I probably forgot a couple details from the weekend because it's been so long, but those were the highlights.

So, it was mostly a successful weekend despite all the rain, but the one exception was that Jacob had gotten a message from his school coach outlining their training plan for the summer.  He was pretty upset because it involved six days a week of lifting and a bunch of other stuff that he knew his body would never hold up for.  He was really discouraged, and of course he couldn't stop talking about it and worrying about it.  That led into a whole big shift, which I think I'll save for my next post.  Never, ever, ever a dull moment here...

Post 4th Photo Rewind

Yesterday was the USA's 250th birthday.  It should have been festive and fun like the bicentennial, but instead it felt a bit like a big dud.  The country feels so divided, with at least half (if not more) feeling abandoned and betrayed by an administration that's doing whatever it feels like doing, and definitely not doing so much of what the entire platform was about before.  It's exhausting for those of us who saw some version of this coming, although I'm not sure anyone really expected things to get this weird.  But here we are.  For an event that was originally being planned out for years and then got taken over by the current administration with a sparsely attended "state fair" on the National Mall, it just feels as botched as everything else.  So many of us want to be patriotic, dammit, but it's hard to feel pride in your country when so many people are struggling.  There was a picture that rose to prominence today, of a black woman sitting on public transportation in DC while a group of masked white nationalists headed to where they were marching.  If that doesn't capture how messed up things feel right now, I'm not sure anything does.  Our day was pretty low-key--it rained really hard in the afternoon and slowly improved over the course of the day, but it was so incredibly humid, which just made all the firework smoke hang there forever.

We had a very hot week, much of it with the heat index around 100 (and as high as like, 107).  It made the pool completely lovely, although Jacob got absolutely eaten up by mosquitos when we tried a night swim the other night.  Friday was great until this weird front came through with dark clouds and crazy wind for about five minutes.  Somehow the rain behind it completely missed us, but it was enough to chase me out of the pool...boo.  I've mostly been in to clean it, but at least it's nice.

Anyway, it's been a couple busy and exhausting weeks, in part because of my year-end at work, in part because Jacob has had another change of heart regarding school, and adjusting to summer break is always a little challenging.  Before I get into any of that, I figured I should go back and catch up on some pictures I never got to post.  

This was from Carter's game a few weeks ago.  The day had been nice and warm, but very windy, and by the end of the game it was so cold!  But then, at the end of the night, we got this:   

That weekend was Jacob's birthday.  It was pretty low-key as he didn't ever get us a list (and we sort of joked that prep school might be enough of a gift--though we did order him some things later), and he also had things going on each morning that prevented me from making birthday cinnamon rolls or anything like that.  But on his birthday we did go to Buffalo for a pre-Father's Day visit with Craig's parents.  We got him a gluten-free ice cream cake so we could sing to him.

The next day--on Father's Day--my parents came in to watch Carter play baseball, and then they stayed for lunch and cake.  Carter's team didn't do very well, but he did get a great hit.  And while the cake wasn't fancy and decorated like usual (as this whole thing was planned pretty last minute), it was delicious!

One day early that week, I had a work thing where we got out a bit early.  I had some time to kill before going to grab Jacob for something, and it was an absolutely gorgeous day, so it occurred to me that it could still be peak rose season at the Maplewood Rose Garden.  I knew it might be a little late for true peak, and we'd just had torrential rains a day or so before, but I figured it was worth a shot.  And while they were definitely past peak, there was still a lot of beauty. 

Caught this bee right off the bat

This color was so lovely!

I loved how this one was pink on the front and edges, and white on the back of the petals.

Another bee butt!

A ladybug!

In most cases I had to hunt for these, so you can imagine how amazing it is during peak!  I'm always a little hesitant to go there because it's in the city, but it was midday on a weekday.  I did actually get catcalled a bit by a worker, so that wasn't great, but I felt safe enough and was glad I went.

That Wednesday was Carter's last day of school.  He was supposed to go to Seabreeze that Monday, but the torrential rain canceled that.  He had one normal day and then his final half day.  The difference between his starting picture and ending picture are pretty crazy.  But about 4 inches and 40 pounds will do that.  He even wore the same outfit (not on purpose) and you can see how much differently the shirt fits him.

Remember that last color gazania I said I needed to take a picture of?  This is it!
  

I came to the official realization tonight that Carter and I won't be able to pull off going to Jacob's tournament near Atlanta.  That means Craig is going to have to drive the whole thing himself, which I hate.  Because Jacob hasn't been sure he was going--partly because of his foot with the glass and partly because all of his other anxiety-related excuses--they didn't buy the cheap flights a few weeks ago, and now they're expensive.  Jacob also turned 18 without a photo ID (don't even get me started), so it's not a sure thing that he could have flown anyway.  We also weren't sure when we were going to have to leave, and we inadvertently ended up with a lot of stuff scheduled during that time--Carter's next infusion (which really can't be pushed), his dentist appointment (which is super hard to reschedule due to staffing issues), a few baseball games, and the start of his colonoscopy prep on the day we'd be coming back.  We might have been able to push it back a couple hours and make it work, but knowing how we travel, things always go longer and any delays would have been impossible.  It's a bummer to not be able to go, for a few reasons, but we'll just have to make the best of it here.

As for Jacob's school situation, he is not going to prep school after all.  He got the training plan last weekend and came to the realization there's no way his body will survive that.  We talked to the coach and there wasn't really any wiggle room, so it's simply not going to work.  It's a bummer, but maybe mostly because we now need to figure out something else, and there are zero good options.  He absolutely does not want to go back to BK, and is refusing to play basketball there.  Buffalo came back up, but that would take so much to make that work.  We're also back to the Pittsford idea, but there's (at least) one huge thing causing an issue with that, so I don't know if that can work either.  We're at a loss and it absolutely sucks.  So that will be something that needs to be figured out ASAP once they're back.  

Anyway, we did have a little diversion last weekend.  Craig felt it might be an important reset for Jacob, and it was a good weekend, but unfortunately, the only clarity we got on his school issue was negative.  Sigh.  More on that soon...

Longing

A couple weeks ago, I started getting memories popping up in Facebook from Craig's and my trip to the Dominican Republic two years ago.  That trip feels like a fever dream sometimes.  It was indeed a dream come true, so far removed from anything we'd ever done.  But it happened at a time when things were falling apart at home, to the point I wasn't sure we could go, right up through that week.  Jacob had a number of ailments, Carter's face was randomly swollen, and my anxiety was through the freaking roof.  My parents held down the fort, thankfully, but once we were back, school promptly ended and we immediately hopped in the van to Pittsburgh, then came back to what was eventually a double case of COVID.  So suffice it to say that the last half of June that year was a wonderful but exhausting and stressful blur.

The Dominican was the experience of a lifetime.  I'm not sure we could ever afford an all-inclusive ourselves, so getting the chance to do this was special.  The resort was beautiful, and it was so exciting to finally go to a different country.  Having time just for ourselves was so rare, and in fact this was our first more-than-a-weekend-trip away with just the two of us since we'd had kids.  As much as I hated leaving such a burden on my parents, especially at that moment in time, it was so nice to not be responsible for two other humans, a house, and my job for a handful of days.  They were troopers, as they had both boys' baseball schedules and a few school things to manage, not to mention them being a handful even when not doing things.  

I looked back through my pictures and the blog the other day, and marveled yet again at how great it was.  I figured I'd post a few pictures that I didn't post the first time around.

I couldn't get enough of our balcony view, and I adored this palm tree that was so tall and so crooked.

The pools ran the length of the buildings, from swim-up bar to swim-up bar, and all this loveliness in between.

This was the ceiling of the main lobby at night.  I loved the colors of the stained glass.

This was how our bed looked when it was made, complete with a pretty flower.  It just oozes relaxation and luxury, doesn't it?  It felt so decadent.

This was the outside view of the lobby.  The way everything was lit up at night, especially with the metal lanterns, was so peaceful and magical.

 I didn't love this pic, but I can definitely see the joy and relaxation on my face.

I don't know that I saw this picture until a while after--it was a selfie that Craig took that he posted for some occasion months later.  I can really see the bliss on my face here.  It was so fun getting time to spend together without interrupting kids or any responsibilities.

Sadly, news came out last weekend that there had been a major fire at a different resort in the Dominican.  It was on the opposite side of the island from ours--we were in the northeast, this one was in the southeast.  Much of the resort had been completely destroyed because a number of buildings had thatched roofs that readily caught fire one after another.  One woman my age passed away, and 1700 people had to be evacuated, many of whom lost their possessions and passports.  I can't even imagine how horrible that had to be, and I feel terrible for the employees who are now out of jobs, since I assume the resort won't be operational for years.  What a nightmare.  But it made me think about our resort (thankfully with fewer thatched roofs) and how scary it would be to have that happen while we were there, or how sad I would be if I saw destruction like that happen to ours after the fact.  I was worried enough when hurricanes went through there.  Also, that it happened right around the same time period we were there was a little unnerving.  As you may recall, I was SO nervous about something happening to us while we were gone, and it was hard enough when a woman--also a mom--passed away from a heart attack while we were there.  But hearing about the death of another mom in this situation broke my heart and does nothing to alleviate my nerves about doing it again someday.

But oh, was it ever a dream while we were there, and we're definitely overdue on a getaway with just the two of us.  Our 23rd anniversary was this past weekend, so I suppose the urge to nurture the relationship again like we did that week two years ago is feeling stronger than usual.

Also a couple weeks ago, I was flipping through photos on my phone and came across our Disney pictures from last summer.  They instantly transported me back to that homey feeling we get when we go there, and I felt a little sadness that it's not on the agenda for this summer.  There's just something about those trips--stressful though they can be--that brings our whole family a level of joy we just don't get at home.  Some of that falls under the "you're only as happy as your saddest child", and that's usually Jacob, who loves Disney maybe more than anyone.  So if he's happy, the rest of us are happier.  Now, last year's trip was still a bit frustrating because of his shin and how he was limiting his steps so dramatically to give it a true rest (which is not easy when you have to walk somewhere to get food or do much of anything), but looking at the pictures still brought back that mixture of wonder, joy, anticipation, and appreciation that comes from being back at Old Key West in particular.  As much as I love the parks, we didn't do those last time and I still loved it.  Some of my favorite moments are drinking coffee on the patio and walking through the resort among palm trees, hibiscus blooms, and tiny lizards.  We did a lot of that last year, and it was lovely.  It's not really feasible to go every year, but that pull seems to be getting stronger, especially as the kids get older and we won't know how our access to the DVC points might evolve in the future.  

Here are a few unposted pics from last year's trip:

Arriving at the resort, already sweaty.  Next time I will officially be the shortest in the picture, probably by at least a few inches.

This was part of our patio view.  We usually look out over the golf course or a pond, and while the pond was visible to my left, this was the first time having such lush, thick vegetation nearby.  I was curious what was out there, but the threat of snakes and gators and exotic bugs makes the thought of ever exploring a definite "no".

This is the dock for the boat that goes to Disney Springs.  It's such a cool part of this resort.

A pretty little corner of Disney Springs

A giant bird on the Sassagoula River from the boat between Old Key West and Disney Springs

I posted another picture of this fountain at Disney Springs with a better angle to see the Mickey statue, but this one with the colorful flowers more visible was so pretty.

This was from Carter's and my walk around Pop Century.  Goofy was fun, and the yo-yo made it even better.

The Pac-Man theme in the 80s section of Pop Century made my inner 80s child so happy!

This ended up being my profile picture for a while after the trip.  Once again, a more relaxed version of my usual self!  I took this while Carter and I were doing our Coca-Cola tasting sampler.

I'm hoping we can do a bit of adventuring this summer, somewhere.  But with a possible Atlanta trip for basketball that may or may not happen (because of Jacob's foot, which apparently still has glass in it) and may or may not include Carter and me, and a pending prep school bill, and Carter's baseball schedule and Jacob's training schedule, doing anything of note might be challenging.  We did have a little adventure this weekend, which was fun, but I'm definitely itching for something new, at least in the absence of our comfort vacation (aka Disney).  But I guess for now I have to live vicariously through my photos and try to find something that I can get everyone to agree on.  

And more on this weekend soon...