Everything is bigger in America

I haven't been very good at keeping up the blog , but there are actually a few things worth telling now...

Mike came for a visit, and we took in some sporting events - one of which was a Penguins game in Pittsburgh. I'm sure the boys could tell you all about the game and the players, but what I remember most was the goldmine I came across at one of the fantastic Ohio Turnpike rest stops:

Anyone who knows me knows that I love my candy -especially Gobstoppers. This GIGANTIC box of gobs held 4 times as many candies as the usual Canadian-sized one. Needless to say, one box was enough for my candy fix!

Pittsburgh was a really cool city - granted, we didn't get to spend too much time there, but the scenery was really nice and the people were...um...interesting.

I think Pittsgurgh has a reputation for being a dirty city (due to the heavy industry), but it is surrounded by hills and trees and rivers.

The houses are all tall and skinny, and built on crazy twisty streets (like being in Nelson or somewhere in the mountains).

As I mentioned, we went to a Penguins game. We took a cab from our hotel (which featured an Indian restaurant in the lobby, much to my nostrils' dismay...) The cab driver was quite a colourful fellow, teaching us some new hand-gestures which I might save up and unleash the next time I get caught in traffic.

This is the Mellon Arena ("the Igloo" to locals) - Andrew Mellon was a founding father of Pittsburgh, along with the Carnegies. There are banks, museums, and colleges named for both families.

The game was fun, and I got to add another plastic cup to my cheap-sporting-event-souvenir-plastic-cup collection. So far I have them from a Tigers game, a Pistons game, a Penguins game, and Wrestlemania (which is kind of a 2-in-1 since it actually says "Detroit Lions" but I didn't get one at the Lions game. Now I can remember both!)

We also went to a Pistons game during Mike's visit (basketball, for any of you who aren't familiar with the Pistons). We spent the afternoon in Detroit before heading out to Auburn Hills for the game. We went to Lafeyette's for Coney Island Hot Dogs (basically a chili dog with mustard and onions - at first I thought I wouldn't be able to eat such a disgusting thing, but it turns out they're pretty good. A Detroit institution too!) After Coneys, we took a tour of Historic Trinity Lutheran Church. A "cathedral ministry" is what they call it - a really old church that is very fancy with stone and wood carvings, stained glass, big pipe organ, and 9 pastors - all because someone gave a HUGE donation to be used to "improve the building." A little gaudy for my taste, but whatever man. This carving is from the side of the pulpit:

After the church, we killed some time at the Sommerset Collection (a mall too fancy to be called a mall!) It has some amazing shopping: Burberry, Saks, Nieman Marcus, Tiffany, Cartier...and a whole bunch of other things I'll never be able to afford but still like to pretend I might.

Then we went to the basketball game. Pretty uneventful for me, since I don't care much for basketball. I did, however, enjoy watching the guys come out and mop the sweat off the floor after a player falls down (so it doesn't get slippery), and the tart-y looking 11 year old cheer leaders. After railing against any parent that would let -or should I say encourage- their daughter wear an outfit so trashy and put on that kind of makeup, I suppose it was karma to find that we were sitting among the parents of the aforementioned pre-teen streetwalkers. I'd post picutres, but I don't want to be accused of showing kiddy porn...

Anyway, after Mike's visit, we found ourselves invited to the mega-spectacle which is Wrestlemania. Of the 11 people we went with, 3 of them were serious wrestling fans. As a child, I remember the days of Stampede wrestling, and I can probably name some of the big names like the Harts, British Bulldogs, and Rowdy Roddy Piper. That's pretty much where my expertise ends (oh, and the deGeneration X crotch chop thanks to Jimmah and Kari).

I couldn't believe how many people made signs out of flourescent dollar-store poster board...

I suppose it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. At least, that's what I keep telling myself!