PA Road Trip: Pittsburgh September 15, 2008

Our baseball game was at 12:35 PM, so I spent the morning relaxing at the hotel, while Greg explored the strip district (great espresso and pastries. What more could one want?).  We walked to PNC Park via Point State Park  at the southern end of the downtown area. This was our second time at PNC Park. 

It is one of the nicest major league stadiums I’ve been to.  It has one of the smallest seating capacities of any major league stadium, and manages to keep the charm seen at many minor league stadiums.  The Pirates beat the Mets 5-2.  Being a Phillies fan, I was glad to see that happen.  It was also the third game in a row where the hometown team won.  (It was also the game where I had a foul ball come right for me and I wimped out. R is too nice to say that; btw, if PNC was my home park, I might buy season tickets. I love it that much.) We had lunch at the Primanti Brothers stand, a popular sandwich shop in Pittsburgh.  I had a roast beef and cheese.  The unique thing about their sandwiches is that they are all topped with french fries and cole slaw.  Very nice!  We walked back downtown following the game over Clemente Bridge, which is only open to pedestrians during games.

 

Next stop was Kennywood, to take advantage of their $17 admission after 5 PM.  This was my fourth time at Kennywood, which I always enjoy.  We started with the Kangaroo.  Having never ridden it before, and learning that it is the only ride of its type remaining, I decided that it was time to try it out.  It was a fun ride.  Next up was Jack Rabbit.  No matter how many times I ride this, I am still amazed by the airtime on the double dip.  Truly one of the best elements on any coaster I’ve ridden.  We followed that with the Racer, which I always think of as one of the most fun coasters that I’ve ridden.  Thunderbolt was next.  We rode near the front, which was decent.  However, another ride later in the back proved to be much better.  We also rode the two steel coasters.  The Exterminator had one of the longest lines of our entire trip, over 45 minutes.  The wait, as usual, was worth it.  This always seems to be the spinning-est of spinning coasters, and the darkness and theming make it that much more disorienting.  Steel Phantom’s second drop into the ravine is still one of the scariest moments on any coaster I’ve ridden.  Our only other ride of the evening was the log flume, which was enjoyable, as was the fact that we were at another park with free parking, Pepsi, and a paratrooper. (I had a ridiculously enormous serving of fries here. They were really good. And covered with cheese. Kennywood is a good park, though I have little patience for the ridiculous numbers of teenagers who don’t understand the concept of personal space: I had to tell at least three people to stop bumping into me. The hell?)

 

Next stop: Fallingwater