Steelers Football

The long awaited day arrived, my 37th birthday, the day I was going to get to see my Steelers play at home!  Eric and I donned all of our warm clothes and prepared to lug around rain gear just in case.  Mother Nature was looking out for us - it never rained nor was it really that cold.  We actually felt a little overdressed, but better too warm than freezing our fannies off all day.

 

Pittsburgh has a subway system that took us straight to the stadium area which was a lifesaver.  We headed out and arrived in the stadium area about 10 AM for the 1:00 PM game.  We ended up at this hilarious place called the Tilted Kilt within walking distance of the stadium.  It was the perfect setting to get us in the Pittsburgh Steelers mentality - crazy Steelers polka type songs blaring, wild fans drinking insane amounts of alcohol at 10:30 in the morning, lots of you-know-what-talking between Chargers fans and Steelers fans, and ridiculously under dressed waitresses scurrying around.  I was in people watching heaven.

 

We headed over to the stadium area taking in all the sights around us.  These fans are crazy excited and the hustle and bustle was in the air.  It was fun.  I was definitely out of place with my wardrobe - my pretty white woolly sweater was not a Steelers jersey.

 

Our seats were AWESOME and close to the field.  We were in the thick of some hardcore fans, so that made it even more exciting.  I'm a fair weather fan compared to these people.  Wow!

It was cool to watch the game so close in real life.  I could follow the ball much better that way.

 

#7 Big Ben in action

 

A view of the incline and Mt. Washington from our seats

 

Eric and I

Hey, we know those guys #6 and #17 in the Chargers uniform!  Our new friends from Primanti Brothers, Phillip and Charlie.

I had to have my picture made with these guys.  They were sitting right behind us, and they were hysterical, over the top, scream at the refs, & yell at the players at the top of their lungs kind of fans.  They found our South Carolina selves quite entertaining as well, and they especially loved the fact that my husband brought me to Pittsburgh for my birthday. 

The Steelers played awful, and they lost terribly.  I still had a great time, but those fellas behind me had steam coming from their heads they were so mad.  Again, Steelers fans are not for the faint of heart.  Eric and I grabbed some dinner and explored the casino after the game.

We called it a night about 9:00 that night and enjoyed the cab back to our hotel.

Definitely a memorable birthday.

Pittsburgh Birthday Trip

For my birthday this year, my sweet husband surprised me with a special trip for just the two of us to Pittsburgh.  He even arranged for childcare all on his own.  (Thanks Mom and Dad for helping us out.  Our getaway & time alone was priceless.)

 

Why on Earth would Eric plan a birthday trip to Pittsburgh for me in December?  It's cold and rainy there - not exactly my favorite weather.  I was born there, and my parents went to college and spent much of their young adult life there.  As a result, I am a big Pittsburgh Steelers fan.  The Steelers were playing the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, December 9 which also happens to be my birthday.  It also happens that Phillip Rivers, the quarterback for the Chargers, went to NC State University, Eric's Alma mater.  To top it off, Charlie Whitehurst, the back up quarterback for the Chargers, went to Clemson, so there was all kinds of football love going on the day of my birthday.

 

We arrived Friday afternoon, got settled into our hotel, and had a few snacks and drinks while we mapped out what we wanted to do.  Part of the fun of this trip was that we had no real plan outside of the Steelers game on Sunday.  We always luck out when we "wing it", and we stumble upon fun places.  This trip was no different.

 

On Saturday, we decided to take the incline up Mt. Washington.  It's a touristy thing to do but fun nevertheless.  I said we needed to take the Duquesne Incline since my Dad went to Duquesne University.

The tracks going up the mountain.   

 The view from the top was pretty cool.  We could see the three rivers joining, all the bridges, factories, Heinz Field, and numerous other places.

 

 

 

 We were the only people on the car on the way down.

 It's a steep ride. 

 

After the incline, we headed over to the area of town called, South Side.  It's jam packed full of restaurants, shops, and an outdoor market.  We literally started at one end of the area and walked all the way down the one side browsing, snacking, and having a beverage at all of the "must have" spots.  On our way back the other side, we stopped at the famous Primanti Brothers for a late lunch.  That turned out to be one of our most exciting stops.  As you can tell, it's very popular and there's always a line like this to eat.  I am in the purple rain coat close to the entrance.  If you look closely, you'll notice a tall fella in a grey shirt with a camo hat standing next to another tall fella in a darker grey sweater and dark jeans in the doorway.  I'll get to their importance a few pictures from now. 

 These sandwiches are huge, and the french fries come ON the sandwich.  This is definitely a man's man kind of sandwich place, but I did my best to eat part of my sandwich after picking all the fries off of it first.

Back to the tall, grey shirted fellas - it turns out that Eric and I were literally one couple's distance from Phillip Rivers, Charlie Whitehurst, and two other Chargers players.  We ate our lunch, gawked at their table, and discussed how we should or should not be "those fans" that interrupt their lunch.  As you can see from the next pictures, we definitely couldn't resist meeting the players.  Eric decided he had a different angle - he was a fellow NCSU grad.  Phillips Rivers was very gracious and talked NCSU sports with Eric for at least five minutes.  We thought it was cool, and we were both a little nervous as we approached the table.  My camera skills were off due to my flusteredness.

I asked the table to pose for a picture, and you can see that Charlie Whitehurst, across from Phillip, was not very excited nor was the fella sitting next to Phillip.  Phillip wished me a happy birthday, and Eric and I practically skipped out of there.  We immediately began texting all of our football junkie friends our fantastic news.  We're goofy like that.

 We continued our tour back down the South Side stopping along the way for a beverage or two.

We ended the evening at a neat little tapas restaurant and received five star treatment for my birthday dinner.  It was a great day just exploring Pittsburgh and spending lots of time with my honey.

Wolfpack vs. Tigers

Eric and I are football people.  We spend many Saturdays at games, watching games, or attending parties surrounding games.  This past Saturday was BIG - Eric's NC State Wolfpack were taking on my Clemson Tigers.  We were excited!  The girls were all snuggled in with Daddy for an exciting gameday.  (Notice their lovely orange and purple attire.)

 Even though the Wolfpack couldn't pull a win, Eric was corrupting my little Tigers with the Wolfpack "woo woo" & finger motions.  They weren't into it, trust me.  :)

 Once we got the girls down for the night, we turned on the big screen on our porch and headed to the firepit for some adult fun.

 It was just our little family of four this weekend, and it was relaxing before the hub-bub of the holidays kicks life up a notch.

Go Tigers!

Eric and I took Madeline on a "big girl" weekend!  We had such a great time visiting with my brother, his wife, and their son.  Madeline always loves to get away with just us, and she loves to go see her Uncle Greg, Aunt Angela, and Drew.  We took in a Clemson football game, and just like her Mama, Madeline enjoys a good tailgate!  Snacks were devoured, balls were thrown, and sunny weather was enjoyed.  It was a great weekend!

Uncle Greg really enjoys the little girl antics every now and then!

Aunt Angela laughing at Madeline's nonsensical show she was putting on for us!

Watching the players, coaches, and cheerleaders run down the hill never disappoints Madeline.

Barbie made it into the stadium with us.

On Sunday morning, Drew and Madeline enjoyed a cup of hot chocolate together.

Good times were had by all.

Special Getaway

Every year, my parents take my brothers and their wives, Eric, and I to a Clemson football game. It's our "thing" every fall to give us adult time together in a fun, relaxed atmosphere without kids. This year, Madeline spent the weekend with my parents' friends from their church, Ginny & John. (Ginny and John also travel with my parents on all of their fabulous trips every fall. Right now, they are all in France together having a wonderful time.) Ginny and John's personal grandchildren are in Texas, so as a result, Madeline (and Amelia) have become Ginny's next of kin, if you will. She treats Madeline as her own, and Madeline absolutely ADORES Ms. Ginny and Mr. John. Ms. Ginny and Madeline have a very special bond, and I am so thankful to have another "Grandma" in town to take care of our sweet girl for special getaways.

Ms. Ginny was beyond excited to keep Madeline for us while we went away to Clemson for the weekend. Madeline was able to play with another little girl down the street for several hours. I'm sure a nice little break for Ms. Ginny. Apparently, Madeline and this little girl played fabulously together.

Of course the weather was perfect for a Riverbanks Zoo excursion. Madeline loves the zoo, but she's not a fan of the animals so up close and personal.

See the sunglasses in the following picture? Well, Ms. Ginny felt like the sun was "so bright", so she declared that Madeline needed some sunglasses for the remainder of the zoo trip! :)

Again, Madeline made fast friends at the play area giving Ms. Ginny & Mr. John a chance to sit.

Madeline had such a wonderful time with my parents' dear friends, and Eric and I so appreciate their willingness to take our high energy 3 year old for an entire weekend! It was a win-win for us all!