Day Thirty-Eight

HOME.

Before I got home, though, on my way out of Pittsburgh, I ran into some cool things. Like this, another dinosaur.

I ate lunch in Monroeville, which is an eastern suburb of Pittsburgh. Before I went to lunch, though, I went to the Monroeville Mall, which is where George Romero shot Dawn of the Dead.

Looks similar-ish, I guess.

There's a huge mural near one of the exits, and they pay respect to the mall's (and Pittsburgh's) heritage.

There was a zombie museum in the mall but it wasn't open yet, so I drove the few minutes to get lunch at Primanti Bros., a place known for its sandwiches.

I got the most popular one -- a cheesesteak. On it, they pile french fries, cole slaw and tomatoes, all on homemade bread (I think).

After I ate half (I packed up the other half to go), I headed back over to the mall for the zombie museum.

That was my last stop. I drove straight home and got there around 5:30. Ending mileage: 86858.

Some final stats...

Baseball games attended: 12
Baseball stadiums visited: 13
National parks/monuments visited: 22 (I think)
Total states driven in: 29
Pictures taken with my phone: 230
Pictures taken with my camera: 6,234
Total pictures taken: 6,464
Total miles driven: 12,891

Day Thirty-Seven

On the way to PNC Park, we passed some cool things. Like this dinosaur.

And also Heinz Field.

One of the rivers with some of Pittsburgh in the background.

At PNC, just like other parks, there are statues outside. These are usually bigger, though, which made them unique.

I had one of the most unique and best ballpark foods at PNC: a pulled pork pierogie stacker -- a pulled pork sandwich with pierogies on top. Really, really, really good and filling.

View from our seat.

Alfonso Soriano throwing a ball in warm-up. Well, two pictures of it, on different throws. HE'S MAKING THE SAME FACE. HIS BALL THROWING FACE.

Andrew McCutchen (my shirt) before he reached base then scored on a three-run home run.

McCutchen and Josh Harrison after Pedro Alvarez's home run.

Cubs' starter Matt Garza.

Soriano batting.

Pirates' starter Erik Bedard.

Starlin! Now that Kerry Wood retired, I can safely say he's my favorite Cub.

Starlin and Barney. (Great names all around.)

McCutchen after a home run of his own.

Pierogie race! I've seen condiments race, sausages race, and now pierogies race.

Starlin again.

After the game, we went to my friend's friend's party. Lot of fun.

And that was it! Going to sleep soon, then eating Primanti Bros. before heading home!

Day Thirty-Six

I woke up in the Columbus area and headed for Canton. I think I was expecting a bigger Hall of Fame -- something more on par with Cooperstown -- but the Pro Football Hall of Fame is sort of tiny. Plus, they're renovating it this summer and next so it was kinda of a mess. It was still very cool, though.

Jim Thorpe is the first thing you see when you walk into the building.

You walk up a spiral ramp and into 100 years of football history.

Then, you walk down a hallway and into the room of bronze busts.

Lawrence Taylor, Joe Montana, John Elway, Barry Sanders, John Randle and PRIMETIME.

Leading from the busts to the next major room (modern NFL), there are a few zigzagging hallways of movies and memorabilia.

Then it's the modern NFL room.

The final hallway that leads to the food area and gift shop features early Super Bowl cases and also every Super Bowl ring that has been awarded (except the most recent Giants' ring, which is on its way to Canton).

An employee at the Hall of Fame suggested this place Woody's for lunch, which is like two minutes from the Hall. It's sort of like a drive in, where you stay in your car and the girls bring food over. Homemade root beer!

I got to PIttsburgh and my friend showed me all around town. Then we packed up and headed over to the Drake concert.

Today's first event is a Pirates game at 1.