We woke up early and headed out to Eat'n Park for breakfast. We love their breakfast and smiley face cookies! We always frequent there when we visit. This trip we ate their a record three times! Afterward we hit up K-Mart to look around for more Steelers/Pens stuff.
We had some time to kill before heading off to the zoo so we asked Grandma Dee if we could paint some ceramics. It's an activity that I've done and enjoyed every single time we've been up to visit. I'm just so amazed with her shop and whole craft. She's one talented lady! I chose a little bird and animal skull to paint while Dustin painted a spoon rest. Dustin's grandma is going to send them down to us sometime next week. Yay!
Around lunch time we decided to make our way to the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium. I had heard that it was really nice so I wanted to check it out. We had a little trouble finding it though. We saw lots of signs for it but the entrance was kind of tricky. Once we parked and paid we had to go up the tallest, steepest escalator ever. I was seriously scared! Dustin thought I was crazy. Thankfully that was my only complaint about the zoo.
We walked right into the 'African Savanna' first. Lions, tigers, andbears rhinos! The Pittsburgh zoo does have regular bears but we didn't get to see them because they were all hibernating for the winter. We saw them from a distance all curled up sleeping. At least we got to see polar bears! We watched two elephants in the outdoor enclosure - a baby and an adult. They refused to look our way but we enjoyed seeing their little synchronized dance. Then we went inside the building next door to see more elephants. It didn't smell too great. And one of them peed buckets and buckets for what seemed like 10 minutes straight so that didn't help. Go wildlife!
The next building over housed monkeys and gorillas. The one gorilla even played with a bowling ball while we were there! There was also a little tiny baby walking around, crawling on it's mom's back to catch a ride. Adorable!
I loved the fact that there was also an aquarium in the zoo. We saw all kinds of fish, sharks, sea turtles, and penguins. The penguins were so much fun to watch. While we were there the trainers were trying to catch one of them for whatever reason, but he would not cooperate. He just kept on swimming by the glass like he knew he was wanted. Also, a Pittsburgh Penguins flag hangs in their enclosure which is just awesome.
One of the last animals we saw were the meerkats. They even had a little crawl through tunnel where you could watch them from these glass bubbles. I'm fairly certain they were meant for kids but I decided to crawl through anyway. I felt like I was 10 years old again running around in Discovery Zone. For that feeling alone, it was worth it. But it was really cool to see them from a different perspective even if I did have to crawl around like a weirdo to do so.
The whole walk around the zoo is basically hiking up and down a mountain. Not to mention, it was also pretty damn cold (to this Floridian anyway) the day we went. My hands and ears were almost numb by the time we left. Thankfully though, it wasn't crowded at all and most of the time, it almost felt like we had the place to ourselves which was pretty awesome.
We walked right into the 'African Savanna' first. Lions, tigers, and
The next building over housed monkeys and gorillas. The one gorilla even played with a bowling ball while we were there! There was also a little tiny baby walking around, crawling on it's mom's back to catch a ride. Adorable!
I loved the fact that there was also an aquarium in the zoo. We saw all kinds of fish, sharks, sea turtles, and penguins. The penguins were so much fun to watch. While we were there the trainers were trying to catch one of them for whatever reason, but he would not cooperate. He just kept on swimming by the glass like he knew he was wanted. Also, a Pittsburgh Penguins flag hangs in their enclosure which is just awesome.
One of the last animals we saw were the meerkats. They even had a little crawl through tunnel where you could watch them from these glass bubbles. I'm fairly certain they were meant for kids but I decided to crawl through anyway. I felt like I was 10 years old again running around in Discovery Zone. For that feeling alone, it was worth it. But it was really cool to see them from a different perspective even if I did have to crawl around like a weirdo to do so.
The whole walk around the zoo is basically hiking up and down a mountain. Not to mention, it was also pretty damn cold (to this Floridian anyway) the day we went. My hands and ears were almost numb by the time we left. Thankfully though, it wasn't crowded at all and most of the time, it almost felt like we had the place to ourselves which was pretty awesome.
We had about an hour to kill before going to the Consol Energy Center so we decided to stop by the Fred Rogers statue right near Heinz Field. This was something on our to-do list so I was happy we were able to squeeze it in. I mean, who doesn't like Mister Rogers? Idiots, that's who. The statue is way bigger than I had imagined it to be. It's pretty cool. And since it was only a block from Heinz Field we decided to walk by and take a few photos. The last time we were there was a year and a half ago when we actually got to go to a game. The stadium looked completely different this time around - so empty and quiet but always fun to visit.
From there we went to the Consol Energy Center to meet up with Blair and Nicole. We got there a little early so we just went ahead and parked and shopped in the Pens store. Dustin got a pretty bad ass Lemieux sweatshirt and puck. I bought a Fleury jersey shirt for myself and a (Crosby) St. Patrick's Day shirt for Dustin. As we were walking back to our car to throw all of our new stuff in the trunk, Nicole and Blair drove past us and honked. We met them at their hotel right next to the Consol where there other friends, Donnie & Mandy, were also staying.
The original plan was for the six of us to eat at the TGIFridays right next door but it was already pretty packed by the time we walked down there. So we decided to go to the Blue Line Grill which was right across the street. There was a 15 minute wait so we went up to the 4th floor where everyone except Dustin and I got drinks. It was a super snazzy lounge area. I felt like I was in an empty club or something. Ha! When it was finally time to take our seat and eat, we had to squeeze through the very crowded restaurant. I was in awe that just about every single person in the room was dressed in some kind of Penguins attire. I think I'm always so shocked by that kind of thing because Florida does not support their professional sports like Pittsburgh does. Not even close! I see more Steelers fans down here than I do Jaguars or Dolphin fans. And I rarely see Lightning fans. I not only enjoyed my meal but I also ate up the really cool atmosphere while we were there. There's nothing like an entire city coming together before a game to get you pumped. After we were done with dinner, we walked across the street where we were greeted by another bud, Chris.
The last Penguins game we saw in Pittsburgh was in March 2010 and also one of the Penguins last in The Igloo. When we started to plan our trip for October 2012 the plan was to see a Steelers game AND a Pens game in their new arena. But the Pens and the entire NHL were in the middle of a lock-out which meant no game for us. Womp womp. So it was pretty crazy to finally be walking into the Consol for a game and WITH THE BUDS! Kind of surreal.
Blair was able to get all of our seats together which was awesome. I love going to hockey games but it's clear that Dustin's love for them (and the buds too) is on a whole different level. They all looked like little kids sitting there watching and discussing the game. During each intermission we met up with Blair's parents by the concession area. It was great to finally meet them especially 'Big Al' who I have heard so much about. The Pens ended up losing 3-2 to the Kings. It sucked of course but what was even worse is the shitty call that could of tied it all up. The arena filled with "boos" for a long time although it didn't change anything. It's weird that they have lost both games we've seen them play in Pittsburgh but they've won every game we've seen them play in Tampa. Ah well. Next time boys! We ended up getting passes (although they didn't even check for them) for the post-game after party in the Lexus Club. We all just hung out, (they drank), and talked for awhile before Dustin and I decided to head on back to WV. It was such a long, exhausting, but totally fun day!
The original plan was for the six of us to eat at the TGIFridays right next door but it was already pretty packed by the time we walked down there. So we decided to go to the Blue Line Grill which was right across the street. There was a 15 minute wait so we went up to the 4th floor where everyone except Dustin and I got drinks. It was a super snazzy lounge area. I felt like I was in an empty club or something. Ha! When it was finally time to take our seat and eat, we had to squeeze through the very crowded restaurant. I was in awe that just about every single person in the room was dressed in some kind of Penguins attire. I think I'm always so shocked by that kind of thing because Florida does not support their professional sports like Pittsburgh does. Not even close! I see more Steelers fans down here than I do Jaguars or Dolphin fans. And I rarely see Lightning fans. I not only enjoyed my meal but I also ate up the really cool atmosphere while we were there. There's nothing like an entire city coming together before a game to get you pumped. After we were done with dinner, we walked across the street where we were greeted by another bud, Chris.
The last Penguins game we saw in Pittsburgh was in March 2010 and also one of the Penguins last in The Igloo. When we started to plan our trip for October 2012 the plan was to see a Steelers game AND a Pens game in their new arena. But the Pens and the entire NHL were in the middle of a lock-out which meant no game for us. Womp womp. So it was pretty crazy to finally be walking into the Consol for a game and WITH THE BUDS! Kind of surreal.
Blair was able to get all of our seats together which was awesome. I love going to hockey games but it's clear that Dustin's love for them (and the buds too) is on a whole different level. They all looked like little kids sitting there watching and discussing the game. During each intermission we met up with Blair's parents by the concession area. It was great to finally meet them especially 'Big Al' who I have heard so much about. The Pens ended up losing 3-2 to the Kings. It sucked of course but what was even worse is the shitty call that could of tied it all up. The arena filled with "boos" for a long time although it didn't change anything. It's weird that they have lost both games we've seen them play in Pittsburgh but they've won every game we've seen them play in Tampa. Ah well. Next time boys! We ended up getting passes (although they didn't even check for them) for the post-game after party in the Lexus Club. We all just hung out, (they drank), and talked for awhile before Dustin and I decided to head on back to WV. It was such a long, exhausting, but totally fun day!
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