More Western PA

Sid the Kid sets up a score.
Beer Here!!!
Pregame light show.
This is what teachers call "bowling" on Friday afternoon.

Lisa and BJ Mihelcic with baby Emily who has grown a lot in the year since we last saw her.

#1711 was the last trolley to travel to Washington, PA

Valerie and strap hanger Richard enjoy a ride on the trolley.

Lights on the Omni William Penn designed by French Artist Corentine Buron were inspired by the PA state flower, the Mountain Laurel.

The lights on the Stephen Foster Memorial on the University of Pittsburgh campus were, designed by Friedrich Forster and Sabine Weissinger, and celebrate the contribution of the Guttenberg Press with the type in reverse as if on the press.

The orange moon rising over the Pittsburgh skyline. This was really much more spectacular in person.

We are still in Wash, PA trying to get a few things wrapped up with the sale of the house. Our friend, Tom, will attend the closing for us so we will not have to extend our stay. We continue to meet and eat with both old and new friends. We got to go to a Penguins game and had a great time even though they gave up a three goal lead and lost:( The first person we saw when we entered Mellon Arena was Dusty West who has been lucky enough to see all three of Pittsburgh's pro teams by being a beer vendor for many years at all the Pittsburgh sports venues. Over forty years ago I worked with his mother, Kay, at Sewickley Valley Hospital. It was great talking to him about his mom and seeing pictures of his granddaughter. Another thing we did was go "bowling" with some of the teachers, an old time tradition on Friday afternoon to relax after a busy week. We also got together with Valerie and Richard Frayer, full time RVers who also went on the road in 2007. Valerie, who designs and sells jewelry, was attending a show at nearby Seven Springs. She has a web site, Frayer Designs, for on line shopping. Her work is not only beautiful but also very unique. We took the opportunity to show them a little bit of our old home turf. We went to the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum where we rode a couple of old trolleys and took a tour of the car barn which houses several restored cars, including The Streetcar Named Desire, of New Orleans and movie fame. As a kid I remember riding the old trolleys many times in Pittsburgh. We also took Val and Richard to Pittsburgh for the Festival of Lights, part of the 250th anniversary celebration where several building were lit by works of art that were projected on to them. Many of the churches also had their interior lights lit to show their stained glass windows. We took the mandatory trip to Mt. Washington for the greatest up close city view in America. We were greeted with a spectacularly large orange moon rising over the city skyline.