Drive for the Cure Baseball Trip: Pittsburgh (Fourth of July) Recap

JULY 4

Hope everyone enjoyed our last blog. I thought we had some of the more funny things to write about for Cleveland. We got up pretty early and headed to Pittsburgh. Seeing how it was July 4, we were really excited to get there! The closer we got to Pittsburgh the better the scenery was. Our first view of the city was really cool, because we knew we were getting close to the city but could see nothing but hills. Then, we turned around what seemed to be another hilly turn but right on the other side was a great view of the city. I (Josh) have always had this mental image of Pittsburgh of just being comprised of old run down steel factories....I was very wrong. Pittsburgh is awesome and very pretty and is the former home of Nate's pops. The elevation changes rapidly with houses way up and down hilly valleys. The city is on the river with multiple bridges linking both sides. Our hotel was downtown, and we had a very good view of the city. Thank goodness nothing awkward happened with elevators or picture taking in Pittsburgh.

The start time for the game was 1:30, so it was very hot. We decided to enjoy the air conditioning as long as possible so we stopped into a bar/restaurant for some food and drinks. Collin and Nate got some steak wraps that they loved, and I got a delicious burger. We ate and drank for an hour or so, and then it was time for the game. Even though we had no awkward picture taking moments like Cleveland, we struggled to find anyone who could take a good picture. The first four people we asked took terrible pics. We wanted the sign of the stadium in the pic and no one could get it and then on one pic, part of Nathan was completely cut off lol. We finally got it and entered the stadium.

PNC Park is definitely one of our favorites! It sucks that the team has not had a winning record for 20 years; however this is the first season in that same time span that the team has been 5 games over .500, so that combined with it being the 4th, had the ballpark buzz crowded, loud, and fun. It was super hot but worth every bit of it as the atmosphere was awesome. The stadium overlooks the city and water and really has the best view of any stadium I have been to! The Pirates were playing the Astros so Collin and Nate were wearing their gear. I was tired of seeing the struggling Stros, so I decided to root for the Pirates which turned out to be great since they won 6-4. The game was a lot of fun as usual.

After the game, we headed to our hotel to hit up the hot tub. We enjoyed the pool and spa area for an hour or so, and then headed to our room to hangout. After re-cooperating from the extremely hot game, we headed down to the river around 9 to watch the fireworks. This was one of my favorite parts of our trip so far. On the river you can see all the city including all the mountain sides and bridges. The fireworks went off right over the city and were awesome. They lasted for a good 20 minutes ending in an awesome finale. It was really cool being in Pittsburgh on the 4th watching fireworks.

After watching, we headed to get some food. We walked through this really cool walk way that was like a waterfall tunnel combo. Just another awesome addition to this cool city. Collin found this place in his phone that was supposed to be real good, so we started walking. We walked for a long time realizing we were getting closer and closer to a part of town we didn't think we should be going to at 10 at night, so we turned around and found a pizza joint that turned out to be really good. We settled our hunger, and headed to our hotel to suit up for the night cap. That's right. SUIT UP for the 4th.

We got ready and all looked super snazzy/sexy and headed out. We took a cab to the bars and our first stop was Jacks. We were of course were overdressed but even more than usual cause apparently no one dresses up in Pittsburgh. We kept getting asked if we had come from a business meeting and one girl asked if we had gone to a funeral lol.....um excuse me who has funerals on 4th of July??...NOBODY that's who random Pittsburgh dime. Side note (from Collin) - two of the girls we were talking to and had made friends with asked us how old we were. I told them that I had just turned 22 and Nate told them he was about to be 23. They were flabbergasted! They freaked out and started saying how they were so old (they were like 26). Turns out they thought we were 28... I have never been accused of being that old in my life, and neither had Nate. I guess it was the suits and the scruff that gave us the aura of older, accomplished men... #tight. Back to Josh - Everyone really liked our suits and complimented us once we responded with nope just partying and having fun! What was funny is for a TWO HOUR span, I probably didn't say a word....I do this sometimes when I start people watching because I get really interested in what people do. Later I realize, "man I really haven't said anything in a long time" lol. After Jacks, we went to the Rowdy Buck appropriate name for Texans and made some friends. One guy talked my ear off again about his life(three life stories in 3 days) I remember most of it being about motor cross and his ex and current girlfriend. We hung out there for a while and then called it a night. 4th was a success for sure. Love Pittsburgh! This was Nate's favorite city of the tour so far because he has been there numerous times to see family and what not and just love's the downtown/stadium area.

PS- (from Collin) - I just want to give a shoutout to my friends Josh and Lauren! They are old friends and fellow Ags from H town and just so happened to be at the game in Pittsburgh. I got to see them and hang out with them for an inning. Small world.

Hope you all enjoyed our July 4 shenanigans and will post the DC blog sometime soon.

PS: Somebody count how many times Josh says awesome in this blog and let me know haha.