Last weekend was our second-annual pilgrimage to Pittsburgh for a Steelers game.  Lisa didn’t go this time because her back could do without the hours in the car, so her dad took her place.  We drove over on Saturday, arriving in the late afternoon.  We listened to the Vol/Crimson Tide game (link) on XM during the drive and then watched the disappointing ending at the hotel.  We stayed at the SpringHill Suites Pittsburgh North Shore.  It’s a nice hotel (the boys loved it because there was a Jacuzzi in the room), but you’re paying the big bucks for its location right down the street from the stadium.  Last year (link) we also stayed downtown but on the other side of the river.  I think we’ll probably save some cash and stay outside down during any future visits.  We had dinner in the hotel, the boys went swimming, and then we followed the Michigan St./Iowa game (and its disappointing ending, link) on the web while watching Mythbusters.

Sunday morning we ate breakfast, checked out of the hotel, moved the car to a public lot, and then walked to the stadium.  Here are a few photos:

the boys jump in a bouncy house

the boys jump in a bouncy house

Elliot throws at a target

running through the defense

running through the defense

grandpa throws at a target

The Steelers/Vikings game was a much better one (link) than the one we saw last year (meaningless game vs. the Browns, most notable event was the several minutes Ben spent on the turf before being removed on a stretcher).  It was a low-scoring affair until the amazing 4th quarter which featured a fumble recovery returned for a TD by the Steelers followed immediately by a kick-return TD by the Vikings followed a few minutes later by a pick-6 by the Steelers that sealed the victory.  The weather was beautiful (no clouds and warm, our necks and faces were sunburned).  After the game we walked back to the car and then hit the road back to MI.  Here are some more photos:

Last Sunday I ran a half marathon in Detroit for the second time.  I hadn’t trained as much this year and had put on a few extra pounds, so I wasn’t expecting to improve on last year’s snail’s pace.  I was slower and ended up in the bottom 5 % of my age group.  At least improving next year shouldn’t be too hard.

Here’s a collection of video clips (the shaking sound while I’m running is the bag of M&Ms in my pocket that I eventually lost at some point):

And here are some photos:

waiting for the start

waiting for the start

onto the Ambassador Bridge…a nice view as the sun was rising

off of the Ambassador Bridge

in the tunnel

not sure what this guy was doing

in sight of the finish

afterwards

An excerpt from a letter to the editor in today's Midland Daily News:

Ultimately I would say this (and I have said this to law enforcement officials and politicians alike): do you really think that once gay marriage is the law in every state, once the border has been opened to anyone and everyone who wants to come here, once boom boxes and loud motorcycles and gangster rap music are ubiquitous across the land — do you really think this country will be a better place to live?

link

Previous installments in this series:

• The Most Bizarre Letter to the Editor Ever