The Year Without a Cold Wars

I've lamented long enough the fact that I wasn't making it to Cold Wars.   If there was any silver lining to things, it wasn't due to financial constraints, although running the mother-in-law to dialysis Friday night was still an issue, so we can't say we avoided medical issues.

Regardless, with the kid's acting the local children's theatre production of "Aristocats" this weekend, we scrambled for a babysitter as my wife and I drove out to Pittsburgh to go see Blake Shelton. 

Hoo-ray.

With a side trek to find an elusive Dunkin Donuts in Central PA, we got into Johnstown and our friends Wooly and Jenny's place just afternoon, kibitzed a bit and jumped into their ridiculously oversized truck (my wife needed a step stool to get in) and drove into the heart of Pittsburgh.



Squirrel Hill Tunnel - No squirrels were harmed in the building of this tunnel.

By the time we got into town we only had enough time to grab an early dinner and do some nearby touristy stuff.  After a solid meal at Joe's Crab Shack (a no tipping establishment that was exactly the same prices as the tipping Joe's we visited in Orlando), we strolled the river, dodging a number of wedding parties and their photographers.  The only other thing of note we had time for was the Monongahela Incline up to Mt Washington.   Apparently I was the only person who ever worked a transit kiosk, and after much hilarity, we finally got our tickets and went up. 

 

 

We've already been up the Johnstown Incline when we previously visited, but I'm an incline nut from my time working at the National Canal Museum in college, and  it does got up to a number of observation decks to see the city and the three rivers. 

 

It also is the place to be for aspiring rappers to film their music videos...

 

I'll say this for the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, they know how to move people.   For three times the people that our local area holds, they got us parked quickly, and on the way out, we waited mere minutes before we jumped on I-376. 

I'll also  save everyone a review of the show.  As a non-country fan, I enjoyed myself.  Outside of a few drunken idiots after the show, and the idiot country hipster vaping a few rows below us, everyone else was there to have a good time.

I've got two cousins in the area, so ultimately, we'll be out there again.  We'll go back out with the kids, hit the attractions, and venture into a gaming store or three, and maybe even catch a Pirates game.

The kid's play?  Luckily, their play is running the same weekend as the theatre is doing a "real" production of "Tommy" so opening night was Thursday, my wife's cousin got them to the Saturday matinee, and we got home with plenty of time for the Sunday evening performance.  Both had actual lines that they nailed, and, as a gift to theatre parents everywhere, it was done in an hour. 

Vichy the dog and Slick the cat.

Now that we're done with play, the Pittsburgh trip is a collection of great memories, and our dialysis duties for my mother-in-law are almost done, what to do now? 

I'm eagerly waiting for the AAR for the Stout Gnomes' Space Mousling game run at Cold Wars this past weekend.  I knew it struck a chord with Mike, but it seems to have sparked a flurry of painting from "The Gnome Guy" Jim Stanton.  Can't wait to see the finished results. 

It's a month till Mepacon so I'll be scurrying to finish up the terrain for the Gnome Wars Treasure Hunt, rolling up a dozen kobolds. 

The annual Easter game with the girls will be this Saturday and I just figured out what to run.   More to come.