In preparation for Labor Day weekend, Sarah
and Ben
and David
headed to Sunny Garden where Suzanne
joined us and we waited a few minutes
for the Justs to arrive
so that we could dig into noodles
pancakes
dumplings
bean curd
vegetable lo mein
rice
and fish
as a send off for our trip to Western Pennsylvania the next day.
The next day started in the car
staring at the door
and waiting for our last riders
to emerge.
Once in the car, Benjamin dyed his tongue
and then nibbled on Jane's toes
before we bound her feet
and focussed on the traffic
before we saw our last gas
before our arrival
at the King Edward
where Milt was waiting
as Sarah and Jane
settled in and Norma
served some food
that caused Jane
to express an opinion about the knitting Suzanne
and Sarah
were completing.
Dinner included a nice salad
and beautiful strawberries
that complemented Ben's plate
and mine
though we seem to have captured Sarah
at a bad moment and then at at a better one
as Benjamin
Norma
and Jane
watched. Sarah took these pictures of me
to Milt's amusement
as further pictures of me
and Benjamin
were taken before Jane decided to go into black and white mode and
record a flower
iced tea bottles
and multiple views of light on a cookie
before turning the flash off
and going back to color pictures of wine glasses
to end the day.
Saturday morning began with this self portrait
in Katie's room before my breakfast bagel
and pictures of Suzanne
Andy
Ben
Sarah
vegetables
Sam
Jane
Katie
Debbie
and Suzanne
around the table.
Around noon, I extracted Ben and Sam from their game
and we drove past the Warhol
to parking
by the dinosaur
near the statue of Honus Wagner
at PNC Park
where our buccos were playing.
Once inside, we got a plate
which Ben filled
as did I
and Sam
to the amusement of our waiter
who showed us the way to this carrot cake
before we emerged through this gate
and took our seats behind home plate
to look out at the stadium
and watch the game
as batters
checked the scoreboard
before the next pitch
and we ate wings
and left peanut shells
before the next batter
as the man with the tail
watched the next pitch
as we roamed the stadium
and got Ben
and then all of us
against the backdrop of the city.
Next we went to the room celebrating Bob Prince and the Pirates of my youth.
This ad
was familiar as were the sayings on this coat
and this picture
of Bob Prince himself.
Continuing our tour of the stadium, we got the good city views
the playground view
the view of Heinz Stadium
and a few looks down at the field
before we came back to watch the Buccos
lose the game.
That evening, dinner was at Andy and Debbie's. We took a few pictures of Katy
in her room which she was nice enough to let us use and then pictures of
Norma and Suzanne
Sarah
and Milt and Katy
before focusing on the food
that kept Ben
Suzanne
Norma
Sarah
Robert and Sally
Milt
and Andy and Katy
coming back for more and more food
including this artistic plate
made by Katy was in the food that
kept on coming.
After dinner, I took this picture of the women in my life
and we recorded the shared pair of socks
before posing for more traditional pictures
including this picture of Norma and Milt
getting ready to go.
Somehow this led to more foot pictures
and some last attempts to capture the shared pair of socks
all to amusement of Sam.
Sunday morning, I woke up Suzanne
then Jane
and as we were ready to drive off, there was some motion in the kitchen
so we said good bye before heading to Johnnie's Restaurant at Exit 15
for lunch. This was the bathroom sign
as Jane's cheese steak
and Ben's turkey hoagie
and Sarah's selection from the salad bar
and my grilled cheese sandwich
made Suzanne happy
as she ate her BLT
and I took this self portrait
to celebrate the workers of the world.