Jen: A Taste of Pittsburgh

In Grand Forks, ND, I not only found kielbasa at a gourmet Hot Dog place (The Dog-Mahal @ Demers & 3rd) but I ate with Zach Hellrung!

Tourista, Part 2 -- The Locks

Ben's mom and brother came to visit this past week, which basically meant we were tourists all weekend. This is what happened.

We visited the Ballard Locks where boats can move from one area of water to another area of water in Seattle. (No I still haven't really figured out which is which, I'm continue to work on my pronunciation of Puget.) There were actually two--yes TWO--salmon in the fish ladder and one tiny guy who was probably lost. And a seal hunting around the water. The Locks are so much more exciting right now because there are actual boats going through, including the largest barge and tugboat I've ever seen. But there aren't pictures of any of these things. This is a thingy they would use to tie off the boats I think. And apparently Pittsburgh had something to do with some part of the building or running of this place. Maybe I just got excited because it said Pittsburgh...don't judge me!

Old City, New Spaces

I've had to use Google Maps thrice now to navigate Pgh - I've been gone only 5 months. I went for a run on the:

and crossed this bridge...

...into the neighborhood of Duck Hollow, a Yinzer Brigadoon.

 #WhereamI #WhoamI

Mt. Washington

Yesterday, Kristin and I on a whim decided  to go on a walk up on Mt. Washington.  It was beautiful weather, and we picked lilacs and watched kids skateboard over the city. I'm glad the weather is so pleasant again.  Also, I need to take these pictures with something better than an iphone.

At least 2, but never 3

This seems to be our unwritten code for a blog post. Here are Katy & I together in Pgh! The owl is Anne's stand in as it's been established - she likes birds.

Ps This blog is brought to you by our sponsor: Whole Foods - as I eat there at least thrice a week, no matter what city I'm in.

Roup is not Pour Spelled Backwards

I spent a lot of time early this morning at the coffee shop across the street from the sign. Working on my proposal for a fellowship.  I hadn't gotten much sleep and kept staring at the sign.  My thought process was this:
Is roup just pour spelled backwards? Nope. Its not.  Why would someone name their street Roup? What kind of word is that? Probably someone's last name.  How un-original. It would be cooler if it was pour spelled backwards.  Wait, is it pour backwards? No, still doesn't work.  OMG! How much time have I been staring at this sign? People must think I'm a crazy person staring out the window and I'm not getting any work done! Argh!

Two hours later when I left the coffee shop, I thought should pay homage to the sign, and make it live in infamy on this blog.