Friends!

Day 12!

Today was still relaxing, which we decided is good because we are on vacation. First went to the neighborhood Squirrel Hill where there is another cool street to walk down. It had a lot of cool shops. One of them was called "Ten-Thousand Villages." They are a group of volunteers who help people from poorer countries by selling their items in the United States. They had so many different cool things their. We didn't have luck finding a purse but we will one of these days.

Earlier some people that Adam taught invited us over for lunch so that was our next stop. Chris and Veronica were so much fun to talk to. They fed us lemon chicken and Israeli couscous. It was delicious partly also because we've been out a lot and it was nice to eat a home-cooked meal. While we were eating we talked to them about all kinds of things. They even showed us their garden and pond in the backyard. They are growing all kinds of cool things. Seeing it made me want to have a garden even more.

On the way back to our hotel we drove through Wilkinsburg, a borough of Pittsburgh. They had murals painted on several different buildings. It was cool how they were each different and yet showed the neighborhood and what the area is like.

Then after spending a little bit of time in the hotel we drove to the church to park. We walked to Pizza Prima for dinner. What is interesting about their pizza is that when buying a slice they take an already made pizza slice, put the toppings you want on it, then heat it up in the oven. It was good pizza. Then we took the bus to go see downtown. There was a Pirates game that night so the traffic was pretty bad and it took us a while to get downtown. When we finally got there we went to a mall that Adam knows but it was closed. We tried some other stores around there but nothing was open. After not having any luck and being able to walk around downtown enough we started to hea back to the hotel. First we took the subway to just the next stop so that I could have the subway experience. Then we got on the bus again for the rest of the way to our car. Public transportation is not something that I am familiar with but they are good for the city.

Day 13!

Today was one of our last days in Pittsburgh, which means housekeeping things. To start out, we did laundry again because we wouldn't really have a time to do it again until we get home and we don't have enough to get us home. Also, we went grocery shopping so that we had food for our drive back. While we were at the store, we didn't realize that to get all of the deal at Giant Eagle, we needed a Giant Eagle card (duh!). We didn't want to get one because we would never use it again. There was a nice lady behind us in line that offered to let us use her card. It was so nice to see just how nice people are around us. After doing chores and relaxing we went to Rick and Michelle Gusic's house for dinner, more people that Adam got to know while he was there. They told Adam on the phone that were planning on having a barbeque tonight. When I think of a barbeque I think hamburgers, some kind of side like potato salad, and chips. Their barbeque did have hamburgers, but also a peach and nut salad, and baked potatoes. It was delicious, just not what was expecting. They are a really nice family and I really enjoyed being able to spend time with.

Next, we went to another family that Adam knew, the Minharros, who are actually from Arizona! It was nice to be able to talk to them and compare things between Pittsburgh and Mesa. They were super fun to talk to and just hang out with. Also, as I Adam and I talked to Levy, he made me start to think about things a little more. I am not one who is very analytical, but he made me want to be a little bit more. He referred to a book that I recently read, "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, and he shared some of the things that he learned from reading the book and how it influenced him in his decisions in life. He helped me to see life in a little bit of a different light. While talking with them, they invited us to stay and watch a movie with them, so we did. We watched Harry Potter 7 part 1. It was a neat experience. It was not only a blue-ray, but it was also an HD tv with some kind of really fast something or other (I don't remember) which made the movie look as if I was sitting in the room with them. It is amazing to see what technology can do in today's world.