After Sean and Anna's wedding in Canton, OH, we drove to Pittsburgh to see Dan for a few days before flying back home. He had just received his new kitchen island and had assembled it the day before we arrived. It quickly became the center of activity.
We visited Soergel Orchards and Diane got to feel like a kid again, sitting in the big wooden adirondack chair.
They had maybe 8 goats on the property. We all bought some feed from the vending machines and let them eat out of our hands.
The next day we drove downtown to walk around The Strip. One of the first things we saw was this beautiful church, built in the 19th century.
Take a look at this classic car parked in the street. Beautiful.
Dan and I stand in the meat and cheese section of Pittsburgh Parm. They had a crazy large selection of cheeses from around the world as well as everything one would need to make pasta.
The greeter outside Wholey's Seafood. Inside was a tremendous selection of fresh and frozen fish and shellfish along with other large areas of the store for pork, beef, and chicken.
We went out to eat that night at Tepache, an upscale Mexican restaurant. You're looking at the Mole Negro enchilada dish, which was a hit with both Diane and Dan.
Later we went to Jergel's Rhythm and Grille to see a performance by Bill Deasy, a local favorite. He is best remembered for the regional hit, "Lost In America" with his band, The Gathering Field.
He opened by apologizing for being late. Seems he works for the county and since today was election day (The Blue Tsunami) he had to work until the polls closed at 7:00 and then drive to make this performance by 8:00. He was self-effacing, easy going, sometimes forgetful but always forgiven, blessed with a fabulous voice, and played non-stop for 2 hours.
The next evening Dan invited his friends Chuck and John over to join us for dinner. Dan made a knock out dinner of salmon, risotto, and roasted vegetables. During dinner conversation we learned that Chuck had begun playing mahjong with a group of afficionados and since he was a natural teacher and had a spare board game in his trunk, he set things up and walked us through our first game.
From left to right you are looking at the mahjong positions East (John), South (Chuck), and West (Diane). I was North.
John was the eventual winner.
The gang, Chuck, David, Diane, Dan, and John.