Hockey Road Trip - Day 7

[hils]

It was still foggy the next morning so we had breakfast, loaded up the car and hit the road ready to get back in the US and Pittsburgh. I've been to Pittsburgh before, but it was a couple of years ago before the hockey bug bit me so this was different. I was excited.

We decided while we were packing that if we had time we were going to go to the Pens Gear store at PPG Arena as soon as we got to Pittsburgh so we could avoid the game crowd the next day. This proved to be an excellent idea.



It was even more foggy so it's a good thing we didn't wait to see the falls at Niagra


It was like driving in Silent Hill

Weirdly almost as soon as we crossed the US border the fog lifted. Either Canada is haunted or it was hoping we'd get lost and wouldn't be able to leave


This was weird (and you see what I mean about the lack of fog). It's a place to stop and check your texts. Like it had none of the usual rest stop facilities. There was nowhere to eat, no bathrooms etc, just a bunch of parking bays. This was the only one we saw on our whole trip. Very odd.


YAY!


Yes I got a bit excited when we stopped at an actual rest stop and they had a Pens sign up



There are A LOT of Pens signs on the road running alongside PPG Arena



Hilariously when we were trying to find somewhere to park we just pulled into the nearest garage, which is apparently the official Pens parking?




The promised land





Going when there wasn't a game on was definitely a good idea. There was barely anyone in the store so we could take our time and browse without being crowded. A woman came up to me at one point and asked me where I got my Kessel hoodie because she wanted to buy one (I think for her kid? She was on the phone relaying what I was saying to someone). That was fun.

It also meant that when we were done shopping we could take photos outside without loads of people around. Although we did meet a nice family who took a couple of group photos for us. That was nice.







All things considered I was actually pretty restrained in the Pens Gear store. I bought a couple of t-shirts, a hoodie and a Funko Pop for myself and then some presents for friends.


Oh, don't worry, this was not the end of my Pens merch buying adventures. Just you wait.


Bored in the hotel room while I was waiting for my photos to upload so I wrote this on the hotel notepad

So while we were driving morganoconner mentioned that Sid likes to take the rookies to the Cheesecake Factory in Pittsburgh to welcome them to the team. Now, I have already mentioned that I love Cheesecake Factory and this, to me, made a compelling case to go to another one :D


My friends at home supported this decision for reasons

So we decided to go. For reasons.

Of course being on vacation I had lost all concept of time and it was only when we got there and were told it was an hour and a half to wait that I remembered it was a Saturday night. Luckily for us there was another Pens Gear store just across the road from the restaurant so we went and browsed to kill some time.

I spotted a sign behind the counter and lost my shit, especially after what I'd written in the hotel. I asked if I could take a photo and they were very obliging :D



The Cheesecake Factory and Pens Gear store is actually in a really nice little courtyard area. If I ever make it back to Pittsburgh (I'd like to but with the current political climate I don't know when or if it will happen) I'd love to go back here too



And it even has this, which I don't think was named after Crosby, but amused us anyway



By the time we had waited for our table and eaten dinner it was pretty late so we just headed back to the hotel and crashed for the night.

Comments

[nucleosides.livejournal.com]

I love when Silent Hill references are made, lol.