Pittsburgh, PA (Day Off)

I woke up at 8, not because I had to, but because I was so used to waking up at the break of dawn. We got ready and walked over to UCP (United Cerebral Palsy), a non-profit organization helped with providing independence to people with cerebral palsy. We met a few of the art classes and hung out for a couple hours. I met this guy named Nathanial who was just as big of an ESPN buff as I was. We spoke a lot about college football. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a big fan of Michigan. I also spoke to a girl named Missy. She didn’t have as much ability as Nathanial, and required a computer for her to communicate. Because of it, it took quite a while for her to say only a few words. It was truly amazing to see her go through such barriers every day, as I couldn’t imagine how frustrating it would be.

We had a brunch consisting of a very traditional Pittsburgh meal. We had cheese and potato pierogies, kielbasa, and haluski (cabbage and noodles). It was pretty good, but a little greasy. After the meal, we got a Pittsburgh Pirates hat and some candy.

We headed back to lodging where we got only a hour or so to relax before we headed to lunch. For lunch, we went to a cycling themed bar and restaurant called “Over the Bars.” They served us cheeseburgers and fries, and we also met an alumni that did the trip three times in the early 2000’s. The food was pretty good, and the décor on the walls were pretty interesting. After lunch, we had some downtime at the hotel before dinner, which I pretty much napped.

For dinner, we went to Dave and Buster’s, where a sponsor donated us a meal and about 10 bucks worth of games. It was pretty fun, but a little boring at the same time. I’m not too big on cheesy video games, so I pretty much played pool and shuffleboard the entire time. We headed back to the hotel. We went to bed early, considering that we had another early wake up.