Mr. Zydeco’s show was energetic and had people dancing in the park. He made many references to being brought up on the bayou and even lapsed into Creole/French occasionally. Loved his set, but was disappointed not to hear “When the Levee Breaks”. I know it’s a cover but it was the song that first introduced me to his music.
After consuming greasy fair fries and funnel cake we rode back home. Greenfield Avenue is quite a challenge now that I don’t ride up it every day. One of the few drawbacks of my new job.
Took some old electronics out to Robinson for a Hard to Recycle collection. Got rid of some old batteries and an archaic stereo receiver.
Stopped at IKEA for lunch and browsing. I was looking for an anti-static mat for my office chair, and Emily was after a specific bookcase. We both came out empty-handed.
Tried looking at Office Max for my floor mat and much to my surprise they had exactly what I was looking for, and for relatively cheap. Victory!
Finally we stopped at REI so Emily could pick up some new sandals and I could get new running shoes. I’d been putting off getting new ones since my old ones are still technically functional, but now they’re covered in paint and various residues from household projects so now they’ve been demoted to “shoes I don’t mind getting messed up” status.
All that shopping left me exhausted so when we got home I collapsed on the couch and dazed for a while. I awoke to find Emily offering me her phone. Russell was on the line saying he had a spare ticket to tonight’s Pirates/Mets game. I grabbed my ball cap and went to pick him up.
Of course, with the Arts Festival, Pride Week, various cultural goings on, plus a Pirates game featuring Skyblast, parking was a nightmare. After nearly an hour trying various Downtown garages I resigned myself to overpaying at the stadium lot. As luck would have it, as we passed a garage a block from PNC Park that was normally presold-only a young gentleman with brightly colored flags waved us in. I got to overpay for a garage space only a block away rather than a lot space which would have by that time been essentially at Heinz Field’s front door. Victory again!
The game was fun. A close one, with the final score 3-2 in favor of the Buccos. The victory was surprising since the Pirates’ pitcher looked like crap all night and kept getting into bases-loaded situations.
After the game was a spectacular Skyblast show, with Zambelli fireworks and musical entertainment by none other than Huey Lewis and the News. I had not been aware that these guys were still touring, but it turns out they have a new album. They of course played a few selections from it, which interested no one. Toward the end of the show they busted out the hits everyone was waiting for. “Heart of Rock and Roll”, “Workin’ for a Livin'”, and “Hip to be Square” sounded great, but by the time they hit the finale with “Power of Love”, it sounded like Huey’s voice was going. Not bad though for a man pushing 61.
Surprisingly enough getting home after the game was a breeze. Russell and I, upon seeing the huge lines at the elevators in the garage, decided to do the unthinkable (for those people, at least) and took the stairs up 8 flights to the very top where I had parked. This was apparently a very good move since we were able to cruise right out of the garage while those suckers were probably still waiting in the lobby.
After dropping Russell off I promptly headed home and went to bed.
