Hey guys, I compiled a list of fun things to do in the Burgh this summer.
Run the Pittsburgh Marathon
The Pittsburgh Marathon / Half marathon is a fun event. It’s pretty unique because of the VAST amount of hills that you have to run. For example, my Friend Joe, who owns a company called Tree Service Fresno located out in Fresno, Ca, was shocked when we ran the Pittsburgh marathon last year. Even though he’s in great shape, he had no clue that you could get that tired running a marathon / half marathon, because out where he lives, its literally completely flat. It’s funny how us Pittsburghers just take it for granted that we live in an incredibly hilly place with steep inclines, while people living in other places get absolutely exhausted walking in a place like our beloved city! LOL
I can’t tell you how fired up I am the James Harrison is coming back for another season. When I saw that on the news and on his Instagram account, which I am a avid follower, I was so so fired up..
Now there’s even more reason to go watch the Steelers every Sunday in the fall.
And here’s the top 4 reasons why you should go see James Harrison for what could be his last season (and here’s the other article we wrote about this beastly man. Click here to read it)
#1: The BEASTLY hits
James Harrison is the hardest hitting player in the last 20 years, but possibly of all time. Seriously, just take a look at these highlights below:
The man is nothing short of amazing. I mean seriously. Look at how hard he just destroys people. Alwasys playing pissed off football. Gotta love it!!
#2: it could be James Harrison’s last hurrah
James Harrison has been a force for the past almost 15 seasons. If you really want to catch greatness this upcoming fall, you have to see James Harrison play least once. The guys turning 38 years old and is still extremely productive off the field plus she’s an unbelievable leader for the young guys.
#3: You might see him body slam a fan again.
Back in the day when a fan ran onto the field James Harrison pick them up and bodyslammed him onto the ground. I definitely would not want to be that guy. It looks like he snapped his neck back but hey if you’re going to be on the field and messed around like that I guess you’re willing to pay the price of having one the most Beasley man ever to live totally jack you up..
#4 He might break the sack record
James Harrison is only a few sacks shy of the all-time leader for the Pittsburgh Steelers Sacret heard. It would be amazing to see such an amazing player at an older age break the record especially considering he was undrafted out of Kent state, and didn’t even make the team multiple times and didn’t even get in the game until Joey Porter you got hurt one game I believe it was against Cleveland. Pretty crazy considering he was the NFL defensive player of the year in 2008, and he was a Super Bowl MVP back when he returned and reception 100 yards right before halftime against the Colts. Simply simply amazing.
All right folks that’s my reasons for why I’m excited that James Harrison is coming back for another season, do you guys have any reasons why you’re excited? Who else are you looking forward to seeing play this year? Feel free to sound off in the comments, peace!
Visitors to San Francisco, one of America’s most iconic cities, are likely to take a classic cable car ride. Even if you haven’t ever been to San Francisco, you probably can conjure up an image in your mind’s eye of some scene in a movie or TV show like Full House or some other movie that includes a San Francisco cable car. Or maybe you remember the classic cable car fight scene from the James Bond Movie, Moonraker, which takes place in the Sugarloaf Mountain Cable Car in Rio de Janeiro.
Well, Pittsburgh has its own famous cable car ride, otherwise known, as the “Incline”. At one time, Pittsburgh had 15 inclines, shuttling people up and down Mount Washington, located across from downtown Pittsburgh. Two remain today, the Duquesne Incline and the Monongahela Incline- both built in the 1870’s, sometimes referred to as “working museums”. Both inclines are registered in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania. The 20 passenger cable car has no operator on board, as he is busy in the station manning the engine that is used to power the cable that pulls the cars up and down the inclined track…inclines with grades of 30-35 degrees. It’s a very gentle 2 ½ minute ride, at a speed of 6 miles per hour – luckily the length of track is less than 800 feet long or you would have to pack a lunch! The inclines are enjoyed by many tourists and still used by commuters on a regular basis.
It’s opened 365 days a year, until 12:45am, rain or shine…or snow! If you haven’t taken a ride yet, it should be on your “must do” list.
Last March was my first experience at Phipps Conservatory’s annual Spring Flower Show. I was looking for a place to meet up with a friend I hadn’t seen in over a year. We both love the outdoors, but with the uncertainty of weather conditions, we decided that Phipps would be the perfect outdoor experience for us. It was a dreary and rainy day in Pittsburgh on the day we met, so we were both pleased to have made Phipps our choice meeting place. Inside the walls of Phipps was a completely different world than the gloom we left behind on the streets of Pittsburgh. It was like entering into a wonderland of nature. Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens is located in Schenley Park, near the Carnegie Museums in Oakland.
It is made up of a variety of buildings and grounds. There are 14 rooms in the Conservatory that showcase formal gardens and exotic plants. There is a room with all varieties of ferns and ground plants. Other rooms feature a variety of palm trees, orchids, and tropical plants – all of which made me feel as though I was in a different part of the world.
With the Spring Flower Shower, it seemed as though every variety of spring flowers were represented. It was so refreshing to see so many colorful flowers in full bloom, all surrounded by such beautiful greens.
My senses came alive with every new and vibrant color and variety of flower we came upon. We awed over everything we saw, taking pictures of our favorites and vowing to become gardeners so we could enjoy such beauty on a daily basis. (That never happened, by the way.)
My friend and I strolled through each room, enjoying the plants but also enjoying each other’s company in a very peaceful atmosphere. There’s something about all that beauty in one place! That’s one place I highly recommend going if you want a good time in nature.
It’s no secret that one of my all-time favorite food is ice cream. Yes, I would choose ice cream over any other food in the world. If there were no calories involved or no health risks in over-consumption, I would begin my day with eating ice cream and then, every other meal of the day as well. I’d snack on ice cream too. But in my real world, I can only treat myself to ice cream occasionally, and when I do, I just don’t want ice cream…I want really good ice cream.
So I’m going to let you in on my two favorite places in Pittsburgh that serve great ice cream and have a great atmosphere to boot! 1) The Milkshake Factory located on Carson Street on the South Side.
image courtesy of www.facebook.com/themilkshakefactory / the Milk Shake Factory
The line is usually out the door, especially in the spring and summer. But don’t let that hold you back. The line usually moves at a decent pace, but even if it doesn’t, standing in line there is usually pretty pleasant. There’s a candy counter featuring gourmet chocolate that you have to walk past before you get to order. I get happy just looking at all the chocolate and I usually order something to take home (like ice cream isn’t enough). Coconut clusters are my favorite! Everyone standing in line usually seems to be in a good mood, after all, if you are about to eat some really good ice cream, how can you NOT be happy? Also they’ve got a TV tuned into the likes of old “I Love Lucy” reruns, which are always entertaining. Continue Reading
There are some incredible places to work out here in the Burgh. I’ll let you know of the best places I can think of, both indoor and outdoor.
Best outdoor places:
1. Down by the rivers
One of the best places to workout is down by the fountains where the three rivers meet- the Monongahela, Allegheny, and Ohio Rivers. You can do pushups, dips, squats and any kind of bodyweight exercise there, or bring your own equipment for a nice kettlebell or dumbbell workout.
2. Running along the South Side
Yes, it can be crowded there sometimes, but there’s something about the South Side that I just cant get enough of. Maybe its the friendliness of the people, or maybe how many quint little shops there are, but I absolutely love running through the South Side any time of Day or Night Continue Reading
The east end Co Op is a natural health food store in Pittsburgh. They have an amazing selection of natural foods, including a nice deli with all kinds of grass fed meats and cheeses, a salad bar and more organic foods than you an imagine. Even my dad goes there on his days off and shops there, and hes the son of a steelworker with no nutritional background or really any interest in healthy food. The people there are hip, Continue Reading
Here’s a few more things I thought I’d share about my experience in living in Pittsburgh, and how you can find awesome things to do when you’re in and around town.
Ride the incline
One of the most iconic aspects of Pittsburgh is the Incline. Who doesn’t love the incline!
View of Pittsburgh’s Three Rivers from the Duquesne Incline atop Mount Washington on a foggy afternoon
It’s a little trolley like cart that rides on a track that goes up Mount Washington, where you can view the entire city. I can’t tell you how many trips I’ve taken up that thing growing up and in high school and college, showing all out the out of state kids how awesome it is. If you’re thinking about getting engaged, it’s a great place to do it. Tickets are really inexpensive and it’s some good, cheap, clean fun in Pittsburgh. I love the Pittsburgh Trolley!
Walk the South Side
The south side of Pittsburgh is filled with quaint little shops, bars, coffee shops, book stores and other little nooks and crannies that are truly Pittsburgh! You can take one of the many bridges over to the south side, and visit places like the piano bar and other neat little places.
I wouldn’t even worry about safety if you’re walking around at night time either. There’s tons of people mostly everywhere, and a lot of students from the University of Pittsburgh, Duquesne University, Carnegie Mellon University, and other technical institutes located up and around Pittsburgh.
Visit farmers markets
There are a ton of farmers markets in Pittsburgh. (you can click here for the full, up to date list).
Some include:
South Side
East Liberty
Carrick
Downtown Pittsburgh
Northside
You can experience a plethora of local, mostly organic food at a great price. Plus you’ll be helping out our local economy by keeping money in the local economy. There was a study that showed that if everyone in the Pittsburgh area just spent $10 per week on local food, it would have an economic multiplier effect of up and around $800 Billion dollars per year. Talk about a stimulus deal!
Any more fun things to do?
I’m always thinking of the best things to do in our city, but if you come across anything or anything you want me to write about, please feel free to leave a comment in the comments section below!
Over the past 10 years, it has been an absolute joy watching James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers absolutely destroy people. Devastating player he is. I’ve seen him hit people so hard that they almost died, literally, You gotta love that in a linebacker. I’ve seen him in person PLENTY of times, and I couldn’t believe he wasn’t drafted out of college and was cut by multiple teams. He ended up being the Defensive MVP in 08, and had a huge super bowl that year too. Here’s a quick clip below of his career highlights:
I mean take a look at the guy. He is one of my favorite players of all time because of his intensity. Look at how he pass rushes and just mauls offensive lineman getting to the QB. Look at his finesse with the interceptions.
Those are just a few reasons why watching James Harrison play football is one of my favorite things to do around Pittsburgh!
I couldn’t tell you how many times we’ve played the drinking Game ” Drink when James Harrison Lays somebody out” and taken 5 shots in the course of a football game. Absurd.
RETIREMENT
We were all pretty sad when James Harrison, AKA DEEBO (after the fictional character in the Movies - Friday) retired. Fortunately he came out of retirement last season and had an incredible year, leading the Steelers to the playoffs. You have to wonder if this way his last year or not, but who knows with him. I mean the guy bench presses over 500 pounds still. And he’s ANGRY! All the time! And no one knows why! Other than he might be a little loose in the old noggin, which is fine for football fans like me! lol
James, thank you for making football incredibility exciting to watch every Sunday afternoon in the fall for the past 10 years! We appreciate you, and hope you appreciate us writing this article on you as one of our favorite things to do in the ‘burgh.
If you’re not so much into watching grown men smash their bodies into each other, there’s tons more to do in Pittsburgh. Check out our other two articles below:
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