Exploring Downtown Pittsburgh

To start where we left off, here's a better picture of Andrew and Elizabeth's edible arrangement.  It wasn't long after my last post that we opened it.  The chocolate-covered fruit is SO delicious!

That was, when, Thursday night?  We haven't done a lot since then but sit around and recover at Family House.  Michael is mostly good, with a few ups and downs.  Yesterday, he thought his vision was better and we went for a little drive to take Mari Ann to church.  But this morning, he has the worst headache since the operation and is taking Tylenol with Codeine to relieve it.  Yesterday, his appetite returned.  Sadly, it was the likes of Wendy's and Papa John's that brought it back.

We journeyed back to Presby Saturday morning for his follow-up MRI.  We're really hoping Dr. Gardner shows pictures to us on Tuesday afternoon.  We saw so many pre-op in Kansas City that we're really curious how his head looks now.

Afterwards, armed only with Google Maps on my iPhone to replace the native Maps app, I took myself on a tour of comic book stores in the Pittsburgh area.  Two of four on my list were no longer in existence; however, I got a nice little self-guided tour of downtown, an area we haven't explored at all since we've arrived.  Below is just a shot between buildings right off I-376 that goes along the west side of downtown:

You know, I keep forgetting that The Dark Knight Rises was filmed here.  I probably drove down some of the streets that were used and didn't realize it.  Here are a couple shots of those streets from the movie:

One particular building did catch my eye.  I don't know if it's the same one in the movie or not.  Now that I look, I'm guessing not.  I'm sure there's a website somewhere that would identify filming locations.  If I had thought about it, I could have planned a tour of film sites in Pittsburgh.  As it is now, I'm just too tired and want to get home.  I can't focus on such an adventurous project.

Here is a shot backwards toward the east entrance of the Ft. Pitt Tunnel.  It's the tunnel I mentioned the other day from The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Exiting the west side, there's no sign of city.  But coming back, heading east, is a wonderful view of the city overlooking the river.

My biggest find yesterday was Eide's Entertainment, a three-level store near the bus station downtown.  Entering on the first level, you will find new comic books and music.  Downstairs, you will find a full-fledged comic shop with thousands of back issues and hundreds of toys and action figures.  Upstairs, you will find eveything related to movies: VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, books, posters, soundtracks and collectibles.  Of course, it was the last place I found, but it should go to the top of anyone's list.

Not much else to report.  Remember, no news about Michael is good news!