Gilfillan Park

saturday just outside of pittsburgh
visiting lisa's family...

today as lisa took the boys with her parents to watch one of the nephews play baseball
the grandparents went along as well
I woke up slow and sipped my coffee in a house without people

it was nice
sipped my coffee as I played with some images and messed around on dial up
yes... dial up

dial up is not really too much fun
not much tangent hoping at that speed

the day was a down day
yesterday at kennywood was all consuming
I gave my all the day prior
this day was about recovery

with my morning free I went to the mall and did some shopping
shopping alone is very different than shopping with the family
well over due to mix things up with my business casual
wandered around and grabbed a few things
two pairs of slacks at banana republic, three north face button down shirts and some adidas running shoes at a sports store called dicks, a pair of billabong swim trunks from some pseudo surf shop in the mall, and guitar hero on tour for nintendo DS
everything was on sale except for the game for nintendo
did not get replacement for my keen sandals
need to dispose of the sandals that are now over ripe

while at dick's sporting goods I grabbed some running shoes
ended up just getting some standard Adidas trail running shoes
the shoes I ended up getting were thirty bucks off
they felt good
the price was right


went to gilfillan park
at first I was going to just walk
the shoes were the only athletic part of my apparel
in fact I had my wallet in my pocket as well as my keys
the pants I was wearing were thick carhardt knickers
the shoes felt good so I ran
sure I was not dressed for it
yet I still ran
figured if I got a new bike I would go riding
so... with new shoes I should go running

did three laps on this mile and a quarter loop
my pace was good
worked hard on the winding climbs
guess you could tell me my lap averages if I told you I was running for almost 34 minutes
but without knowing the change in elevation it would be tough to guage


got back home and the kids settle down with their grandmother for another viewing of west side story on dvd
I showered and had lunch while they watched one of my favorite musicals
before the film was over I had to offer to deliver an outing that was previously promised
THE HULK
had already promised the boys that we could see the hulk
so after a little more of the movie with their grandma we headed to the movie theater
only a power outage at the mall had all stores closed
the theater was claiming they would be back up in an hour
but our itinerary only allowed us for the 3:55 show

called lisa to swing back by and grab us
I proposed a hike at gilfillan park... but only after grabbing a starbucks
needed something high octane
lisa dropped me and the boys off
with a vente ice coffee in hand I started to march
not two feet on the trail and the request for the time from a man dressed to run blended into some small talk
then me and the boys were invited in to get a closer look at the cows

the man who owns and operates the farm on the property was the man that asked me the time
the timing must have been perfect

it was all very cool
the boys were hand feeding several cows and a massively large hornless bull some sort of dog biscuit for cows

it was all very cool
very unexpected and very cool

with a handshake and a thank you me and the boys were on our way
still excited to take a lap
lisa arrived thinking we would be done by this time
we had not yet hiked
without question lisa joined in on the march

we all told lisa about the very nice man and our farm adventure as we took a lap on this mile and quarter loop
the boys ran most of the way
run... rest
run... rest
that is a child's way... run and then rest
grant chased the rabbits which aided in his pushing the pace

at the mid point the boys fueled by splitting a green apple candy cane I had bought at kennywood the day prior

after the hike we went out for pizza
well... we went home to change clothes again
then out for pizza at a place called harry's
it was a party 12 people thick
pizza all around
the boys were well behaved
but these gatherings get them excited
the cousins do not get together enough

after dinner on to the cousin's house
I brought a bag of nerf guns that kept the six cousins entertained for an hour
then let the evening go free form
some ice cream... some video games... and some capturing fireflies
then in the surrounding areas there small local fireworks displays
everyone up past their bed time
including me
so we loaded up the car and watched the fireworks on the fifth as we drove back to my inlaws'


gilfillan park
www.twpusc.org

I have to consider bringing cross country skies up here at thanksgiving time
again... it was a very wonderful chance meeting that this man had the time and interest to invite us in for a closer look at his cows
we spoke as the kid's fed the cows and asked inquisitive kid questions
while I probed with my inquisitive adult quesitons

all these photos are from last week
just trying to get some images up so they do not get buried in the digital shuffle
yes... so many photos get taken
not all image make the page