Harry L Levinson: 2010

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Thu Sep 23,12:35PM EDT - Cardinals at Pirates 2 seats - Got 2 for Lou and Me from unused tickets in April

Fri Sep 24,7:05PM EDT - Astros at Pirates 2 seats

Sat Sep 25,7:05PM EDT - Astros at Pirates 2 seats

Sun Sep 26,1:35PM EDT - Astros at Pirates 2 seats

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

August Pirates Games

Mon Aug 02,7:05PM EDT - Reds at Pirates 2 seats - Turned Back

Tue Aug 03,7:05PM EDT - Reds at Pirates 2 seats - Sam and Harry. McCutchen gets hit in the neck. Good night for Walker

Wed Aug 04,12:35PM EDT - Reds at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back one, Harry went for a few innings. Pirates did not do too well this game either

Thu Aug 05,7:05PM EDT - Rockies at Pirates 2 seats - Turned Back

Fri Aug 06,7:05PM EDT - Rockies at Pirates 2 seats - Lisa and Harry went to get the bobble heads. Not an exciting game if you were rooting for the PIrates:(:(

Sat Aug 07,7:05PM EDT - Rockies at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Sun Aug 08,1:35PM EDT - Rockies at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Mon Aug 16,7:05PM EDT - Marlins at Pirates 2 seats - Howard and Harry went. Pirates decided to hit and we won...

Tue Aug 17,7:05PM EDT - Marlins at Pirates 2 seats - Big night with the Farbman Family. Used these 2 tickets plus eighteen others. Pirates didn't play very well but we had a good time anyways.

Wed Aug 18,7:05PM EDT - Marlins at Pirates 2 seats - Howard and Natalie went.

Thu Aug 19,7:05PM EDT - Marlins at Pirates 2 seats - Harry went late, sold one for $5, We got the last 2 T-Shirts at the Diamond Pizza Club!!! Pirates lost 4-2 but I got to see a McCutchen HR in the 9th

Fri Aug 20,7:05PM EDT - Mets at Pirates 2 seats - Turned Back

Sat Aug 21,7:05PM EDT - Mets at Pirates 2 seats - Turned Back

Sun Aug 22,1:35PM EDT - Mets at Pirates 2 seats - Sam and Howard went with 3 friends but turns out I got 7 tickets. WIll try to get credit for unused tickets. Duke pitched a great game against Santana!!!

Mon Aug 23,7:05PM EDT - Cardinals at Pirates 2 seats - Howard, Nick and I went. Albert Pujols hit his 399th HR just as we were sitting down! Lost 10-2 but we had good primanti sandwiches in Market Square before the game.

Tue Aug 24,7:05PM EDT - Cardinals at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Wed Aug 25,7:05PM EDT - Cardinals at Pirates 2 seats - Turned Back

Tickets
Harry - 20
Mike - 0
Farbman Night - 20
Cash - $5
Harry's Record: 0 - 6

Friday, July 23, 2010

Mostly brief posts to keep track of our activity in New York:

Day 1
After a scare that the batteries in our Highlander were 'broken' by the oil change, Lisa, Sam, and I head to NYC. Brief stop at the Midway Rest Stop on the turnpike for lunch and of course WaWa in Trexlertown. Only traffic was getting onto 80 and then found that Hannah is right off the Henry Hudson. Found a parking spot right in front of her apartment good until 8:30 Monday morning!!! Walked down past Columbia for dinner at the Mill Korean Restaurant. Back at Hannah's Sam finds lots of tickets for the Yankees game on Friday night. Guess who is going to the game!!!

Day 2
Well it is the night after A-Rod hit his 599th HR and guess who is going to the Yankees game!!! Well first we need to meet Sam and Hannah at the Guiggenheim to see:

Left: James Casebere, Garage, 2003 (detail); middle:
Joan Jonas, Mirror Piece I, 1969; right: Miranda Lichtenstein, Floater,
2004

Haunted: Contemporary Photography/Video/Performance

Hannah really wanted to see Merce Cunningham perform John Cage's 4'33''. It was actually the best in this exhibit.

Actually Sam and I liked The Geometry of Kandinsky and Malevich . Cool early 20th century geometric paintings.

Then lunch with Larry at a noodle and sushi restaurant on 3rd near 85th. OK chicken basil and sushi... We then head down to 14th st to find the start of the High Line. Nice walk, great wildflowers, some cool architecture views, and an organic ice cream truck at the end with soft custard. We then head up to find a few of the galleries that moved from SoHo into the west Chelsea area. Everyone starts to get cranky so we head over the subway and get a call from Howard that he and Natalie have arrived and are getting some food. We meet them at the subway stop and head back to Hannah's. We stop for a sandwich for Howard, trail mix for Natilie and beer for Larry and me. Hannah heads to meet mom after her lesson to eat dinner at the Carnegie Deli and then see Promises, Promises.

The rest of us follow Leon east to find the 'B' train to take us to Yankee Stadium. On the way some kids are playing with a fire hydrant and soak Howard, half of Sam and parts of Natalie!!! The stadium is heavy and majestic outside but inside I find it very commercial and stark. The view of the outfield is ads and apartment buildings. The scoreboard is OK but I found it hard to get the information on players although I did like that they constantly post both line ups with batting averages and who the next batter is. A-Rod hit a couple of singles but no HR. Taking the trains home was really easy...

Day 3
Lisa and I get 'cheap' tickets at TKTS for Fela!. Met the kids at Meze Grill for lunch and killed 15 minutes in the M&M store before seeing the show. Highly recommend Fela!. Learned some history about Africa that we never new and it is fun and exciting music. We walked around the Shops at Columbus Circle and checked out the cook 3D TV and gadgets in the Samsung store. Then headed up Amsterdam and found Earthen Oven Indian Restaurant at 72nd.

Day 4
A slow easy day. Lisa and I go to the 'no pressure' presentation on the new 57th St Hilton Club. It is a very nice place and probably a good deal if you want to come to NYC 3 or 4 times a year and stay in luxury. We said no. Headed up to Hannah's place to have bagels with everyone except Leon. Went down to the river and took some family pictures. Then Howard and Natalie took off to head back to Boston. After installing the new G router, we headed down to Smoke hear Leon's last set. Turns out Lisa had heard of Lea Delaria and we ended up seeing a famous person for just the price of some pretty good food. She had some tricky arrangements but Leon did very well. The exciting part was that she is friends with Jesse Tyler Ferguson and he was there with his friends. Jesse is on our favorite show 'Modern Family'.

We then spent some time exploring Hannah's neighborhood. The local bakery had some plain cookies that I bought while the kids got ice cream at the Mr. Softee truck. Headed towards the river again and found Covo Trattoria for some tasty pizza, lasagna, and fettucini with a nice bottle of wine.

Utah Tour de Donut - Sat July 17

www.utahtourdedonut.org … A fun idea that I was able to participate in. I found the race advertised in a free biking paper when I ate at the Stoneground. Got there by finding a coupon of buy one pizza get the second free. Second one came in handy when I had to work until 10PM on Thursday. But because we worked late, we didn’t have to work on Saturday. So I changed my flight to 1:35PM to come home which left me just enough time to do the ride in the morning. Now where would I get a bike to ride? One of guys who I was working with had bike that he hadn’t ridden in a few years due to recovery from some surgery. Paul’s a serious fisherman with fishing licenses for almost every state within driving and flying range of Utah including Alaska!!! So he needed to head down to Cabela’s which was near American Forks where the local Rotary Club was running the race for their fundraising. He dropped the bike off and picked it up which worked our great for me. Thanks Paul!!!!

The race was fun but not very challenging. If I get my phone syncing back to my PC I might even be able for post photos…

- I saw the winner of the last two years (ate 28 donuts)

- Talked with a rider on the skull candy team. This is a local headphone manufacturer whose stuff you can find in most electronic stores. Cool bike uniforms.

- Talked with a guy from One-on-One Marketing whose firm was a key sponsor of the ride. Lives up in the mountains and works in the valley which I didn’t think too many people did.

- Rode all 21 miles with a short detour to view Lake Utah

- Oh yeah, I had 4 donuts, 2 between each of the 3 laps.

Made it to the airport in plenty of time. First class to Phoenix was nice as I got a couple of beers in me before taking the long flight back to PGH. Lisa and I stopped off at Mad Mex for a quick Pennsylvania Fried Tofu and beer before heading home.

Friday, July 2, 2010

July 2, 2010 - Bike, Hike, Drive, Fly

Well it is time to return my bike so I hop on it around 8:30AM and head into Vail after exploring Avon a little. The others pick me up and we head to the Gore Creek Trail (not Deluge Lake Trail)along the bike route I took yesterday. It is a climb up along the creek with some different views, meadows, and fauna than the other hikes this week. After finding a perfect camping site right next the creek, we wait out a small rain and then head back down. We didn't make it more than 2 miles in but it was nice hike to end the week.

Lunch, Dan finds Pepi's in the center of Vail and we sit outside, watch the dogs (and people) while Dan and I eat authentic German food(Bratwurst, saurkraut, mashed potatoes) and the girls have good old American stuff(Tuna melt and French Onion Soup).

We go back and prepare for Becky's birthday party and our last dinner of the week. Dan makes some great chicken and we celebrate with chocolate dipped strawberries (courtesy of the Ritz) and store bought brownie cake.

Lisa and I drive into Denver to catch our redeye to Philly and then on to Cincinnati.

July 1, 2010 - Bike Vail Pass and Hail Storm

My busiest day!!!

I rented a Giant Defy 2 yesterday so I was all ready to leave at 7:30AM and start my bike trip over Vail Pass to Copper. I leave Bachelor Gulch and head up Rt 6. Turns out the wind was blowing from the east and I was heading west to make the toughest part of the trip. I go through Vail amazed at the fancy homes and golf courses. I head up old Rt 6 which then turns into a bike trail along side Interstate 70. Exhausted I reach the top of Vail Pass and head down over into Copper where Lisa will picks me up. Trip took 4 hours, I like the climb up but I had to stop a few times. Ride down to Copper is beautiful with most of the trail in between Interstate 70. Check out my route on Bikely.

Avon to Copper via Vail Pass

Share your bike routes @ Bikely.com

Lisa and I head over to Empire to meet Dan and Becky for lunch and then to head over to Rocky Mountain National Park. The internet pointed us to the 'Hard Rock Cafe' which claims to be the original. It was closed for the day for some unknown reason but Jenny's was open. Nice Buffalo Burger and Dutch Apple Pie.

Well it is pouring rain when we leave Jenny's so Dan and Becky get their leathers on and wait a few minutes. We head up Rt 40 and it clears up about 5 miles down the road. But we get up to Berthold Pass or Berthoud Pass (Continental Divide) and it starts to rain, 45 F temperature and really miserable. We head down the pass and get into a hail storm. I pull over to try to call Dan but in a few minutes they pull over right next to me. They decide head home but we continue on. In Winter Park, a deluge happens so Lisa and I decide to head back and check out the hiking trail along one of the switch backs going up the pass.

Research trail...

We head back home stopping in 'Historic' Georgetown just a few miles past Empire. Actually enjoyed the shops. Lisa found earrings, they had a nice ice cream and popcorn shop, glass shop with a wine stopper and earrings also, and a interesting photographer. We then headed back to Avon with the idea of finding a pizza to take back to the timeshare. As soon as we reached Avon, the sky opened up again and we were driving around trying to find a place. Lisa spotted Pazzo's where we had a Fat Tire while watch the energetic kids behind the counter make the pizza.

Thursday, July 1, 2010

June 30, 2010 - Village to Village

Everyone takes the morning easy except me. I decide to rent a bike for a couple of days so I hope on my brother's hog (he drives, I am 'bitch') and he takes me to Lionshead village to rent the bike. He goes exploring on the motorcycle and I head back to Batchelor's Gulch. The ride takes me about 1.5 hours with the toughest part the ride up the hill to the timeshare. We then get organized enough to start the 'village to village' hike over the mountain to Beaver Creek resort. A 20 minute climb up the slopes takes us to a nice trail over the hill and down into the resort. We have lunch and then take the shuttle back.

The evening we head to the Gerald R Ford Theater in Vail to hear the opening concert of the 'Bravo!' series. Dallas Symphony Orchestra with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. The excitement was when an afternoon thunderstorm whipped through just before the concert started. We made it under the roof but since we were next to last row still got somewhat wet. Nice concert but we all thought Beethoven's 5th lacked something.

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

June 29, 2010 - Holy Cross Trail

Dan finds a trail that is not too far away from Bachelor's Gulch. Turns out that it climbs up to a 14er. The other problem is that the trail head is at the end of a 6 mile dirt bumpy road that takes us close to 40 minutes to traverse. Mt of the Holy Cross was not our destination, we were just hoping to get a view when we hit the pass.

Left the parking lot and started hiking up and up and up... Finally we hit the top of the ridge and got a great view of some snow capped mountains across the way but not Holy Cross. We started down the other side as we got reports of a nice stream to stop at. I left the others to see scout ahead and I think I got to a view of the mountain. By the time I got back, they were swearing at me as the mosquitoes were having a feast.

Nice trail once you get above the tree line with lots of wild flowers and views all around. Glimpses of a marmut and prairie dogs.

We get home and discover that the car is caked in dust.

Hot tub and blue cheese hamburgers and finishing 'Flags of our Fathers' makes the day memorable.

June 28, 2010 - Steamboat Springs and Fish Creek Falls

We get a good night's sleep and head out to Steamboat Springs. Dan and Becky on their bikes and Lisa and I in our nice cushy Hyundai Santa Fe. On our way out there we see a sign to the ranger station in Yampa for Routt National Forest. The town is a 'hoot'. Dirt road for main street, one saloon, and nice small homes. Just like you would imagine as a western small town. We get a few good ideas for hikes and then continue on to Steamboat. On the way in we find the ranger station and get a good suggestion to see Fish Creek Falls. Dan and Becky found out that the brewery is closed on Monday's so we walk down the street and Dan picks the first restaurant that has a table outdoors, Winona's. Had a nice meal where we each split an entree with our mate.

Great hike The first falls is an easy walk down. The second falls is a tough climb up about 2 miles. Dan can't quite make it but Becky makes a push to go past the second falls and find the lake. Check out more pictures on Shutterfly.

Dan and Becky head out before us and take the long way home. We make Beet and Goat Cheese salad, beet greens, grilled portabella mushrooms with blue cheese for dinner

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

June 27, 2010 - Denver to Avon

We get up fairly early considering. I find out we are in the Stapleton area which is where the old airport used to be. We find a nice little neighborhood that has a great Farmer's Market on Sunday morning right next to the Kings Supermarket. In addition to groceries for the week here is what we get at the market:
- Nice cheese danish and a Cranberry/Walnut loaf of bread
- $50 worth of Tenderloin with free #2 of ground beef
- Fingerling potatoes, peas, lettuce, tomatoes
- Colorado's best tamales

We head to Avon and since we took too long, Dan and Becky head on their bikes. Dan's timeshare is a tough one to find but we eventually make it. We then meet them in Lionshead Village. They already ordered at Old Forge Pizza so we have a slice and then check out the bike shops and arts festival. Dan then shows us Edwards and then we head home to cook our steaks.

June 26, 2010 - Heading to Colorado

Well Lisa and I are headed to Avon, CO to spend a week with Dan and Becky. On the return we are going to stop off in Lexington KY to celebrate the 4th of July at a wedding of the daughter of our friends. Actually a friend of Hannah's. So we decided to drive to Cincinnati, fly to CO, spend the week on vacation and fly back to Cincinnati, pick up Hannah who is planning to fly to Cincinnati and then we all drive down to Lexington. So far so good...

We leave Pittsburgh with plenty of time to make it to the Cincinnati airport. For a break we stop in Mt Sterling between Columbus and Cincinnati. A quick walk of the main corner shows that the town definitely needs a facelift. We find Veterans Memorial Park and eat our lunch.

The trip starts uneventfully as the airport is small and easy to get around. Lisa figures out how to get WiFi working so we check our email before getting on the plane. The good news is that trip from Charlotte to Denver will be first class but the bad news is that we have a 3 hour layover. After buying a few small presents at Harley Davidson for Dan and Becky, we go to Chili's for dinner. Shortly after dinner we get the first many phone calls from USAir that our flight will be delayed. Ended up 3 hour delay so we get into Denver close to 1AM their time. The Red Lion Hotel which I got through PriceLine ended up as a very nice hotel for $39.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

July Pirates Games

Thu Jul 01,7:05PM EDT - Phillies at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Fri Jul 02,7:05PM EDT - Phillies at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Sat Jul 03,7:05PM EDT - Phillies at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Sun Jul 04,1:35PM EDT - Phillies at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Fri Jul 16,7:05PM EDT - Astros at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Sat Jul 17,7:05PM EDT - Astros at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Sun Jul 18,1:35PM EDT - Astros at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back but I got 4 tickets and Sam, Nathaniel, Ari and I rode our bike down for the game. Pirates won 9-0. Maholm went 7+ innings facing the minimum with 2 outs and 2 double plays. Jones HR.

Mon Jul 19,7:05PM EDT - Brewers at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Tue Jul 20,7:05PM EDT - Brewers at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Wed Jul 21,7:05PM EDT - Brewers at Pirates 2 seats - Harry and Sam went. Pirates won 15-3 with 2 HR by Tabata and 1 by Young. 18 hits!!! Doumit was injured on a

Thu Jul 22,7:05PM EDT - Brewers at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Fri Jul 23,7:05PM EDT - Padres at Pirates 2 seats - See NY Post for Yankees game. - Turned back

Sat Jul 24,7:05PM EDT - Padres at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Sun Jul 25,1:35PM EDT - Padres at Pirates 2 seats - Turned back

Tally for July
Harry - 4
Michael - 2
Money - $0 to Harry
Credit - 26

Sunday, May 9, 2010

June Pirate Games

Tue Jun 01,7:05PM EDT - Cubs at Pirates 2 seats: Turned Back

Wed Jun 02,7:05PM EDT - Cubs at Pirates 2 seats:
- Got six tickets for my birthday and invited everyone I knew. Mike, Pat, Jimmy, and Chris showed up. Weather was beautiful until a few minutes after 7 when we noticed the game hadn't started. Around 7:15 the thunder and lightening started and a vicious storm came through. Abbie and Lisa said that there were tornado warnings. Left around 8:30 and the game was eventually postponed until later. Probably will be cancelled unless the Pirates or Cubs end up in a meaningful pennant race.

Fri Jun 04,7:05PM EDT - Giants at Pirates 2 seats: Turned Back

Sat Jun 05,7:05PM EDT - Giants at Pirates 2 seats:
- Sam is taking Natalie to see Collective Soul. I had them on StubHub for a couple of days and they didn't sell.

Sun Jun 06,1:35PM EDT - Giants at Pirates 2 seats Turned Back. Decided to go to game anyways so I used 2 credits to get the seats back. Nathaniel and I tried to ride our bikes to the game but I got a flat tire. Never made it.

Tue Jun 15,7:05PM EDT - White Sox at Pirates 2 seats - Turned Back

Wed Jun 16,7:05PM EDT - White Sox at Pirates 2 seats - Turned Back

Thu Jun 17,7:05PM EDT - White Sox at Pirates 2 seats - Turned Back

Fri Jun 18,7:05PM EDT - Indians at Pirates 2 seats - Sold on Stubhub for $9 each ($15.20 after fees) Jimmy gave me two seats for a Luxury box. Mike and I enjoyed the game while eating too much. Beer, hot dogs, cheese platter, dessert cart (Carrot and Coconut cakes), nachos, cookies...

Sat Jun 19,7:05PM EDT - Indians at Pirates 2 seats - Sold on Stubhub for $9 each ($15.20 after fees). Went to a party at the Mark house but there was a rain delay. I ended up going to game myself, buying a ticket for $10. Good game, Milledge needed a HR for the cycle and Alvarez got his first hit.

Sun Jun 20,1:35PM EDT - Indians at Pirates 2 seats - Upgraded seats to club level for Father's Day to take Mike, Nathaniel, and Ari. The four of us rode our bikes down after Nathaniel's birthday brunch. It was a hot day and the airconditioning of the club felt great...

Tally for June
Harry - 18
Michael - 8
Money - $30.40 to Harry
Credit - 10