The 837/885 Junction

Saul and I went to the Century III Mall on Saturday. For the first time ever, we didn't get lost on the way. I wondered, why is it we always get lost on the way there?

To get there from the CMU area, you take 837 (in this stretch of road, the Blue Belt) to 885 S.

Here's the junction of 837 and 885, courtesy of Google Maps. I dare you to get from the upper right corner to the lower right corner with out getting lost. BTW, for scale, the top to bottom of the map is approximately 1000 yards. (Counted with my fingers pressed up to the monitor.)

The O is really gross

I knew better than to go to the O. But my parents are in town, and everyone keeps asking them if they've been. So we went.

As usual, the interior of my hot dog was crunchy. I'm cool if the casing has some bite, but the interior should not be burnt. That is just gross and inedible. It is possible to grill a hot dog without burning the interior. It's called making them after we order (not before), and moving them around on the grill so they don't burn through. Concept. That was a waste of $3.

Fries were inferior. My mother said that she thought McDonalds makes better fries. And yeah, there were a lot of fries. We also paid a lot for them. Big deal.

Phipps Conservatory

The Phipps Conservatory has an amazing exhibit right now. They have Chihuly glasswork in nearly every room, and it was designed beautifully. The plants and the glass look stunning together, and a lot of the glass forms were inspired by plants. It's worth seeing, especially since CMU students get in free.

I've also heard it's spectacular at night. You can't go at dusk and expect to hang around though. Apparently they shoo everyone out at sunset and then make you pay for a separate ticket if you want to see it lit up in the evening. But hey, that's just another $0.00 ticket for us.

The glass is around until November, but go in summer so you can see the glass in the outdoor rooms as well. The Japanese garden was particularly well done.

Added bonus is the butterfly room (daytime only to see the butterflies hatching) and the Thailand exhibit.