So I have spent a week in Erie, PA now and I have soaked up a bit of culture here. Friday night I headed down to Ribfest downtown with some of my fellow interns. Apparently these rib shops travel around the country to this and other rib eating events, competing (seriously) for the title of best ribs. In any event, there were a bunch of people there and there was plenty of good barbaque food that was relatively cheap. I got a half a rack of ribs (its only the second time I ever ate ribs) and they were both messy and tasty. It was raining, which was a bit annoying, so we didn't spend a lot of time outside. Too bad, since there was a kettle corn stand there as well.

We ended up going to a bar called Molly Brannigans, a cozy Irish bar that is apparently part of a chain. I was a bit hesitant about going into a bar, being under 21, but it wasn't a big deal. We sat down and people got food and drinks; I just got Pepsi. The atmosphere was pretty cool though, since they had this cool musician who played a perfect lineup of classic rock. He did Piano Man, Come Sail Away, Margaritaville and I think he may have done Tiny Dancer too. Anyway, it turned out to be a real good time even if I couldn't drink.

Yesterday afternoon we went out to the Millcreek Mall for lunch and I picked up an adapter for my PlayStation. While we were there we ran into some other interns, including one of the guys from my office. The mall itself was pretty impressive, closer to the ones from home than the Nittany Mall. Someone pointed out that it was built by mobsters who wanted to build it downtown, but the city wouldn’t let them. So they built in the shape of a gun pointed at city hall. I don't know if it's true, but it is in the Wikipedia.

Based on that entry in the Wikipedia, I found a song that was apparently written by a Mercyhurst student about Erie, PA. You can stream it here. It's funny because it sums everything I have learned or heard about Erie. Anyway I'm getting to know the town and things are going well.