Day 2 - Pittsburgh to Chicago

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Day Two: Pittsburgh to Chicago

We woke up to brilliantly sunny skies and a cool warmth (if that makes any sense). Sunday night we parked the van on the street to avoid the $17 parking fee at the hotel, so I got to experience the beautiful weather as I went out to plunk quarters in the meter. Forbes Avenue was unbelievably busy; after all it was a sleepy city Sunday afternoon when we arrived at our hotel and the street only carried a light amount of traffic. Monday morning shone a much different light on what turns out to be a very important thoroughfare in the Steel City. People carrying briefcases or messenger bags hustled and bustled to the many office buildings in the area, most of which seemed to belong to, or somehow connected with, the University of Pittsburgh.

We ate brunch at Pamela’s Diner , a fun experience. The little restaurant on Forbes Avenue was divided into two sections. The left half was bright with splashes of color on the walls. Both sides of the room were lined with yellow vinyl covered booths. The other half, where we ate, was called “The Game Room.” The walls were covered with board games - Monopoly, Chutes and Ladders, Risk, Clue, and all the roll-the-dice games that were part of our childhood. Then there were the games that required the boxed devices, such as Concentration and Jeopardy. The game of Mouse Trap seemed to combine both the traditional board game and “devices” games and was proudly assembled and mounted on the wall behind us. Plastic “Cooties,” (all legs and antennae intact) swung on monofilament from the ceiling over our heads. I looked for Mr. Potato Head, but he was nowhere in sight. The back wall was covered with the big plastic sheet and colorful dots of Twister, its color spinner was displayed next to it.

The wait for our meal seemed to fly by as we reminisced about the various games we played and asked trivia questions from the Trivial Pursuit cards which were kept in a sugar packet container on each table. The food was tasty but somehow inconsequential compared to the fun we had talking about the games.

With food in our stomachs, it was time to head west. For years we navigated from city to city using paper maps - and we can still do that if we have to - but using a GPS makes things so much easier. “Lee”, our Aussie-voiced Garmin guide, directed us out of Pittsburgh in short order. It wasn’t too long before we saw the sign welcoming us to Ohio.

After a couple hours of driving we jumped off the interstate to see Lake Erie and we ended up in the town of Lorain. Funny thing about Lorain, Ohio, there is nothing in the AAA Tour Book about this city. We found a huge steel plant, it was over a mile long, it is a division of US Steel and make steel tubing. The section of the city we saw was rather depressing and I am hopeful there is a nicer, cleaner section someplace. We ventured to the municipal boat ramp to get a better view of the lake. The road took a circuitous route, twisting through industrial properties, before finally reaching the water’s edge. Once there, there wasn’t much to see - ample parking for boat trailers and tow vehicles, areas to fish, and, of course, the boat ramp. There was a small mom-and-pop bait and take shop, so we stepped inside. The proprietress was a pleasant lady but her shop smelled like rotting fish and we didn’t stay there too long.

We picked up I-80 again and headed toward Chicago. The GPS showed that our ETA would be 7:30. It was a bit disheartening to realize that was Central time, not the Eastern Time shown on the car’s clock. We left Pittsburgh at 12:30 and got to Chicagoland about 8:30 (Eastern Time). The skies were overcast and looked like rain but we wanted to see some of Chicago so we drove north on Lake Shore Drive, past Soldier Field, The Field Museum/Shedd Aquarium, and, of course, the Million Dollar Mile (Magnificent Mile), finally stopping at a wide expanse of beach just off North Lake Shore Drive. We waded into Lake Michigan (only to our knees) and although initially chilly, the water was quite pleasant after we were in a few minutes. With fatigue starting to set in, we headed to the hotel.

It was about 10:00 when we got to our room at the Ramada on Lake Shore Drive, just off the campus of Chicago University. The room was spacious and clean, but not modern by any means. If our visit had been in the winter we would have had a view of the lake, but old maple trees hid that from us now (we were on the third floor).

I am looking forward to seeing the arch in St Louis, the ride there on Day Three will be shorter than today’s. We project about four + hours.

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Photos

Game Room
Just some of the games on the walls of the "Game Room" at Pamela's Diner in Pittsburgh, PA

The Scweam
A parody on a famous painting hanging at Pamela's Diner (note Sylvester hiding in the background)

Lighthouse
View from the municipal boat ramp in Lorain, OH

Soldier Field
Soldier Field is just one of the many landmarks along Lake Shore Drive in Chicago

Lale Shore Drive
Traffic and skyscrapers - a typical scene along Lake Shore Drive

Nightscape
The Sears Tower at night

Comments

[Brian]

Pamela's Diner
Don: Pamela's Diner should install a mirror in their Game room, then you could see Mr Potato Head. Have a fun trip.