The Burgh took offense to my visit

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This morning I got an early start on my way out to Pittsburgh. After the 10 hour drive, I arrived at 6:00 pm and met up with Renee, who had just moved home to Pittsburgh from New York City.

The drive out was uneventful, as I mostly covered flat farmlands in Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Then it was through the Appalachians in West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh was not pleased with me being there. It must have taken offense to my berating its sports teams and decided to treat me with equal contempt.

When I approached Pittsburgh, it started to drizzle. As Renee and I met and went up the cable cars at Station Square, it started to rain. When we were up on the top of Mount Washington attempting to view the city, it poured. By the time we made it down a few minutes later, it had already started to flood. We waited around for about 20 minutes for the rain to subside but it just kept coming down.

After what looked like a brief break in the rain, we took a run for it. After my umbrella, which already had a hole in it, blew inside-out in the wind and the hard rain was blown sideways, I arrived back in the station completely dripping wet. Renee was soaked as well, having run through massive puddles in those ballet slipper things that girls wear. We found a bar and grabbed a beer as we waited for the rain to die down.

Eventually it did so we went to Primanti Brothers in Cranberry for dinner. Primanti Brothers is well known by most Pittsburghers for its sandwiches, which have fries and cole slaw on them. Having thrown my health to the wind for the remainder of my trip, I went with a “Pittsburgher”, the restaurant’s “#2 seller”. I never did find out what the #1 seller is. The Pittsburgher, comprised of a burger, cheese, tomatoes, fries, vinegar based cole slaw, all between two slices of soft Italian bread, was good but it was dwarfed in taste by my Rogue Dead Guy Ale. I love Rogue’s beers.

After dinner, we headed back in more rain to her parents’ house in remote Beaver Falls where I shacked up on the sofa. Nice place. Good hospitality. I’m grateful.

With as much grief, usually in the name good fun, as I give Pittsburghers, they do have a decent city. While I didn’t experience much of it, through what I did see and Renee’s description, it reminds me a bit of Baltimore - moderately sized, neighborhood-based and good people - and without all the bums. That said, I will still root against Pittsburgh sports teams. My doing that would take divine intervention.

Tomorrow I head back to Reading. It’s hard to believe this trip is almost over.

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Photos

Mount Washington view
The view of downtown Pittsburgh from the top of Mount Washington.

Comments

[anonymous]

you picked the worst day possible to visit - sorry