Cleveland, OHIO to Morgantown, WEST VIRGINIA

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Up early in time to watch the Socceroos vs Denmark game on Fox Sports. Kerry kindly went down to the breakfast room and got me some scrambled eggs on toast so I did not miss any of the action. Socceroos are still alive despite the 1-1 draw.

We checked out at 10.30 and got the car delivered from valet and went to the park at Nth Harbour to get the famous Cleveland sign photo. Voinovich Park was built in 1996 as part of Cleveland’s bicentennial.

We then hit the road again and first stop was at the tourist centre as crossed the border into Pennsylvania where we met Karen and some other lady. They had several taxidermy animals on display including a black bear which had been in a car accident, and some other native animals including one called a Fisher which we had never heard of. Apparently, this Fisher is a ferocious animal that attacks everything (hope we don't meet one of these close up !). We talked with Karen about where we were from and she was fascinated about the barrier reef and she asked us to play her licence plate game. They had on display licence plates for all 50 states and several territories but only one state had multiples. It was Wisconsin, she was surprised I picked it out ! Little did she know I am collecting these for my Bali Hut as I tick of each state visited. They shared some trivia about the Green Bay Packers and that their star QB Aaron Rogers was now dating motor racing driver Danica Patrick. They told us where to go in Pittsburgh (the lookout at Mt Washington). They were lovely people.

We then hit the road again and saw this petrol tanker advertising coffee (how weird is that ?). There was lots of road kill on the drive to Pittsburgh where did not see the city until 5 miles out of town as it is a really hilly area. As we approached I played a classic catchy song on my USA playlist called Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sung by Guy Mitchell in 1952 which got to number 4 in the charts here. A classic chorus line talks about “Pawn Shop On A Corner in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania”. Alas I did not find one here.

I had researched this area and found out parking on Mt Washington can be a problem and is always paid parking, but we got lucky with a spot literally only 40 metres away from the observation deck at Duquesne Incline which was built in 1877 and climbs the mountain at 30 degree angle. We parked outside the incline for $1 right for an hour ! We then had lunch overlooking Pittsburgh at The Grandview Saloon & Coal Hill Steakhouse. We were on the lower balcony and it had amazing views over the city and the famous Pittsburgh golden triangle at the junction of the 3 rivers and all the yellow bridges below.

We also walked up the hill to see the famous Point Of View sculpture. This was built in 2006 to commemorate the famous meeting between George Washington and the Indian leader Guyasuta with guns laid down when Washington visited the region start settlements. I enjoyed the stunning vista from Mt Washington, and as we headed off I played another classic song on my USA playlist called "On The Banks Of The Ohio". This song has been song my many people over the years and I have some weird recollection oh gearing this on a primary school trip to Narrabeen Fitness Camp over 40 years ago being sung by Olivia Newton-John. Anyway this version is sung by Heidi Hauge who is a Norwegian country music singer. I always thought this was classic love song but listening tio the lyrics there is a dark event happening !

We then headed off again and soon we had crossed the border into West Virginia. What a classic sign to welcome us on the Interstate (USA State # 37). We soon arrived at our Hotel which was the Fairfield Inn & Suites at Morgantown. This is part of the Marriott chain and they always have fresh cookies to welcome you. Yummy ! First order of business here was to get some washing done, and I had a quick dip in the indoor pool to get rid of some of the tension that has built up after driving on the wrong side of the road for 5 days. Morgantown is another University town and it’s all about University of West Virginia here. The famous blue and gold WV.

The day had been mostly cloudy and a comfortable 25 degrees, but we could see from the view out of our window a storm was brewing, and on checking radar it looked bleak, so we decided to drive to dinner at the Longhorn Steakhouse which was only 200 metres away ! Kerry & I had some juicy steaks and Elise a chicken dish. They both were served with a massive salad side and vegetables to boot. The food here was divine. Elise also had a Blackberry Lemonade (interesting choice !) had worn by Socceroos T-Shirt all day and not one person made any comment about it. I guess Soccer is still not a big deal here in USA. We are just staying here for one night, before heading further south tomorrow.

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