Hello Friends & Family,
There was a beautiful full orange moon in the sky as I set out early this morning. I didn't have far to drive as Pittsburgh was only 75 miles from where I stayed last night. I drove into town through the Fort Pitt Tunnel. Or as I called it as a kid, "a tube." Pittsburgh was the first trip I ever took as a kid with my father and brothers. Pittsburgh is a lot cleaner and more beautiful today than it was back then in 1970. My first stop was at the Duquesne Incline. The Duquesne Incline is a funicular scaling Mount Washington. It was completed in 1877 and is 800 feet long, 400 feet in height, and is inclined at a 30-degree angle. It takes you from the river up to Grandview Avenue. Below is a less than great photo of it.
From Grandview Avenue on top you get a spectacular view of Pittsburgh. In the picture below you can see the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers which together become the Ohio River. That is the Point State Park Fountain out on the tip.
Below is a nice view of all the bridges crossing over the Allegheny River. Pittsburgh claims to have more bridges than any other place in the world, even Venice. Also in the picture is Heinz Field where the Steelers play.
It is a good thing that I arrived here early. They closed the road seconds after I arrived due to an event taking place at nearby Highmark Stadium at Station Square. Below is a final look from the lookout. This is looking west up the Ohio River. Also in the picture, just left of Heinz Field, is the USS Requin, a Tench-class submarine which is docked at the Carnegie Science Center.
Next I managed to make my way over to Station Square where I boarded the 3 Rivers Queen for a sightseeing cruise. Below is a closer look at Heinz Field from the cruise. The Steelers are not in town today. They are playing the Chargers tonight in L.A. on the Sunday Night game.
And just a short distance up the Allegheny River you come to PNC Park where the Pirates play baseball.
The picture below is the Roberto Clemente Bridge. That is PNC Park on the right behind it.
My final picture is from the cruise as we rounded Point State Park heading back to the dock.
The rest of my day didn't go as planned. I drove up to Grandview Avenue. There are several overlooks up there and I was going to try to catch some more views of the city from different angles. But there was no parking to be found anywhere near any of them. So I finally gave up on that and headed to my hotel. I'm staying at the Hampton Inn in downtown Pittsburgh. I selected this hotel because it had easy access to the riverfront trail down to Point State Park. After I got settled at the hotel I fired up the scooter and headed down the trail. I got a short way down the trail and came to a barricade with a sign saying that the trail will be closed on October 13. If it weren't for bad luck I'd have no luck at all. So I went back to the hotel and turned on the football games. I saw the Bengals lose to the Ravens as I was writing this. They haven't won a game all year. I'm starting to get hungry. I think I will go get me some dinner soon. The only thing I have eaten today is one granola bar.
That's it for today.
Tim
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