Just Passing through Pittsburgh
It was raining hard as I packed up the car in Indianapolis. Fortunately, I had a full gas tank and full water bottles, River had food in the cooler and I had a bag of beef jerky, so we didn't need to stop anywhere.
I set the navigation for Motel 6 in Pittsburgh.
All the way out of Indiana I was being hit pretty hard with a lot of rain. Serious at times.
Even as I entered Ohio, it was still coming at me pretty good.
I put on my hazard blinkers at one point. And at another point, I was hydroplaning and out of control right next to a big rig truck, both of us doing 60 in the pouring rain. I thought it was the end. But it wasn't. Life goes on. Yay.
As soon as I got near Dayton, OH the rain suddenly stopped and the rest of the day was rain free. I understand a tornado touched down in Indiana right after I left. Crazy.
It was humid in Ohio, but the temperature was in the high 70s so it wasn't uncomfortable. We stopped at a rest area in South Vienna that had a huge grassy hill for River to run on and explore.
I stepped in poop again! Don't worry, it wasn't as big and messy as yesterday and there were puddles everywhere so I was able to get it all off before getting back in the car.
While in Ohio, I got off the Interstate in a town called Wheeling. (I didn't see any signs to Dealing.)
I got on a run route called the John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail. There were markers all along the route and it was basically rolling grassy hilly roads, something going through towns and near farms. It didn't follow any one highway, in particular, but like Route 66, kept true to a historic route. I didn't stay on it for very long, but this is what it looked like:
I didn't realize that I was going to pass through a long tendrilous panhandle of West Virginia in between Ohio and Pennsylvania, but that's West Virginia right over on the other side of this bridge...
We stayed in West Virginia for only about six miles and in that short time, something happened to my iPhone, It got all greasy, screwing up the capture of the moment I passed into Pennsylvania, the State of Independence.
I was thinking about cities ending in -ing so they sound like a verb; like Lansing, Redding, Wheeling, Reading, .... and I couldn't think of any others. And then I couldn't remember what that kind of verb was called. Action verb? I thought they were a specific kind of verb. Anyway. And then I felt stupid for not remembering elementary grammar and started thinking about something else.
A bit later, it popped into my head to notice it when street names were nouns. Common nouns, like Egg St. Or also verbs turned into nouns like Runner. It's fun. OK, so it's not fun, but it occupies my mind while I drive.
I got the the motel in a place just west of the city of Pittsburgh. So I still haven't seen the big city, but the place I stopped seems pretty rural. And I love the name of the neighborhood: Moon Run. It was listed as being in Crafton on the Motel 6 site, but Google says I'm in Moon Run, so I'm going with Moon Run. And I'm going to get pizza from a place five minutes from here on a street called McKees Rocks Rd.
I was actually looking for a burger place, but in the neighborhood I was in, only Italian restaurants were coming up. Juliano's had an unusually high rating, so I was curious and ordered take out pizza.
I arrived to pick it up before it was ready and while River was waiting quietly in the car with the windows down, I took in the 'ambiance' of the old restaurant. The original owner died about four years ago and the new owner is making sure all the old customers trust him. It was all kind of dramatic.
The sign that entertained me the most was one called Italian Proverbs. I didn't try to remember them, but I did read through them. The ones I remember are:
If you respect others, you get respect.
We don't age at the dinner table.
You can't make good wine from bad grapes.
Nothing gets done without commitment.
Friends and wine are best when they're old.
As you sow, so you reap.
Friendship, like pasta, is best when it's warm.
I feel like there are at least four more that I'm not remembering. I didn't count them and they weren't numbered. After each proverb, the same proverb was printed in Italian, so I was mostly engaged in comparing the English and Italian versions and checking my comprehension.
One of remaining proverbs has something to do with laughter being related to good health.
Another one, similar to "as you sow, so you reap", was one that I'd heard many times before and never knew that the origin was considered Italian.
The pizza was very good. Fresh tasting ingredients, including a dough that seemed fresh. I prefer the thin crust, and this one was called the Traditional Thin crust, but it was still pretty fluffy. The sauce tasted fresh and zesty. I got sausage and zucchini and they were both awesome.
I have no real plans here in Pittsburgh except to break up a long drive to NYC. That's still another six hours from here. I'll start driving after a good night's sleep. Ooops. Just as I type this, someone starts running back and forth in the room above me. I think we have a toddler situation up there. Oh well. At least I didn't die on I-70, right?
I set the navigation for Motel 6 in Pittsburgh.
All the way out of Indiana I was being hit pretty hard with a lot of rain. Serious at times.
I put on my hazard blinkers at one point. And at another point, I was hydroplaning and out of control right next to a big rig truck, both of us doing 60 in the pouring rain. I thought it was the end. But it wasn't. Life goes on. Yay.
As soon as I got near Dayton, OH the rain suddenly stopped and the rest of the day was rain free. I understand a tornado touched down in Indiana right after I left. Crazy.
It was humid in Ohio, but the temperature was in the high 70s so it wasn't uncomfortable. We stopped at a rest area in South Vienna that had a huge grassy hill for River to run on and explore.
I stepped in poop again! Don't worry, it wasn't as big and messy as yesterday and there were puddles everywhere so I was able to get it all off before getting back in the car.
While in Ohio, I got off the Interstate in a town called Wheeling. (I didn't see any signs to Dealing.)
I got on a run route called the John Hunt Morgan Heritage Trail. There were markers all along the route and it was basically rolling grassy hilly roads, something going through towns and near farms. It didn't follow any one highway, in particular, but like Route 66, kept true to a historic route. I didn't stay on it for very long, but this is what it looked like:
I didn't realize that I was going to pass through a long tendrilous panhandle of West Virginia in between Ohio and Pennsylvania, but that's West Virginia right over on the other side of this bridge...
We stayed in West Virginia for only about six miles and in that short time, something happened to my iPhone, It got all greasy, screwing up the capture of the moment I passed into Pennsylvania, the State of Independence.
I was thinking about cities ending in -ing so they sound like a verb; like Lansing, Redding, Wheeling, Reading, .... and I couldn't think of any others. And then I couldn't remember what that kind of verb was called. Action verb? I thought they were a specific kind of verb. Anyway. And then I felt stupid for not remembering elementary grammar and started thinking about something else.
A bit later, it popped into my head to notice it when street names were nouns. Common nouns, like Egg St. Or also verbs turned into nouns like Runner. It's fun. OK, so it's not fun, but it occupies my mind while I drive.
I got the the motel in a place just west of the city of Pittsburgh. So I still haven't seen the big city, but the place I stopped seems pretty rural. And I love the name of the neighborhood: Moon Run. It was listed as being in Crafton on the Motel 6 site, but Google says I'm in Moon Run, so I'm going with Moon Run. And I'm going to get pizza from a place five minutes from here on a street called McKees Rocks Rd.
I was actually looking for a burger place, but in the neighborhood I was in, only Italian restaurants were coming up. Juliano's had an unusually high rating, so I was curious and ordered take out pizza.
I arrived to pick it up before it was ready and while River was waiting quietly in the car with the windows down, I took in the 'ambiance' of the old restaurant. The original owner died about four years ago and the new owner is making sure all the old customers trust him. It was all kind of dramatic.
The sign that entertained me the most was one called Italian Proverbs. I didn't try to remember them, but I did read through them. The ones I remember are:
If you respect others, you get respect.
We don't age at the dinner table.
You can't make good wine from bad grapes.
Nothing gets done without commitment.
Friends and wine are best when they're old.
As you sow, so you reap.
Friendship, like pasta, is best when it's warm.
I feel like there are at least four more that I'm not remembering. I didn't count them and they weren't numbered. After each proverb, the same proverb was printed in Italian, so I was mostly engaged in comparing the English and Italian versions and checking my comprehension.
One of remaining proverbs has something to do with laughter being related to good health.
Another one, similar to "as you sow, so you reap", was one that I'd heard many times before and never knew that the origin was considered Italian.
The pizza was very good. Fresh tasting ingredients, including a dough that seemed fresh. I prefer the thin crust, and this one was called the Traditional Thin crust, but it was still pretty fluffy. The sauce tasted fresh and zesty. I got sausage and zucchini and they were both awesome.
I have no real plans here in Pittsburgh except to break up a long drive to NYC. That's still another six hours from here. I'll start driving after a good night's sleep. Ooops. Just as I type this, someone starts running back and forth in the room above me. I think we have a toddler situation up there. Oh well. At least I didn't die on I-70, right?
Comments