That's Pittsburgh With An H!!

Pittsburgh, the "Mon Valley" and Primantis

                I had never visited Pittsburgh before yesterday and found it to be quite an awesome city.  While visiting Les and Fame H. it was suggested that the six of us (Luke and Rachael too) take the big, red bus tour of Pittsburgh on July 4^th.  Note to Pittsburgh natives:  In a couple of previous entries I erroneously spelled Pittsburgh with no “h”.  I was schooled during our bus ride that THEE Pittsburgh is the ONLY Pittsburgh in the United States that still spells it with the “h” and I had better get it right! A further glaring faux pax was accomplished by yours truly in yesterday's blog when I spelled Monongahela with an "a" between the n's. 

Muggy, Rachael, Fame, Les and Luke

            So, we set out fairly early as the day promised to be hot and sunny.  We parked on the south side and boarded the bus.  Our first stop was the Duquesne Incline and we were treated to amazing vistas of the three rivers, the sports facilities, downtown Pittsburgh and the bridges.  

 Did you know that Pittsburgh has more bridges than any other city in the world.  Pitt beats our Venice by three. Pittsburgh even has three bridges that are related, “the Three Sisters”. 

            After re-boarding the bus, we enjoyed the ride over to “The Strip” where we disembarked again to grab some lunch at the Primanti Brothers’ restaurant.  What a treat!!  Legend has it that when this sandwich was concocted in the 1930’s, it was done for the truckers who delivered produce and other goods in the middle of the night and had to eat while driving.  So, everything, meat, coleslaw, French fries and egg were wedged between the bread so it could be eaten with one hand!

Clairton, PA

            We concluded our tour about 2 pm and it was timely.  It was smokin’ hot in Pittsburgh and time to head for some A/C.  I traveled with Les along the old routes along the Monongahela River, down the “Mon Valley”,  past the sites of the massive steel mills the city is famous for.  Les used to work in the mills in Clairton (setting for the movie “the Deer Hunter”) and he drove me through the city and showed me mills that are still in operation today. 

 It’s interesting and sad to see the decaying towns and block after block of closed up businesses.  These towns were very different years ago. 

Later on we enjoyed the energy of the crowds gathered in the town of Monongahela for the fireworks.  It was an awesome show and very enjoyable to be sitting a mere 15 feet from the river’s edge and enjoying the sites and sounds.

New River Gorge Bridge

Muggy and I headed south this morning.  We are on our way home.  We traveled the winding, curving hills and valleys of West Virginia for most of the day. We stopped briefly to photograph the highest U.S. bridge east of the Mississippi River and the longest steel-arch span in the western hemisphere over the New River Gorge. 

  Absolutely incredible! A rugged, white water river, flowing northward through deep canyons, the New River is among the oldest rivers on the continent. The park encompasses over 70,000 acres of land along the New River, is rich in cultural and natural history, and offers an abundance of scenic and recreational opportunities.

So, in the course of six days, Muggy and I have traveled over the third longest suspension bridge in the world and the longest suspension bridge in the western hemisphere, the Mackinac Bridge and now the credits for the New River Gorge Bridge above!  Pretty amazing!

We have stopped for the night in a beautiful state park known as Camp Creek.  It you’re ever traveling through West Virginia on I-77 and are looking for a wonderful place to spend a night or two, this is the place.  Here’s the view from our doorway tonight and just imagine the sound of the creek babbling:

ere’

Pittsburg, Pierogies and the Monangahela Valley

          We’re in Charleroi, PA, just south of Pittsburg visiting our daughter-in-law’s parents Les and Fame.   We took a driving tour yesterday of some of the sites here in the Monangahela River Valley visiting several of the small cities that line the river. This part of the country was the heart of the steel industry in days gone by.  The town of Clairton was the setting for the home scenes in the movie “the Deer Hunter”.   We took a “10 minute ride” into Pittsburg for lunch at the Church Brewery in the Lawrenceville part of Pittsburg.  The reference to ten minutes is because it seems everything here is 30 minutes away.  We had pierogies as an appetizer to lunch and they were very good!After lunch we headed for the Sarris Candy Company and indulged ourselves in candy and ice cream…”divine decadence!”

             Today we will bus tour Pittsburg and celebrate the birth of this wonderful country of ours!  As I celebrate the 4^th of July this year, I’m prone to think that even though we’ve got our problems in this country with issues and such, I’m still marvelously blessed to be living where I am and enjoying the freedoms. 

HAPPY 4^th of JULY!!!!

The RV Has a Name!!

Well, after some 6000 miles and considerable thought, our RV has a name.  A huge THANKS to Joyce W for her thought to name our RV “NEMO”.  The inspiration for the name came from looking at mapquest’s drawing of our route for this trip.  I’ve included a link to mapquest today below.  See if you can figure it out.

            The more I think about the name Nemo, the more I like it.  Captain Nemo came to us in the story from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  Nemo in Latin means “no one or nobody”.  And, of course, my recent favorite is the movie “Finding Nemo”.  “Hey, no hurling on the shell man, I just had it waxed!”  And if you’ve seen the movie, you know Nemo had a great adventure, just like we have had.

            THANKS JOYCE!!    

    

Here's the link:  http://mapq.st/N3LyAq

            

Kim with 2 of hers, Matt and Lee

  We had a Typhoon Party at Kim R’s place last evening as more strong storms moved through this area.  Ohio has been hit very hard with rain and high winds and there are hundreds of trees down.  A Typhoon Party was what we used to have on Okinawa when a typhoon came across the island.  Gary and Joyce, Muggy and I were at Kim’s place when the storm struck last evening, so we hunkered down and enjoyed snacks and stories. 

            So, today it’s on to Charleroi PA.  More later!!

It's a Small World Afterall

            It continues to amaze me at how small this big world really is!

            We are spending the weekend in Springfield OH with friends met long ago during our days on Okinawa in Japan; Joyce and Gary W.  We re-connected with these two wonderful friends last year after Gary found me on Facebook.  Joyce and Gary spent Thanksgiving with us last year as all three of their adult children serving with the US Armed Forces were not home.   After a 20+ year break in times together, the friendship was re-kindled in about 30 seconds.

            Another very good friend, Kim R. also lives in Springfield, so we have an opportunity to see her also.  The amazing part of all this is that Kim already knew Gary and Joyce by virtue of dealings at her place of employment!  So, we surprised Gary and Joyce by inviting Kim to join us for dinner last evening without telling them they already knew Kim.  It was a wonderful surprise and a lot of fun when Kim joined us at the restaurant!

           

Williams Eastery

 And speaking of the restaurant; Joyce was anxious to show us very high quality burgers at Williams Eatery in Yellow Spring OH.  And I must admit, the burger was very good as was the company and conversation.

                                                                          

            After dinner, we walked along the Clifton Gorge, just a ½ mile from Gary and Joyce’s home.  More interesting geology in this area as Ohio too has been shaped and affected by glaciation.  The gorge is amazing and certainly a feature one would not expect when driving the back road here in southwest Ohio.  I’ve included a few pics and some information about the gorge:  

           

This 268-acre preserve protects one of the most spectacular dolomite and limestone gorges in the state. Registered as a National Natural Landmark in 1968, Clifton Gorge encompasses a 2-mile stretch of the Little Miami State and National Scenic River, just east of John Bryan State Park.

Geologically, it is an outstanding example of interglacial and post-glacial canyon cutting. At one point, the river funnels through a deep, narrow channel, which was apparently formed by the enlarging and connecting of a series of potholes in the resistant Silurian dolomite bedrock. In other sections of the gorge, cliff overhangs have broken off forming massive slump blocks scattered along the valley floor.

The shaded, north-facing slopes provide a cool, moist environment for northern species including hemlock, red baneberry, Canada yew, arbor-vitae and mountain maple. This is one of the most spectacular sites in the state for viewing spring wildflowers including the rare snow trillium.

            Joyce and Gary were also anxious to give me a gift for my upcoming birthday.  Some of you may know that I have a penchant for wearing patchouli oil.  Well, now I have my very own patchouli plant!!  With a very unique vase I might add!!