Pitty - the city of bridges

Typically when planning how to use my vacation days for the year, my first thought is must go INTERNATIONAL, I must leave AMERICA! Which is absolutely NOT true, so over the last year or so I have been trying to do a better job exploring my country.

MLK weekend in January 2020 my best friend, Nelson, and I celebrated our 10 years friendship by exploring Pittsburgh! Like most people, as your trip date approaches, you grow increasingly more excited and begin to finalize the itinerary. I love getting personal recommendations so talk about Pittsburgh with anyone who will listen! Early on, Nelson and I noticed that when we told people 'where' we were celebrating our friendship, they seemed confused. We got a lot of questions -- "Why Pittsburgh? Does that mean something to the two of you? Do you know it is winter in Pittsburgh?"

Truthfully, we (maybe it was solely me, not too sure but sounds a lot like me) went to Google.com/flights, typed in the dates of our trip and then used the interactive map to identify cheap flights! Neither of us have ever been there and aren't afraid of the cold so we settled on Pittsburgh!

Most of the time when I plan trips, I like to create a very intense itinerary as I like to make the most out of my time in the new city. If you've ever read my other travel blog posts, you know that I try to split my time between being a tourist and local recommendations. (If you haven't read any, what the heck - get on it! ) There are a lot of things I take into consideration when "planning" a trip, for instance - who am I traveling with? Are they going to want to be on the move all the time? Do they wake up early or stay up late? Do we want this to be an inexpensive trip or are we prepared to pay a bit more? etc. For this trip Nelson and I decided we wanted it to be inexpensive and relaxed. Let the Friendiversary planning begin!

Before I talk about our trip, let me tell you a little about Nelson! Nelson and I met at Auburn University in January 2010, his first night in Auburn. We have a mutual friend, Dillon, so as soon as Nelson arrived he jumped in Dillon's jeep and swooped Cecily and me up on their way to Huddle House. Nelson and I were forced to sit in the back of the jeep together, which is where it all began. Over the next couple semesters at Auburn, Nelson and I became inseparable; we worked together, lived together, and even took some of the same classes together, basically spent all of our time together. Our friendship is like no other - indescribable! We have been through so much together over the last 10 years, we have each others back - no questions asked. At some point during college, I am pretty sure we had our own language, how great is that! (I am sure that was slightly annoying for those around us but we didn't care.) I could share so many stories about our friendship - some of which might shock you, but I'll save that for another post. All you need to know about Nelson is he is my lobster - If you know, you know - If you don't, shame on you...but seriously watch Friends, Season 2/episode 14!

On to Pittsburgh -- Nelson and I arrived in Pittsburgh late on Thursday night (I like to arrive late the night before so that I wake up in the city minimizing the chance of delayed flights ruining my trip!) We rented an SUV as it was winter and there was a high probability of snow, better safe than sorry -- Our choices were an Volkswagen and Nissan, LAME! Just as we were about to jump in the Volkswagen, we spot the most beautiful blue Jeep - jokingly we ask the man if that is available. Shockingly he says YES! Off we go in our 2020 blue Jeep - which is in the same color family and model where we first met in 2010! This trip is off to a great start! We arrived at our adorable AirBnB about midnight not really expecting to carry our luggage up 3 flights of stairs, but we made it!

Day 1

The next morning (Friday) we slept in a bit - we both LOVE sleep and HATE alarm clocks! Putting on our winter clothes we head out to breakfast at Waffles Incaffeinated. What a cute little part of town, the restaurant was adorable, the shops were inviting, and the murals were incredible. Usually, I don't talk much about the food - but this trip had such great food it is definitely worth mentioning. Nelson ordered the Breakfast Magic and I ordered the Funky Monkey. After brunch we made out way down the street to snap pictures in front of these incredible murals.

Our next stop was the Heinz museum - HARD RIGHT - when I first started researching Pittsburgh I was so excited to go to the Heinz museum, I freaking LOVE ketchup and PICKLES and to have a museum about it, I mean what more can a girl ask for?! The Heinz museum exceed our expectations - it is a 7 story museum with multiple exhibits on each floor! This is not going to come to a surprise to many, but my favorite was the Heinz and the Mr. Rogers exhibit! Who knew that pickle salesmen carried a sizing sample case to be used to help the grocers determine the expected profit from their pickle purchase. On one of the floors in the museum there was a learning center (for kids) so we just had to take a look - inside there was a wall of lights that if you turned the knob the color would change. I don't really remember the purpose for the wall of lights, but we decided instead of making a suggested picture that we would make a giant 10 to represent our 10 years of friendship! I worked on the one and Nelson on the zero - we started to sweat (pretty sure it was because the heat was on and we were bundled up, but it could also have been that we were just so focused. Who knows...) As soon as Nelson finished his zero he went to set up his camera so we could document our hard work. As we are getting ready to pose for the picture the wall flashes and ALL THE LIGHTS CHANGE - we've LOST everything and didn't have a chance to get an insta worthy photo. FAIL. We felt defeated and immediately left the learning center - pissed. At the end of the museum you are "forced" to walk through the gift shop - finally a store full of all-things-pickle. Oooh, one last thing, if you take the stairs instead of the elevator there is an opportunity to get a trinket from the museum as long as you get a stamp from every floor!

The Heinz museum is located near 'The Strip' which is an up and coming shopping/food/local area located on the river. As we weren't exactly sure what stores were located in The Strip, I decided to type in the name of the only place I remembered just to see the walking distance to the shops. (Please keep in mind that it is FREEZING and we are walking along the water.) The Cork Factory - any guesses on what type of business? All I will say is it is NOT what we expected! Such a wonderful adventure!

After that we decided to walk The Strip and ended up at this cute little popcorn shop - Pittsburgh Popcorn so of course we had to support local business. The two gentlemen in there were very friendly and let us taste all the flavors! We left with 3 bags - garlic parm, chocolate caramel, and Wisconsin cheddar. Definitely a must if you are looking for a local snack!

As we continue to wander back towards our car we stumbled upon a Pittsburgh tradition -- Primanti Brothers. The moment I told people I was going to Pittsburgh the first thing out of their mouth was "You have to go to Primanti Brothers". Some crazies even asked me if I could bring them one back, they didn't care if it was soggy. I was also warned that you are not to ask about the menu, nor substitute anything on their sandwiches. Needless to say when we walked in we were a bit nervous as we didn't want to 'offend' them by asking too many questions or doing something that would get us kicked out. We'd come all this way we were eating at Primanti Brothers. To our surprise the fellas working there were very friendly and were happy to explain the menu and offer suggestions. We ordered the Capicola with cheese, the Pastrami and cheese, an order of fries and a whole pickle! The unique thing about these sandwiches is 1. they are GIGANTIC 2. they are served with grilled slaw 3. and French fries all between two slices of marble rye bread. They were delicious - we did prefer the Capicola over the Pastrami but to each is own.

After dinner we drove back to our AirBnb to make plans for the night - typically Nelson and I are homebodies but when will we be back in Pittsburgh?! This is a celebration weekend, let the late night and naps begin. We ended up deciding to go to Lucky's - a very interesting place. When you first walk in it is your typical bar - dark with loud upbeat music so we grabbed a seat at the bar and ordered a couple rounds. The drinks reminded us of our time in college at our favorite bar - Jackie Lee's Karaoke Bar. That was our spot, I use to go there with $12 and would be hammered by the time we called our taxi home. My go to drink is Malibu and a splash of Diet Coke - the clearer the drink the better -- Sure signs of a good night!

As we were sitting at the bar we noticed all these people coming in but walking directly upstairs - curiosity got the best of us and we decided to go exploring. We marched up the stairs only to discover that it was a all nude male bar - there were naked men everywhere! We only stayed for a bit as we didn't want to seem like we were those scared-uncomfortable-people ha ha. (P.S. we TOTALLY were THOSE people!) I also learned the new phrase "a closed door is a closed door"; I'll let you fill in the blank on the meaning of that statement.

Since Lucky's wasn't really what we were looking for we decided to walk to a new bar - Cavo. One of the many challenges about vacationing somewhere in the winter is planning your evening attire. Prior to going out we were having the age old jacket debate - The temperature is 30 degrees, so your first thought is to wear a jacket. Then you decide that you are going dancing and I don't know about you but when I dance, I DANCE - when I get on a dance floor and the music is bumping I turn into a wild one who doesn't give a crap and just enjoys herself...so there is usually a lot of sweating. We really didn't know where we would end up so we decided to wear our jackets and just leave them on the bar stool or wherever we could. On the walk from Lucky's to Cavo we were thrilled we decided on wearing the jackets, it was freezing. I really should have worn layers or fleece leggings. When you walk into Cavo the first bar/room is playing latin music - so we shook our hips for a couple songs and the continued to the next room. THERE IS A COAT CHECK - hallelujah - we dropped our coats off so fast, like we were professionals. The dance floor in the backroom was calling our name. This room was playing our type of music, -- top 20 -- honestly just good dancing music! We danced and danced and danced - as a lady we always have be aware of your surroundings or those who are paying a bit more attention to you. As we were dancing I noticed this guy who kept inserting himself in between Nelson and myself - strange and noticed. I see you dude, I see you. So I would dance my way around and pop back up directly in front of Nelson. I might be enjoying myself on the dance floor but I always know where I am or who is around me! Stay alert! We danced for a bit longer and then decided it was time to call and Uber and grub!

We were just so thrilled neither of us were leaving in an ambulance we had to document the occasion.

Day 2 The next morning we slept in, ate some snacky foods before deciding to make our way to the Andy Warhol Museum downtown. On our way we decided that we would like to eat Chick-Fil-A for breakfast, so we did as most people unfamiliar with the area would do and type that in the GPS. Not knowing the area is tricky when you have you heart set on eating food from a specific place - you really just blindly pick an address and go. ( I learned this fun party trick from Louisa! - I think it adds a little bit of excitement as you never truly know where you are going to end up - shakes things up a bit!) This blind selection took us to a Chick-Fil-A on the Dusquesne University campus! Looks like no chicken minis for us this morning, boo. As we searched other places we could quick grab a bite to eat we noticed that a lot of the roads were shut down - we think it was a protest of some sort - side note, the roads in Pittsburgh are crazy. We couldn't decide on where to go so we settled on the Andy Warhol café - not somewhere I would recommend unless you just want a brown banana (ironic, I think) or a yogurt parfait.

Finally, we arrived at the Andy Warhol museum and headed straight for the coat check and the café - we needed a little something to get our days started. Andy Warhol was a very unique artist - one thing that we noticed from the very beginning was the use of bananas in his work. While we were drinking our coffee we sat on HIS red couch - playing on the tv was a video of 4 or 5 people sitting on the red couch eating bananas slowly. It was very random. Do you know what significance the brown banana has to Andy? We didn't. The museum is 7 stories and is displayed in chronological order - one of many famous paintings was the Campbells soup can - he painted what he knew and since he ate a can of soup a day, Campbells it was - did you know Campbells never sent him a single free can of soup?

One of my favorite painting is his self portrait with the teal background - man, I wish I cold paint or was artistic. Andy completed so many pieces of work during his life you could spend an entire day admiring all of his works. I would plan to spend a minimum of 4 hours there just to ensure that you don't feel rushed. If you aren't persuaded just yet, one of his pieces is made from urinating on his painting, titled 'Oxidation Painting' from 1978. WOAH! There is also another "creative" piece made with other bodily fluids -- I will let you discover that one on your own! Can't reveal all the secrets.

We explored that entire museum in search of the meaning behind the brown banana...we looked at every painting on every floor and even wandered around the gift shop looking for answers. As a last resort we decided to Google "The meaning of the brown banana and Andy Warhol". As it turns out the "The banana itself is, of course, the handiwork of Andy Warhol, who crafted the image and slapped it on the cover of his pet band's first record in 1967. ... The original album cover allowed fans to peel back the banana skin as a sticker, revealing the fruit of a nude-colored banana underneath." (borrowed from Google!) (His pet band was the Velvet Underground.) There are a lot of famous quotes from Andy, but the one that hit home the most was "People should fall in love with their eyes closed."

Walking all 7 floors of that museum and not really having breakfast, we were STARVING by the time we made it out of the gift shop. Like most of this trip we had no plans for lunch so we decided to wander around and stumbled upon this cute sports bar across from PNC Park. Did you know that Pittsburgh is home to 664 bridges? Right outside the restaurant was one of those 664 so of course we had to take a 'bridge photo'.

The next stop on our itinerary was Jerry's Record - before I go on any trip I try to do a bit of research to find places that make Pittsburgh unique. Jerry's Records was a recommendation on one of the sites - what makes Jerry's unique is that it has over 2 million records (I think). So we decided to check it out - neither of us have record players but after our visit, we are in the market for a vintage one. The staff at Jerry's were extremely friendly and helped me look for the Almost Famous record as well as John Prine. Unfortunately, they didn't have either of the two records I was looking for but Nelson was in heaven - found him searching the early country ladies - Patsy Cline, Reba and so many more. We made our purchases and walked across the street to snap a picture with a beautiful mural. We are suckers for a good wall mural with a killer quote!

Earlier that day we were scrolling "things to do in Pittsburgh this weekend" and stumbled upon a local drag show. Tonight's theme was "Whitney vs Britney" which was all we needed to hear - we WILL be in attendance - but it didn't start until 11 PM. So after the record store we went home to rest up and prep for the night ahead.

Whitney vs Britney was at the Blue Moon - so we put on our most fabulous outfits and called an Uber. Drag shows are one of my favorite things to do, being there can lift anyone's spirits, seeing those queen's own that stage, whip their wig, and then drop and do the splits - WOW - the vibe in that bar was incredible. Everyone was dancing, singing, and just being themselves - everyone felt comfortable, no one was there judging other. Just a group of people getting together who love glitter, Whitney Houston, and Britney Spears! By the end of the night I was standing on my bar stool singing at the top of my lungs!!

While we were waiting on our Uber we decided we needed document our evening - we typically try to do this before the end of the night as we know that we don't look our best at the end! ha ha We were sitting on the curb waiting for your driver to arrive - I took a couple pictures gave the phone to Nelson for his approval, he thought they were terrible and that he could do better - I'll let you be the judge of that.

The last picture might be my favorite picture of the entire trip!

Day 3 Today was a "local" day for us -- it was the coldest day of the entire trip. We had to brush snow and ice off the Jeep before we could start the day. During my research I stumbled upon "Bicycle Heaven" - a free bicycle museum home to more than 30,000 bicycles, a statue of Mr. Rogers, and Randyland. Lucky for us the museums and statue were in a 5 mile radius from our house so as soon as we were able to see out the front window, off we went.

The first stop was to the Mr. Rogers statue - The statue has a wonderful view overlooking the merging of the rivers and the city of bridges. While you enjoy your time near the statue to ensure you don't feel alone, they blast clips of Mr. Rogers through the speakers.

After a visit with Mr. Rogers we made our way to Bicycle Heaven. I think Nelson was a little hesitant about going to a “bicycle museum”, we aren’t huge bike people or even museum people. But I was driving and he isn’t fussy so off we go – The Bicycle Museum was much more than we could ever have imagined. As soon as you walk in you are greeted with such an amazing array of bikes. As we were making our donation we stumbled upon one of their famous shirts – “Oh, shift” – so of course on the way out we stopped and chatted with Craig, the founder, who you could tell absolutely loved what he was doing and asked him for the meaning behind “Oh, shift”. He proceeded to tell us that Pittsburgh was home to one of the steepest streets in America. We immediately added this to our days itinerary. In addition to the steepest street, Craig recommended that we walk on over to Johnny Angel’s Ginchy Stuff and Museum.

Right next to the Bicycle Museum was Johnny Angel’s – as soon as we walked in the door we were greeted by Mr. Johnny himself. As we quickly learned Johnny Angel was actually Jack Hunt, Jack started Johnny Angel and the Halos in Pittsburgh when he was a teenager – he began to share the history of the band, he showed us a picture of the group when they first got started and then a picture of them a year later after an agency got a hold of them and changed their look. (They wanted the band to look more like “The Beetles” – the long shaggy hair look.) We were the only people in the museum when we first arrived, so Jack graciously gave us a private tour of the museum. It was an incredible thing to watch him relive each memory as we walked through the museum. On the way out Jack gave us a business card for the radio show he DJ’s on Sunday nights. If you find yourself in Pittsburgh, I highly recommend making Johnny Angel’s museum a pit stop on your list.

The next adventure of the day was a trip to Randyland – what is Randyland you ask? Well, a quirky guy named Randy followed his passion (like his friends Jack and Craig) and decorated his home and property in whatever made him happy. He uses a lot of bright colors and encourages adults and kids to visit to share in his passion. Everything that Randy uses to decorate is repurposed garbage – Randy says “Too many people think with their brains and not with their hearts. Whatever you want to be in your heart, love will open the path.” He just wants to bring joy to people and see them smile! Turns out that Randy, Jack, and Craig are all friends and have been for many years. Although we didn’t get the pleasure of meeting Randy, we thoroughly enjoyed his creation.

You might recall earlier I mentioned “oh shift” – turns out that Pittsburgh is home to the steepest street in the Continental United States. According to the sign posted at the top “Pittsburgh is famous for its steel-producing heritage; it’s infamous for its hills. Beechview is not for the faint of heart, but that’s part of the charm. You don’t just stroll through this neighborhood. You conquer it. Canton Avenue is the steepest street in the Continental United States at an ankle-straining 37% grade, but it’s not alone. Once you’ve climbed this hill, try these other Beechview challengers; Boustead Ave(29%), Hampshire Ave (23%), Fallowfield Avenue (22%), Belasco Avenue (21%), and Dagman Avenue (20%).” Dang it, I don’t think that we actually read this sign at the site, we only knew about Canton Ave. Ooops.

HARD RIGHT - The night before we were in our Uber and our driver was a chatty little fella. He told us that he was a UPS driver during the day and once had to deliver a package to the home at the top of Canton Ave. It was a cold, snowy and icy day and this was a very large package - he knew that his truck wasn't going to make it up the hill so he parked at the bottom and decided to carry the package up to the top. He struggled and struggled, finally decided that he would go to the house to see if there was anyone home that could help him carry this large package up the hill. Unfortunately for him there was only a lady with young children and she was not volunteering to assist. He went back down for one last attempt, he push and pushed, struggling every step of the way - by the time he made it back to the top he was sweating and decided to ask the lady for a bottle of water. She obliged, he left the package and returned back to his truck.

After this brilliant story we knew we had to attempt to walk up Canton Ave. We googled "parking places for Canton Ave" and came up unlucky - so we decided to drive around and just park as close as we could to the top. We parked and made our way to the top of Canton Ave - honestly, it doesn't look that steep when you are looking down. We took a couple obligatory pictures at the top and then decided to make our way. (One thing I don't recommend is wearing UGGs - they have no grip.) A cool thing about this street is the steepest parts are paved with bricks. We made it down with no issues, looking up we knew it was going to be a struggle but it was the quickest and shortest way back to the car - we had no choice. In all honesty, it wasn't that difficult to make it to the top, you just walk on your tip toes and keep your head down and you will be at the top before you know it.

The last thing we had to do was drive up that bad boy - We hoped back in the car and drove around towards the bottom of hill. We started to gain a little speed so that we would make it to the top! As the driver there was a lot of pressure for me to make it up the hill - don't tell Nelson, but I might have closed my eyes for a couple seconds. I am also pretty sure I had the gas pedal all the way on the floor - I was mega worried the Jeep would freak-out. (Hard Right - I have always driven a Honda Accord, so no judgement.) Don't worry we made it - it was so awesome, we decided to do it again!

The last stop of the day in the tour of Pittsburgh was a little out of town, but a stop we had to make. Right outside the city there is a little town called Monroeville - As I grew up in Monroeville, Alabama I just had to visit and take a picture. Turns out that this Monroeville has a little more to offer - it has a FULL BLOWN MALL!

I am very thankful to have Nelson, he does not shy away from danger when a picture is on the line. That night we decided to stay in, listened to Jack's radio show, made a whole bunch of junk food, played cards, and laughed for hours. It's all about balance - going out two nights in a row requires a night in to recuperate.

Day 4 Today was our last day in Pittsburgh and it was only a half day. We packed our bags, cleaned our AirBnB and set out to explore the remaining attractions. The first stop was Duquesne Incline - you take a little trail car to the top of Mt Washington. The view from the top is amazing, you can see the city, a bazillion bridges, and see where the two rivers merge. The Incline costs $5/RT and is totally worth it!

Can you spot the merging of the rivers?

Before lunch we decided to visit a store called Love, Pittsburgh a cute little boutique with lots of crafts from local artists. The store had a lot of cute gifts, but mostly the things were our of our price range, so we window shopped. Although, I did purchase dill pickle salt...I had to.

Our last and final stop before making our way to the airport was to Geppetto Café that came highly recommended by our AirBnB host. Geppetto's is a very small café so I would suggest making a reservation as we ended up having to wait for a table. As you are waiting for your table you can peek into the kitchen where a lady is crushing the crepe making - she was a star, making it look so easy. (Which we know it is not, it absolutely takes a lot of skill.) Everything on the menu sounds amazing - I ended up ordering French toast with raspberry and goat cheese - it was DELICIOUS. I wanted to lick the plate!

The weekend celebration in Pittsburgh was a great success! Our last hours of the trip were spent playing Phase 10 in the airport, eating pistachios, and laughing. Spending time with people that bring you joy is one of the most important things in life - in my opinion of course. As our friendship has grown stronger our desire to exchange gifts has diminished and our love for building memories together has grown tremendously. Life is short. Spend time with the people you care about. Do the things that make you nervous but bring you excitement. Don't wait for the perfect time, just go.

//January 2020