Vacation

Nate and I have just returned from a trip to Pittsburgh. People were fairly surprised that we chose such a location for a weekend getaway. I guess Pittsburgh isn't known for being a destination of choice by most people. When we told people that we were going to Pittsburgh many people responded with, "Why?"  I basically would just shrug my shoulders. Nate and I enjoy going to places we've never been before. We love to get in the car and just drive through the countryside and explore the towns that come our way. Neither one of us had ever been to Pittsburgh and when we were driving by it a year ago we commented that maybe we should visit it sometime! That's basically how Destination Pittsburgh 2011 came to be. It was a great trip; even though I was battling a cold throughout the trip and then, of course, Nate came down with the cold the last few days we were there. We did cut it short as we were both feeling pretty miserable and didn't want to sit in the rain to watch the Pittsburgh Pirates. However, some of the highlights were:
1.  The "Plastic Brick Museum" (can't be called the Lego Museum because Lego won't allow them to use it's name). This is an actual Lego....er, "plastic brick" mosaic of Mt. Rushmore that I thought was quite impressive.

2.  We walked from our hotel in downtown to the Cathedral of Learning at Pitt. This was about a 5 mile walk and it was ALL uphill. We were told not to walk it. We were told it wasn't "walkable." But, we ignored the advice and decided to conquer the mountain!  Trust me when I say that you should NOT walk from downtown to Pitt. Although we did walk it, it truly is not an experience I ever want to relive.

3. We also took an amazing tour of Falling Water, the Frank Lloyd Wright house in Mill Run, PA. I must say that I was disappointed to learn that Wright only went to the location one time during the architectural creation/building of this masterpiece. I have always envisioned it as a true labor of love and to realize that he was a genius that didn't put much effort into it at all, was a let down for me. Don't get me wrong....it is still quite exquisite!

4. We also enjoyed eating at places that have been suggested on two of our favorite shows, Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives & Man vs. Food. We ate at Primanti Brothers where our sandwiches looked like this:

and at Pamela's where we had crepe style pancakes that were divine. Trust me when I say that our diet and exercise program took a nose dive on this trip. Because even though we took a 5 mile all uphill walk, I developed a blister on my pinky toe and a strong aversion to any walking at all as a mode of transportation.