Pittsburgh was not even on the original itinerary. Cleveland and Detroit were. But Pittsburgh was the first civilization to be had after the trip thru hillbilly country. Getting to Pittsburgh was certainly different. You come up on bumper to bumper traffic at a tunnel called Fort Pitt. You eventually get into the tunnel and go thru yet another mountain I presume and emerge seeing a burgeoning city. I was blown away. Im not sure what I expected. Steel mills spouting smoke? I am so old and stuck in the 60's. All the bridges! I thought Bane blew them all up.
Staying in the Shadyside neighborhood or maybe Squirrel Hill I dont remember. All I know is it was a vibrant neighborhood full of young people. The Get Off My Lawn Guy is here. We walked the neighborhood, ate at a local bar, and went back to the hotel to watch Nebraska basketball, Man, we are rubes from the sticks. Maybe the hillbillies are us.
Pittsburgh was a delight. The trip to where Forbes Field stood. The place where Bill Mazeroski won the 1960 World Series over the fuckin Yankees by knocking a walk off home run out of the park They left the left field brick wall intact just for baseball geeks like me. It doesnt take much to thrill me but seeing that brick wall with the numbers still on it was fabulous. It was better than coming across the 145th Street Bridge in New York and asking the guide where the Polo Grounds was. Ah you had to be there. It reminded me of Dad sitting in the Polo Grounds while at Fordham.
The Heinz Museum was next. That place was fascinating. For the love of God, it has Mister Rogers original studio there. Damn how little it was for producing so much joy. There is an entire floor dedicated to Pittsburgh sports. The Pirates, The Homestead Greys, the Penguins, The Pittsburgh Crawfords. Anybody I forget? Uhhhhh. Nope. (Of course the Steelers are there and I hate them so there !!)
Off to see some giant stadium where some football team plays. No idea who. It was big.
PNC Park is a cool looking stadium where the Pirates play. It made me want to go to a game there. It faces the Allegheny River and I suppose you could hit a home run into that river. Walking down by the river and circling the park you come upon statues of Pirate greats. Honus Wagner. Bill Mazeroski. Willie Stargell and the greatest Pirate of them all, Roberto Clemente. Hell theres a bridge right there named after him.
And finally to put a bit of a downer on Pittsburgh we drove by the Tree of Life synagogue where a few months back some Trumper murdered 11 innocents for simply being born Jewish. Theres a giant chain link fence around most of the Tree of Life synagogue but when you get to the front you see that the tributes, the flowers, the bouquets, the signs supporting the folks are still there. All over the neighborhood are front yard signs rejecting hatred. It was almost inspiring that this nameless murderous piece of shit could not stop the goodness of this neighborhood. It was very moving.
We left Pittsburgh and moved onward to the next stage of Road Trip 2019. Back thru the Fort Pitt Tunnel and off towards Ohio. Canton Ohio to be specific.
Day 6 in the bag.
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