Week(end) in Review

“This is weird“, Bill said.

“I agree“, I replied. “I don’t know how to act.”

We were discussing our weekend getaway that didn’t feature a race as the centerpiece. After a full spring racing schedule that included weekends at exotic locales such as Richmond, VA, Harper’s Ferry, WVA, and Danville, PA, we traveled west across the Pennsylvania Turnpike to visit Pittsburgh, one of our favorite cities, without the lure of a race.

We left Friday morning amidst rain showers and humidity and arrived that afternoon to clear, sunny skies and a perfect, cloudless day.

The first order of business after checking in to our hotel room was to find a place for an early dinner before going to a Phillies-Pirates baseball game. I never have to worry about finding a place to eat. Bill does his homework in advance. We had margaritas, Queso Diablo with homemade tortilla chips, and tacos at Condado Tacos. The Thai chili fried tofu taco with guacamole, jicama slaw, and lime aioli drizzle was heavenly. (Sorry, no pictures. I scarfed it right down!)

We made it to beautiful PNC Park in plenty of time for the game. The view from our seats was amazing – you could look out across the river and see the bridges and downtown. Or the game. You could watch the game. We got our fill of baseball that night with the longest nine-inning game in National League history (over 4 1/2 hours).

Bill got into the spirit by doing the wave and the Phillies won 17 – 5.

The next morning, we got up and did a short run on a paved path along the Allegheny River. We visited a bakery and I got a perfect apricot hamantaschen. We sat at a little table on Market Square in the sunshine to sip our coffee and eat pastries.

We met up with some friends, walked to the Duquesne Incline, and rode to the top for lunch at a restaurant on top of Mt. Washington. We also took some time to look at the beautiful view from the top of the mountain.

 

After a light lunch, we headed to another (much shorter, whew!) ball game, which the Phillies won 4 – 3.

Dinner that night was at Burgatory, a build-your-own burger place on the North Side. I got the best veggie burger I have ever had. I don’t remember all the ingredients of the veggie mixture, but I know cashews were included. The texture and flavor of the patty were delicious. (Again, I am not a good picture-taker. I was starving by the time the burger got to the table!)

Sunday morning began with a 10 mile run on a path along the Allegheny River with our friend Nancy. The path began as a wide, paved bike path, but it turned into a cinder path, which got more and more narrow. We had to navigate around some downed vegetation, huge puddles and big stones along the rail tracks, and eventually turned around at around mile five. It was the best run I have had for a while, so I felt great about that.

Bill works for an architectural firm, and is interested in architecture. He bought tickets for Sunday afternoon to tour Fallingwater, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed house, in Mill Run, PA. After breakfast and a goodbye to our friends, we started the trek east to Mill Run.

Fallingwater is amazing, both from a design and construction viewpoint. The house was designed and built in the 1930s as a summer home for a Pittsburgh department store magnate and his family. It could not be built today – building codes would never allow it. If you get a chance to visit, I would highly recommend it. The tour was fascinating.

We arrived home Sunday night, tired and happy. Our weekend in Pittsburgh proved that we can travel without a race on the agenda. But now, I am sort of wishing I had looked up a Pittsburgh 5k for Saturday morning!

I am linking up with Clean East Fast Feets for her Week in Review, Random-osity for Little Things Thursdays, with Patty, Erika and Marcia for Tuesdays on the Run, Shank You Very Much for her Dream Team link up, and Running on Happy, Crazy Running Girl, Coach Debbie Runs  for the Coaches’ Corner linkup, Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for their Friday 5, and Holly from HoHo Runs and Wendy from Taking the Long Way Home for their Weekly Wrap