That’s right. The destination of Mystery Trip number 10 was Steel City, USA. I had so many comments about the series of columns on MTs, I thought it only fair to tell you how our latest Christmas adventure turned out. In the beginning, it didn’t look promising. The forecast called for up to ten inches of snow Thursday night and Friday, December 18 and 19. We were set to leave early Friday morning, 12/19. (Bear in mind, that in a decade of these trips, we’ve never had weather issues.)
After much discussion and what-iffing, we decided to leave Thursday afternoon, and we drove on dry roads to Sandusky, Ohio. Having logged some miles and gained a head start on Friday’s drive, we all felt better . . . until the next morning. We awoke to a driving rain, and ice sheathed everything—every individual blade of grass and every single pine needle. But the temperature was rising, and traffic was moving well. By the time we finished breakfast and a couple of errands at a nearby Meijers, things were pretty clear on the toll road. We drove the rest of the way to Pittsburgh in mild temperatures and on-again/off-again rain.
Once there, we aimed for our hotel and base of operations for the next three days—the showy Omni William Penn Hotel in the heart of Steel City. That gorgeous lobby you see on the home page was the site of many a photo op and the staging area for most of our explorations.
After getting settled, we changed and walked to the Common Plea Restaurant—near the courthouse and therefore a favored haunt of legal types. It was one of the best meals of the trip.
The next day was cold and we headed for Pittsburgh’s famous Strip District, a colorful shopping destination that’s bustling with street vendors, savvy fast-talking merchants and scads of locals prowling about in Steelers’ hats, jackets and jerseys. It was great fun. For lunch we stopped in at Primanti Brothers, home of the sandwich with fries and coleslaw inside. It’s a landmark, and the Food Network has visited with their cameras. From there we moved on to the Heinz History Center where we spent the rest of the afternoon. Then it was back to the hotel to change for dinner, this time at another Pittsburgh legend.
The Georgetowne Inn is one of several restaurants that sit high atop Mount Washington and look down on the Golden Triangle, Pittsburgh’s compact downtown area. We had a table by the window and enjoyed dinner while gawking out at the spectacular sight of the city at night. The Georgetown is right beside the Duquesne Incline, one of only two remaining funiculars in Pittsburgh. It has a great observation deck from which we snapped even more photos.
Other highlights included a church service in the beautiful 1905 First Presbyterian Church of Pittsburgh, a Nutcracker performance at the Benedum Center and a lavish brunch at the Grand Concourse, which is a wonderful restaurant in a stunning former train depot. We also sampled the lunch fare at the Cheesecake Factory, shopped and strolled through the festive displays at Phipps Conservatory, a National Register gem. Of course, there were lots of surprises, MT games and other goings-on—but I hope this gives you an idea . . . .
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