If life is a bowl of cherries...

what am I doing in Pittsburgh?

So back from Seattle on Wednesday, off to Pittsburgh on Sunday.

I drove instead of flying and despite driving through thunderstorms and 45 minutes of being stuck in traffic (really? on a Sunday?) I am glad for it. I love road trips. I hate flying.

Plus the cheapest ticket I could find to Pittsburgh from Baltimore was $400 (really?). It was cheaper to drive. And took the same amount of time, between driving to the airport, waiting at the airport, flying, and taking a taxi.

I was not entirely excited about Pittsburgh. You have to admit, it doesn't have the best rep. And not the most enticing name. Not like SEAttle. NEW York. Even HAMpton, VA, has the promise of something tasty. But no. I am in PITTSburgh.

Of course, I am not saying anything that hasn't been said before. But I find from the cities I have visiting that there is something iconic about them, something that can fully represent what that city is about. Take New York-Lady Liberty. Washington DC-the Capitol. Seattle-Pike Place, the Space Needle. Denver-the mountains. Absolutely gorgeous. Las Vegas-the Strip.

In visiting (most) of these places, I have been fortunate enough to have great views of these icons from my hotel room. We had a view of the Space Needle from even our room at an 8-story Homewood Suites. In Vegas, I always get a view of the Strip (endless entertainment, even that.)

The view from my room in Pittsburgh?

In all seriousness, though, I expected to dislike Pittsburgh immensely. But it's alright. The people are really nice. There's a lot of interesting looking restaurants. The city has very odd architecture and some beautiful churches. It's very walkable, but weirdly laid out. It seems like it has a dirty little secret. I can get behind that.

And let's not forget the zombies.