Saturday, July 25, 2009

07.23 - 07.27 Vacation Part II Saturday

Got a little bit of a late start to the day, but we were out the door a bit after 9, and headed to the city. Traffic was minimal, and I was happy for that. For the first time in quite a few years, I went to dahntahn via the Fort Pitt Tunnel, a really neat road. Ain't no sense in going over the mountain, so the dug a tunnel road right through it! Very cool. Better is the view as you leave the tunnel, crossing the bridge, river underneath, city directly ahead.

We went to the Strip District, a gorgeous weather morning. A bit overcast, but moderate temperatures in the 70's with low humidity. Wandered the strip a while, going to a few shops, including one of my favorite coffee roasters, a kitchen supply shop, and window shopping at a dress shop. A few of these were put in the back of my mind as 'places to stop before we left.'

Lunch was up on the menu, as breakfast didn't happen, and I was starting to feel my blood sugar screaming, "Hey lady! Feed Me!" We went to a city famous place, Primanti Bros sandwich shop. I've heard the radio commercials, heard folks talk about it, but never had been myself. Now I see why they all go, and why there was a line outside when we left. The sammiches are phenominal! Service was good, staff fun to watch & listen to, and the food, did I mention the food was great?! Fresh bread, amazing ingredients, just incredible. It could have partially been that I was super hungry, but I still doubt it. Really good food.

Went back through the strip, to another food shop, back through the coffee roasting store, and back through the dress shop. Picked out some great coffee, and a new dress (what a combination, huh? Trip successful!).

Loaded all our spoils in the car trunk, and, satisfied with my journey dahntahn, I relied on my phone GPS to get us to the concert. Concert, you say? Well, what's a vacation without good music?!

The Pittsburgh Blues Festival, at Hartwood Acres. A very good time, really nice open air auditorium, good acoustics, and really great weather. One brief storm dampened the grass, but it wasn't enough to do more than make it a little chilly. I got to see one of my new fave voices, Shannon Curfman. Okay, better than just listening to her sing, I got her new cd and her autograph! A personally signed CD lyrics insert. Personally signed! I actually had a conversation with her! Absolutely cool! She's as great live as she is recorded, and sounds incredible! If you haven't heard of her, and like good rockin' blues, she's it!

A few other artists were there, along with a handful of vendors. There was one drink vendor there that will get their own whole blog later in the week. I'll summarize here and say that I had a bit of chemistry fun with a salesman. Poor Ed. I know the guy was just doing his sales pitching job, but he certainly isn't a chemist.

We got home a bit after 11pm, with almost no traffic heading out of town. A really nice day dahntahn, remembering where I grew up. I got to shop in my favorite places, and listen to one of my favorite music artists. Great weather, and wonderful company.

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