Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

It was a very last minute decision to spend the night in Pittsburgh on our way from Niagara to home. One of those 'hey, we haven't, why not' things. Now I know exactly why not. Because somewhere deep in my subconscious I knew that Pittsburgh had a road system designed and paved by the devil himself.

View from the top of the Monongahela Incline

With plans to eat dinner at the Hard Rock we figured we could squeeze in one sightseeing thing first. We settled on Point State Park and the tallest fountain in the nation that is housed there. Put Point State Park into the GPS (because all is well with GPS now that we're in the US...) and go. In 45 minutes we did not manage to actually make it to the Park. We drove around it a couple times. Almost even above it. We never were more than a mile and a half from it. But I just couldn't seem to actually get to it. Short of driving off the side of one of the asinine bridges. The GPS was NO help. It can't tell if I'm on the bridge, the road that runs below it, or the road that runs parallel to it. In fact, the woman at the hotel later told us not to bother with GPS in Pittsburgh. She suggested online directions. Which I'd proven in Canada I was inept at using. Pittsburgh also takes the cake in confusing, life-flashing-before-your-eyes, one-way streets. I don't find myself using the Lord's name in vain often, but four times in one night I yelled "Oh God!" whilst attempting to drive.

The Hard Rock proved easier to find. Located in Station Square it overlooked the railway and the Monongahela River. It also had some fountains outside that moved and changed colors along with music. So that was fun. After that we took another crazy road straight through a mountain and found our hotel.

The next morning we went up the Monongahela Incline. A little car that goes up a track up the side of a big hill. That sounds underwhelming. But, there's an amazing view from the top. A little further down the river is the Duquesne Incline. It's a cheap ride, and worth the price for the view. 

That was it. Bidding the roads and bridges good-bye, we left to finally go home.