Dad picked Mom and I up and we headed west in his car, the 4-door silver 2006 Honda Accord, soon to be mine, to Bridgewater Honda. Of course, it was my job to find a lunch spot on Rt. 22. We were driving in the left lane on the four lane road and I looked to my right. There was a strip mall up a hill and just off the road, I saw the signs for the stores. One said "Five Guys." I suddenly remembered Barack Obama ate at this burgers and fries joint in Washington D.C. I had no clue it was in Jersey as well. I told Dad to shift across two lanes and make a right turn up into the mall. Took about 20 seconds, but we made it. Incredibly juicy burgers and the fries are as fresh as can be. Great grease.
Next door was Toys R Us and we brought Sequence and Rummikub. And then to the dealership where Dad picked up his newest leased Honda. He drove to his place while Mom and I drove by our old house. The conditions of that neighborhood used to be so-so. Now they are just horrific. Several houses on our street have Christmas lights hanging. Plenty of litter. The lawns have not been mowed in maybe 3 or 4 years. But the best part was when we drove by the main street and saw what we thought were a pair of roosters in the street. On our way back through the main road of the complex, we realized they were actually two vultures eating a carcass. I was ready to throw up. Thank God I am out of there.
For dinner, we drove up towards the Meadowlands to Jerry's, a great Italian joint we had not been to in maybe ten years. On the way, we saw the new football stadium which is being built. Right next to that is the disastrous Xanadu project, which is no longer being built. The outdoor ski jump which will never be used looks like the old Partridge Family bus. Any eyesore of the highest level. Anyway, we split a few dishes and the chicken scarpariello with sausage, potatoes, and roasted peppers was incredible. Unfortunately, the portions are so large, I had to throw out half of my rigatoni and sausage. Not a pleasant experience. But Dad can't eat cheese, so....
Got on the road around 7:30 a.m. As we entered the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I was struck by the green trees lining the roads and the hilly terrains. Northeast Philly reminded me of Brooklyn with the parks and the brick flats. Our first stop was a little personal for me. Swanson and Ritner on the southeast side. Formerly a bingo hall, formerly the ECW arena, and currently the Philly homes of ROH and CZW. This dilapidated barn is attached to a $25.00 sneaker outlet. There are barely any parking spaces to speak of, it is in the middle of a lot of industrial sites, the roads are not marked at all, and we had to drive through a couple of rain puddles on Swanson. The catch? There hasn't been any rain in PA in several days. But it was a thrill to see the Arena as it known now. So many legendary moments in that little place and I hope many more good ones down the road.Then we began a two-mile drive to Pat's Steaks. And I was a little surprised how narrow and tight the streets are. Philly combines the blue collar aspect and tight feeling of Brooklyn with the close proximity of Boston. We pulled in around 9:15, and decided to pass on Geno's, which is their "rival" right across the street. Pat's gets slightly better reviews from what I have seen, so that is what I decided on. We both got steaks wit (not a type-o, that refers to fried onions), provolone, and mushrooms. Wow. Incredible meat that I could really chew into, excellent onions, and served on one of the best rolls I have ever had. If anyone knows a roll in Chicago that is that good, please let me know.
We planned to drive five hours straight west to Pittsburgh, but when we realized Lancaster wasn't far away, we headed southwest towards Amish Country. Now I started driving my car for first time just after we left Philly. The pickup is amazing and it is great to hear music out of both speakers instead of just the passenger side like I had to do. The one drawback is there is no moonroof.
But back to Amish Country. Horse and buggies, produce stands, quilt shops, everything was there. And I had to notice the intense green color of the land. It was quite a treat to see. A lot of people in the area however, are not Amish. I started wondering how well the Amish and non-Amish communicate. So anyway, I'm driving around these curvy two-lane roads and on the shoulder, horses are transporting families. At a farmer's market, I had my first taste of shoo-fly pie and it was really good. And their apple cider has the most intense apple flavor I've ever tasted. Awesome.
The two big Amish towns there are named Bird in Hand and Intercourse. I am not making up. It took a long time to get there, but I did finally get to Intercourse. What did I think of Intercourse? It was as beautiful as I imagined it would be, but it was over really quickly. 30 seconds and I had already passed it by. That was it!
After getting past Harrisburg, we checked our atlas. And we discovered that the memorial for Flight 93 was located in rural southwest Pennsylvania. Since it was July 4, we knew it was a great day to head up there. One hour and a ton of backroads later, we found a small, simple outdoor tribute site in a huge grass field elevated in the Appalachians. There were very few trees nearby which indicated to me that the passengers must have gained most of the control of that fateful flight on September 11. Otherwise, how would it have landed in a field with so few houses or businesses around? There were benches and crosses for each person on the plane as well as numerous dedications. I'm glad I got up there to pay my respects. And can NYC get going on their memorial already?90 minutes later, we arrived in Pittsburgh. The city is a little bit of a tease. As we drove down 376, there were a lot of signs marking the distance to the Steel City. 15 miles, 10 miles, 5 miles. We saw nothing but hills and trees. Finally, the city appeared out of nowhere. I know they are doing a lot of renovations, but it is always going to be a blue collar town. I was a little surprised how small it seemed though. We drive by the Mellon Arena, where the Penguins play hockey. The thing looks like the globe at Epcot Center. Looks like half a golf ball was embedded in the ground. But right next door, they are constructing their new arena and it looks magnificent. But there is so little room around that arena. Less than Wrigley Field. And like coffee shops conquered Seattle and cowboy hats dominate Dallas, bridges rule Pittsburgh. There are more bridges in this city than there are traffic jams in LA. With all these rivers, there have to be a dozen bridges. We traveled over two of them and didn't have to pay for either.
We ate dinner at Nadine's from DDD. It's just this tiny neighborhood bar in a quiet section of downtown. One guy was working and he had the jobs of bartender, cook, waiter, and cashier. There was a husband and wife sitting next to us at the bar from New Jersey (of course) in town for the Mensa Convention. Pretty small menu. Thought about getting the deep fried mac and cheese or garlic-butter chicken wings. We both had Nadine's special pastas, which we saw on TV. It's got Italian meats and veggies in it and was really hearty. For two beers, two glasses of wine, and two pastas, we paid $30. Not the best meal ever, but good atmosphere and value. Felt like Cheers, where everybody knows your name. Unfortunately, I found out in that bar that Steve McNair was killed. What a shame.
By this time, we were wearing down. We drove another hour to Youngstown, OH where we got the last room at the Fairfield Inn around 7 p.m. This may be the only hotel I have ever seen with a pool and no gym. Anyway, Akron, Canton, Cleveland are all options for Sunday morning. And Pastor Ortberg will be keeping us company.
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