To Pittsburgh and Back in One Day

Wednesday of last week I drove two of my kids (one blood kid and one pseudo adopted kid) to Pittsburgh, to see Neil Gaiman in an Evening of Stardust.

Before we left I poked around online to see what was the best way to get from Baltimore to Pittsburgh,a s I had never been there before, and wasn't sure about taking the turnpike. Was it going to be boring? How much are the tolls?

A bunch of people suggested taking 68 instead of the turnpike and just about everyone called it an easy drive. To which I say HA. Maybe it's an easy drive if you aren't planning to come back the same day, or if you weren't going to do half of it in the dark, or if trucks didn't tailgate you the entire way.

I haven't driven in the mountains for a while and was a little freaked out by all the vehicles rushing past me at 80 mph on a 9 degree slope. Also by the trucks ignoring the trucks 10 mph signs. Also the "Dangerous Mountain" sign was a first that I recall. That one was pretty funny. Like it was going to attack us?

Somehow I managed to get 30 mpg, even going uphill most of the way there. Which was nice as my car is supposed to get less than that.

At the venue we saw a lot of mad things. Like a crocodile stuck to a wall and a dinosaur painted with birds, that was really nice. The building was gorgeous, especially the ceiling in front of the music hall. Pittsburgh itself was beautiful, especially the bridges and some of the older buildings. I'd like to go back and see it in the daytime, but next time I think I'll take the turnpike. It is a lot more boring but it's also a lot flatter and less stressful.