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03/27/2004 Archived Entry: "Pittsburgh, PA"

I arrived in Pittsburgh, PA yesterday on a 3-day trip with a high school group attending a youth convention. On pulling into the Westin Convention Center Hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, my coach was beseiged with more than 20 yellow-shirted teens sporting "Host Club" in big letters -- they were there not only to welcome the group I had brought, but also to unload the coach! I barely had the luggage bays opened and they were emptied; what a nice surprise at the end of a six hour drive. I wonder if they'll be there to load the coach when I pick up the group tomorrow morning ... not too likely, I suspect.

I'm staying at a Red Roof Inn in Monroeville, PA for the weekend; it's half the price of the hotel the group is in, plus plenty of room to park the coach. Last night, though, the place was filled with dogs -- literally -- apparently there were two big dog shows in Pittsburgh this weekend, and Red Roof Inn is one of those hotel chains that allows pets. So guess where they all stayed! Surprisingly, though, I only heard dogs bark once or twice, then only briefly, and it wasn't a problem. There must have been at least 30 dogs I saw being walked at various times last evening, most of them really beautiful. I even played briefly with a little 6-month old Chinese Shar-Pei -- one of those ugly-but-really-cute wrinkly dogs (it looked just like "Angel" at the top left here).

Right across the street from the Red Roof Inn is Max & Ermas (photo at right), so I walked over and had dinner there last night; best service I've had in a restaurant in a long time, and the food was good, too. There was even another coach there with a group, so I felt right at home. The weather here has been great -- high 60s and low 70s -- what a welcome change from this winter. In the morning I go back into Pittsburgh for my group, then head for home.