Inspiration Trip: Day 8

Embracing the Industrial Landscape

Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark

The landscape of Pittsburgh has changed dramatically since I left there in 1992, but there are still wonderful places to get the flavor of how it used to be. I was thrilled to find the Rivers of Steel: Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark. They have tours, which meant that I didn’t have to break in and surreptitiously walk about taking pictures pretending to be ignorant that I was trespassing the way I used to do years ago. I only took a little over 700 pictures there.

Every day I am grateful for digital cameras.

Inspiration Trip: Day 4

What’s a little rain?

Rear view of apartment buildings in Pittsburgh

Monday was a bust in terms of photography, but it mattered not as I got to spend much of the day with a friend I had not seen in decades and her wife. It was a socially distant lunch date on her porch on a cold rainy day, but who cares? I have spent very little time with friends over the past several months, even the past many years. I was overdue. And getting to catch up with a friend is priceless, especially these days.

So no photographic inspiration, but friendship inspiration, which is much better for the soul.

Inspiration Trip: Day 3

A quintessential Pittsburgh photo

Big box houses stepping down the side of a hill beneath slate grey skies.

I took this shot from the top of a wall I shouldn’t have climbed because, as you might guess, a fall ensued. But I got the shot, and I saved the camera, so yay me. My shoulder is bruised, and my glasses have taken on an undesirable shape, but I am OK. At about the same time, a friend of mine, also out taking pictures, fell and broke her foot. She asked if I thought we were too old to be doing this. Indeed not! We should go forth boldly!

Inspiration Trip: Day 2

What could go wrong?

Corn field in Ohio on a beautiful clear day.

When you finally get the heck out of town, you want to think everything will go right. It usually does. But not this time.

Thank goodness I have a newer model car that tells me when a tire is going down, which allowed me to get off the highway before it went entirely flat. That’s the good news. The bad news was that it was a Saturday in Zanesville, Ohio. Apparently, no one in Zanesville can fix a tire on a Saturday.

I got off the highway and stopped at a gas station. They had no air. No worries, there is a tire store across the street. I head over there, but it was closed.

So I Googled tire places, and thankfully, there was a National Tire and Battery just a few miles away. They took my car in immediately. Yes, the front passenger tire was low, they gave it some air. I asked if I could get it patched. Oh no. we don’t have time to do that. Really? They suggested I go down the street to the Toyota dealership. So I drove over there. They were so nice, but no, no one could patch a tire on a Saturday. I should try WalMart down the street.

So I headed down to the WalMart. They were very nice. They might be able to patch it in, maybe, three hours. Maybe. I was not really interested in waiting for a maybe. So I Googled again, and found a company that did road service. So I called them. They could come out. Yay! But then I find out that they only do big rigs, not passenger cars.

Finally, in desperation, I called AAA. Yes they could send someone out to patch the tire. So after a very lengthy time on the phone with them and a 45 minute wait, a service truck finally showed up. No, they couldn’t patch a tire either. So I had them put the donut on the car and I hit the road and left Zanesville in the dust.