I spent the weekend in Pittsburgh at the PCTELA (Pennsylvania Council of Teachers of English and Language Arts) conference. Got to hear Stephen Chbosky, Jay Asher, and Releah Lent speak. More of that in another post.
Today I want to write about something that happened Saturday evening,after the conference was over. One of my friends and I have a standing tradition that after the conference ends we go to Saturday mass and then out to dinner. Not knowing the Pittsburgh area I asked another friend for a recommendation on where to eat and how to get there reminding hin that I can get lost going around the block.
Well, he suggested a place that was about q 10 minute drive from where we were staying. Not a problem. I don;\’t mind traveling. He gave me really detailed directions on how to get there. Simple.
So my friend and I found a church that was just up the road from the hotel. After Mass I gave her the directions and asked her to navigate for me. When Kathy and I go out that is usually her job. Well, Glenda and I were talking so of course I missed the turn off to 376 west. I could easily have turned around and backtracked, but I didn’t. There was actually another sign for 376 W so I decided I would just get on at a different ramp and continue from there. It was easy enough to find. Got on 376 and now had to look for exit 60.
The first exit we hit was exit 59. Wait, Had I gotten on where I should have it would have been at exit 67. I get on at a lower exit an now I am at exit 59? What happened to the exits in between? Well, Glenda and I decided we would just get off, turn around, get back on 376 E and go back one exit.
We got off and followed the signs to get back on. No problem. First exit coming up – Exit 67. Wait! What is going on? What do we do now? Feeling a bit befuddled we decided to go back to the hotel and just eat dinner there. After all, exit 67 was the exit for the hotel. We got off and tried to find our way back. I don’t have a GPS. Glenda decided to use her phone to get us directions. For some reason her phone kept searching and finally placed us in New York. Geography was never one of my strong suits, but I do recall that Pittsburgh is nowhere near New York.
After driving around for about 10 minutes I figured I would stop at a gas station and get directions. I asked someone and he just looked at me. He had now idea where the Double Tree Hilton was and how to get there. OK, now what. Glenda decided to call our friend Jonathan, the one who gave me the directions in the first place. She could get phone service so we drove a bit until she could.
Finally we got Jonathan and told him of our dilemma. We just wanted to get back and get something to eat. He told us that if we wanted, there was an Irish Pub just two blocks from where we were. That sounded good to both of us. He even recommended the Sheppard’s Pie. It was delicious.
We asked the bartender how to get back to the hotel. He gave us perfect directions. Turns out we were less than 5 minutes away form it.
So, even though we got lost in Pittsburgh, things worked out well. We had a delicious dinner. Kathy just laughed when I told her about our adventure. She knows my sense of direction. Hey, I would sooner get lost trying to go somewhere than sit an home afraid to go out because I might get lost. Makes life much more fun and interesting.
So, even though we were lost in Pittsburgh and didn’t eat where we originally planned to eat, we had a great meal and an enjoyable time. Kat
arjeha 
I love those serendipitous adventures. Once, just after I had moved to Medellin Colombia, a group of teachers and I were in a restaurant and, not knowing the Spanish, we each decided we’d just randomly order something that sounded fun to our ears. I ordered the “higado”, which turned out to be LIVER!!!! Fortunately, it was better than the shoe leather my mom cooked, but after that I always avoided anything on the menu with the word “higado”.
What an adventure you had, Bob!
I’ve only been to Pittsburgh twice, most recently for my birthday last spring. I just loved it. While I didn’t really have any travel adventures, all of those bridges are a bit confusing. Thank goodness we had a GPS with us.
I can picture you two driving around, turning around and going this way and that. At least you got a delicious Shepard’s Pie out of the deal! My sense of direction is not much better, so I empathize with you on this one.
What an adventure. I can get lost easily. All is well that ends well.
I’m glad you didn’t panic, just kept trying. The funniest thing to me is that the first person asked couldn’t help you. I’ve had that happen in other cities too, expecting directions and the person I asked had no idea. Glad you at least had a nice meal, & a fun slice for all of us.
If there’s great food at the end, all is well. Sometimes those highways twist and turn and you just never know what will come up.
All’s well that ends well – but your positive, calm attitude certainly helped.
I get lost easily too. I love to leave the driving and the figuring out how to get where we going to someone else. But sometimes, you just have to persevere. Glad you finally got dinner and good directions back to your hotel!
What better time than to get lost with a friend. And to end up in an unexpected and lovely place!
This is so funny – your post reminded me of one of mine – “Making the Wrong Timing Right” – I was going to mention it. But when I just went there I saw you had been there and commented! Ha!
I love these unplanned excursions and adventures. My husband and I love driving around and finding new things to see. And like you, I can get lost in a parking lot. But it will still be an adventure!