After Falling Water it was starting to get dark and we faced the ever daunting task of figuring out where to sleep. Our black and grey tanks needed to be dumped soon and we were running low on propane so we found Mountain Pines Campground in Champion, PA. It was just 25 minutes from Falling Water and an hour southeast of our next destination of Pittsburgh the next morning. They wanted to charge us $20 to dump, but only $34 to stay the night, so we figured we would get our money’s-worth and just stay over. They situated us in the site closest to the campground dog park which was an added bonus when we left the next morning and didn’t have to find a Lucy-run-around-spot.
Stadiumfront Parking
We consulted our die hard Pittsburgh friends for some recommendations on where to go and headed off to the steel city. There was limited/no parking in the Downtown Cultural District, so we hopped over the bridge to find a spot right across from PNC Park, where the Pirates play. It was a quick stroll across the Roberto Clemente Bridge and down the Allegheny Waterfront to Point State Park, Fort Pitt Museum and Blockhouse, and the Fort Duquesne outline. You can also see the Duquesne Incline from the Fountain.
Point State Park and Fort Pitt Museum, both are free!
After that we headed to the Strip District, also known as The Historic Market District. It’s a great little industrial area with tons of international markets, specialty stores, wining and dining, and of course Pittsburgh sporting memorabilia. We were hungry so we ate at the Original Primanti Brothers on 18th Street, famous for their coleslaw and french fry filled meat sandwiches. It was okay…not bad, not great, just okay. Plus I’m still mad that the bus boy threw out my sandwich before I could stop him to say I was saving the other half. Rude! Being a 24-hour eatery, at least in the original location, if I had had a night of drinking, this place would have definitely hit the spot. But it was 3pm, after a day of drinkless-touristing. We grabbed some pastries from My Sweet Lilly, some coffee from Commonplace Coffee, and a quick test-drive on some very expensive E-bikes at Kindred Cycles and then we were out of there.
Primanti Bro’s Sandwich
Since we were there for only half a day I can’t even pretend to know all the good stuff that we may have missed. But if you go to https://www.discovertheburgh.com/strip-district-guide/ they have an extensive guide of how to do the Strip District right. I would love to go back to see the Andy Warhol Museum and the Heinz History Center (cue Homer Simpson’s “Mmmmmm Ketchhhhhup” meme), but let us know the other Pittsburgh gems we missed!
Fort Duquesne Outline: This fort was established in 1754 by the French, and later overtaken by the British after it was destroyed during the French and Indian War.
Original Primanti Brothers
Primanti’s Who’s Who of Pittsburgh
Left: Sweet Lilly’s Bakery: We’ll support mostly anything that is named after a dog,
Right: Pittsburghese anyone?
Robert Clemente Bridge: The perfect golden bridge for the perfect golden!