Hi there,

A road trip to Pittsburgh

I just got back yesterday from a last minute road trip with Mr. SOTSS. We both love road trips, the architect Frank Lloyd Wright and we also love to tour cities. Just outside of Pittsburgh are 2 well known Frank Lloyd Wright homes—Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob. So we not only got to tour the 2 homes but also spent an entire day in the city of Pittsburgh. (A couple of years ago for my birthday we flew out to Chicago to tour the city and also to tour the home and studio that Frank Lloyd Wright designed for himself.)

The drive took us about 5 1/2 hours. We stopped to see Cucumber Falls on our way out. It was very pretty. I love the beauty that nature gives us.

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ta-dah!

Cucumber Falls

Cucumber Falls

It took a while for me to navigate to this spot thanks to slippery rocks and my injury track record :)

It took a while for me to navigate to this spot thanks to slippery rocks and my injury track record 🙂

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After Cucumber Falls we checked into our hotel which had the most beautiful view.

The view during the day

The view during the day

The view at night

The view at night

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The Summit Inn is a historic hotel that’s been around for over 100 years.

The next morning we set out to tour the first of the 2 Frank Lloyd Wright homes. Fallingwater got it’s name because it was built cantilevered over a waterfall. IMG_3140

The entire home was integrated so well with nature.

fallingwater

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After our tour was complete we headed into the city of Pittsburgh to do the tourist thing. I was told by a friend who grew up in Pittsburgh that there are 2 things we must do in Pittsburgh—go to Primanti Bros. for a sandwich and take the Duquesne Incline to the top of Mt. Washington to get a view of the entire city. Done and done!

corned beef, provolone, cole slaw and french fries. First time I ever had french fries IN my sandwich

corned beef, provolone, cole slaw and french fries. First time I ever had french fries IN my sandwich

Primanti Bros.

Primanti Bros.

duquesne-incline

Just before sunset. What a view!

Just before sunset. What a view!

We also walked across many of the city’s bridges and did a walking tour of some historic buildings.

just a few of the bridges

just a few of the bridges

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So this is what happens when you rely on your boyfriend to take an Insta worthy yoga pose pic. I almost died laughing when I saw where the water fountain looked like it was spraying from!!!!!

So this is what happens when you rely on your boyfriend to take an Insta worthy yoga pose pic. I almost died laughing when I saw where the water fountain looked like it was spraying from!!!!!

And then we discovered this place. IMG_3759

This was cold brew coffee poured over vanilla ice cream with crushed oreos and whipped cream. The most delicious thing I've tasted in quite some time

This was cold brew coffee poured over vanilla ice cream with crushed oreos, whipped cream and chocolate covered espresso beans. The most delicious thing I’ve tasted in quite some time

Before heading home the next day we made one last stop at Kentuck Knob, the other Frank Lloyd Wright designed home we wanted to tour.

The house is literally built into the hill.

The house is literally built into the hill.

You can see where the roof almost touches the ground here

You can see where the roof almost touches the ground here

Lots of hexagon skylights in this home.

Lots of hexagon skylights in this home.

The dental molding on the home was carved by hand taking 2 years to complete! That's nuts.

The dental molding on the home was carved by hand taking 2 years to complete! That’s nuts.

And of course when I saw the view from the property I had to become one with nature and turn myself into a tree :)

And of course when I saw the view from the property I had to become one with nature and turn myself into a tree 🙂

It was a wonderful trip that I’m so grateful for. We really weren’t sure we’d be able to get away for a while due to work situations but we made it work!

Big Day

Tomorrow I will begin my foray back into the world of running. I have a 10 minute easy run planned. If all goes well I’ll be adding 2 minutes to each subsequent run for the next month. I’m hoping to run 3X a week so that I can get to 36 minutes by the time the Trenton 5k arrives. This will allow me to run a nice easy 12 minute pace as it will be my first race since May and since re-injuring the toe back in June.

I’m so excited!!!!!!

 

Ever been to Pittsburg?

Do you have a favorite architect or artists?

Nature? Yay or Nay?

 

 

 

Hi.

Breaking news. My sinus infection is G.O.N.E! I’m finally feeling better and so relieved.

Mr. SOTSS and I spent a few days in Chicago to celebrate my birthday.

Chicago

It was so much fun and jam-packed with activities! Plus, aside from some rain on Saturday morning, the weather was perfectly crisp and Autumn-like with temps in the high 50s and 60s. Have I mentioned how much I love the fall? Have I mentioned how my I love my boyfriend?!!!

We stayed at the Hotel Chicago which is right in the center of the city and so accessible to everything.

Hotel chicago

There was a bottle of wine and some cheese and crackers in the room to welcome us thanks to Mr. SOTSS. He’s so sweet. He did the same thing when we went to Cape Cod last year for my birthday weekend. Hmmm, setting a precedent. Boyfriend, if you’re reading I hope you’re taking note ;).

Wine cheese arrival

I ran on my actual birthday (Sunday) along the Chicago Riverwalk and the lakefront trail (along Lake Michigan) and covered about 7 slow miles but boy was it nice to have some new scenery. Newsflash: Chicago and Garmin = no bueno. I had to transfer my data to Runkeeper and adjust the map. All the tall buildings in the city made the Garmin struggle to locate the satelite and it basically showed that I went berserk in the river. LOL! Actually to be fair, Mr. SOTSS used Runkeeper and it was also just as berserk. But the map is editable so that’s how we got our routes and mileage correct finally.

Riverwalk sign

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy Birthday to me!

Skyline chicago

I tried to take a panoramic shot with my phone.

1025-runAnd I also ran about 3.5 miles yesterday before we headed to the airport to catch our flight home.

Shorter run

Hotel room selfie before I set out.

The foliage!

The foliage!

1026-runMr SOTSS ran twice too. I love that we both enjoy going for solo runs while vacationing together.

We ate so much! From stuffed pizza at Giordano’s to filet mignon at Chicago Cut Steakhouse to BBQ Ribs at Weber Grill restaurant. And then there was my birthday hot fudge sundae.

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No candles but Mr. SOTSS sang Happy Birthday to me and then I made a wish!

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The cook all the food on Weber grills right in the restaurant!

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That is pizza perfection right there.

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two crusts with the cheese melted in between like a real PIE and then the sauce goes on top of the upper crust.

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If you go to Chicago GO HERE!

 

We walked along the Magnificent Mile and boy was I excited to see they had a Garmin store.

Garmin store

I asked when the Garmin 235 that was announced would be available and they said probably another 2-4 weeks. So now I’m trying to decide if I should just get the 220 before the NYC Marathon on Sunday. I only have the Garmin 10 at the moment and it has a 5 hour battery life and I’m pretty much 100% sure I won’t be crossing that finish line sub 5 this year.

Some other fun things we did in ChiTown…

Took in a Chicago Blackhawks game

Blackhawks selfie

The time it takes me in photoshop to protect Mr. SOTSS’ identity with these smiley faces…..he’s worth it.

Went on an architectural river cruise to see and learn about some of the well known, and not so well known buildings in the city. It poured on us for the first 10 minutes of the cruise but we stayed mostly dry thanks to our well spent $2 for ponchos.

River cruise selfieRiver cruise ponchos

333 ewacker building

my favorite building just for the reflection

Art chitecture

As we were going down the river they had to open this particular bridge for a larger boat. I just loved the compositing. So angular and really cool.

Corncob condos

They call these the Corn Cob Condos. People live on the top half and their cars (and public parking) are on the lower half. So crazy.

We took the train out to the suburbs of Oak Park where we took a tour of some Frank Lloyd Wright homes including the first home he ever designed and lived in.

Pink line train

Different than the NYC subway in that most of their trains travel above ground

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An odd detail on the roof of one of the homes Frank Lloyd Wright designed

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Another Frank Lloyd Wright house behind us

Frank Lloyd Wright was known for his lead glass designs.

Frank Lloyd Wright was known for his lead glass designs.

I scored while we were in Oak Park because we found a Fleet Feet store and I bought a new pouch to put my phone in while running the marathon. I needed sommething big enough to fit the iPhone 5 in the Mophie battery case so I’ll be sure to have enough juice for all those hours.

Amiphipod pouch

We also went to Millenium Park and saw the famous Bean sculpture.

Backwards bean selfie

Bean selfie!

Me bean

My feet are so sore because we’ve walked more in the last 3 days than I have in my life a while. About 25,000 steps daily. And that’s not counting the running! We’re both exhausted and will have to rally for sure to get through the rest of the week. 

 

Airport mrsotss

taking a power nap at gate B8

Another trip in the books with my favorite travel life companion.

Holding hands oak park

happiness is…

I’m hoping to get one or two super short and easy runs in this week. And then it’s Expo time…And then it’s GO time…AHHHHH! Starting to panic.

How was your weekend?

Ever been to Chicago?

Ever eat stuffed pizza?

Interested in architecture at all?