My Van Life: Day 32
Tuesday, August 10, 2021
Belmont, OH - Pittsburgh, PA - Buffalo, NY (Niagara Falls)
How quickly I’ve gotten back into the habit of going to bed at midnight (or later) thinking I can still masterfully hop out of bed when the alarm goes off at 6:30am. Newsflash, I can’t. Well, in theory I could but not sure how much of a functioning adult I would be at that time after so little sleep. So little sleep riddled with anxiety and you guessed it, heat. We are officially back to the humidity. This morning we woke up in Belmont, Ohio just outside Pittsburgh. According to the website the Steelers Pro Shop opened at 11am so we took care of the morning routines and Adam hopped on a couple work calls before driving over. I’ve never been to Pittsburgh nor PA in general so truthfully I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect but after getting a good feel for the city (ish) today, I would say it feels aligned with what little vision my mind curated of The Steel City. It’s definitely no Lambeau Field I’ll tell you that. Lambeau has this air about it of being a tried and true, legacy that built this city. Heinz Field in Pittsburgh doesn’t quite have the same ambiance about it (in my humble, non-expert opinion). It’s kind of smack dab in the city unlike Lambeau Field.
Nevertheless, we were the "lucky ones" who just so happened to visit on an event day meaning hoards of people emerged upon the stadium at the same time as we did, we had to pay $24 for parking – paid for 2 spots, shoutout 24 foot sprinter – AND to top things off, the pro shop closed early and therefore when we arrived at noon it was no longer open. So essentially we paid $24 to do a semi circle around the outside of the stadium and then walk to the Rally House shop across the street. Definitely disappointing but it was good to check that one off the bucket list (Adam’s that is) and see another new city.
Before heading out of town we popped into the City of Asylum bookshop just about a mile from the stadium as it came highly recommended in my brief Pittsburgh research. You know I’ll find my books wherever I’m at in the country or the world even. It was an incredible book store complete with a little café and stage area for local performances inside. Pittsburgh was like any city so unfortunately we struggled with parking so Adam stayed outside in the van with the hazards on in an alley nearby while I popped in. I didn’t pick up any books today as I felt the pressure not only of two people (well one person and a pup) waiting in the car for me but of my grumbling stomach. I headed back out to the car and we drove to a Walmart a ways away to post up for work (and lunch!). Not before driving through some torrential downpour though! It’s so strange these summer storms in this part of the country. It’s hot and humid one minute and the next the sky turns an ominous shade of bluish black and water droplets are plopping onto your windshield at rapid speeds as you barrel down the highway. It remains humid just now even more well, wet, thanks to the water droplets falling from the sky.
I heard the loudest thunder I’ve EVER heard posted up at that Walmart today and thanked the good Lord above for the shelter of our little home on wheels. After the work day wrapped we hopped back in the car and drove about 3.5 hours to Buffalo, NY if you can believe it. We’ve been in 4 states today! Ohio, West Virginia (briefly drove through), Pennsylvania and New York! This week is feeding my addiction of newness but I would be lying if I didn’t saying it’s also feeding my anxiety ever so slightly. We’re back to doing lots of driving during the work week and not having a solid place to call home for the evening. Walmart and rest stops are fine and all but you know what I mean. We’re covering a lot of ground though and we certainly have to considering I need to be in Las Vegas by the evening of Thursday, September 16th ready to Bach Party it up!