Day 7 - Charlotte to Savannah

We left Charlotte at 8:30 and had a pleasant, uneventful drive to Savannah.  Stopping at the welcome center allowed us to get some more information on Savannah and to received discount coupons on the tours and hotels in the area. We found an inexpensive, but clean, hotel a few miles from the historic center and settled in. 

From there we took off and went to the beach to enjoy the 70 degree plus weather.  On the way to the beach we were able to see glimpses of historic Savannah, Spanish Moss and all.

The beach was almost deserted but beautiful just the same.

After our walk along the beach and the main street of Tybee Beach, we followed the recommendation of some locals and went to A. J.'s Dockside Restaurant.  There we enjoyed good food, saw "Pete the Pelican" and witnessed a pretty sunset.

So far we have traveled 1000 miles and been to 6 states with much more to come.

Tomorrow we take on historic Savannah!
 

Day 6 - Charlotte

Lou's omelette's and the Charlotte Observer newspaper started off a lazy Sunday morning.The weather was cool but sunny and a great day for a walk.  We took another tour of the neighborhood and were accompanied by Romeo, the dog from across the street.

We thought about hitting the mall or a southern museum but we had too much fun just talking and catching up in the afternoon.  It was restaurant week in Charlotte so we went for dinner at The Palms.  It was a wonderful dinner with great company.

After dinner the Hochmuths got revenge and finally won at at Sequence.  We will have to get together again since each family
won one night.  It was a great time in Charlotte.  Thanks Lou and Judy for showing us your southern home and town and being such gracious hosts.

It's on to Savannah!

Day 5 - Charlotte

Today started off chilly, at least for Charlotte standards, but became sunny and warm as the day progressed.  After taking a nice walk around Lou and Judy's neighborhood and viewing Lou's tennis club we went uptown.  Our first stop was the Mint Museum where we saw some amazing crafts. 

Once again we were greeted by a Chihuly work - making us think  of Pittsburgh.

While not impressed with all of the modern art we thoroughly enjoyed the crafts.

Fr

 From there we toured downtown Charlotte - What a pretty city.

The evening consisted of Judy's delicious Chicken Marsala and then a trip to Theater Charlotte to see The Foreigner.  It was a clever farce that had us laughing.  

The evening was capped off with a hot game of sequence.  We will need to try to enact our revenge tonight as we were trounced by Lou and Judy.

More tomorrow!
 

Day 4 - Pittsburgh to Charlotte

Given the impending weather, we were up bright and early and at 6 am said our fond farewells to Pittsburgh and the Ashbridges.  The forecast was correct and we traveled in snow, sleet, freezing rain etc. We could have stayed in the North Country for this kind of weather.  At least they know how to plow up there. We were accused though of bringing this weather with us.  After traversing the largest arch bridge in the western hemisphere we finally arrived at Lou and Judy's in Charlotte at 3:45.

I think that Christine's car is hoping that that was the last winter drive that it had to make.

It was nice to be out of the car and we spent a relaxing evening with Lou and Judy.

More Charlotte adventures to come!






 

Day 3 - Pittsburgh

After finishing yesterday evening with the Penguins, we started today at PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.  We had a very interesting tour of the facilities and hope to come back to catch a game in June.

From the park we went to "The Strip" to check out the fish market and other interesting shops.

While there we visited Primanti Brothers and had a Pittsburgh sandwich -YUM!

To complete our tour of Pittsburgh we headed to the Monongahela Incline for our final vistas of Pittsburgh.

We have to thank Carole and Earle for sharing their love of Pittsburgh and their home with us this week.  Tomorrow is a travel day - it's off to Charlotte.

Day 2 - Pittsburgh

Our second day in Pittsburgh began with a scenic drive to view the city skyline.   

The first stop was at the Phipps Conservatory.  Seeing all the beautiful orchids and colorful flowers was a wonderful respite in the middle of the winter.

We then had lunch at the Porch near the Cathedral of Learning. 

From there it was off to the Carnegie Museum where we took in an exhibit on items from various World Fairs, the Art Gallery, and an exhibit on the Arctic.  

Along with a record number of fans we proceeded to opening night at Consol Energy Center for the Pittsburgh Penguins. As their welcome back to the hockey season we received t-shirts and 3 free concessions.  We also will get a free Big Mac since the Pens scored in the last 2 minutes of the first period.  Unfortunately the end result was not what the fans came out for.  There was no joy in Mudville – I mean Pittsburgh.  It was a fun night anyway.

 

More tomorrow!