Leo J. Scanlon

 The e-mail has just arrived. Tonight’s star party has been cancelled due to rain, clouds and muddy fields. I had an idea that this was going to happen. There is a good chance that tomorrow’s activities at the Wagman Observatory will be cancelled also. They tend to go hand in hand, plans for anything astronomical and bad weather.

    Even though it is doubtful, I am still keeping my fingers crossed for Saturday night. We can’t give up hoping!

    Along with Independent Bookstore Day, which won’t be hampered by rain, tomorrow is also Astronomy Day. This is a day when astronomers, both amateur and professional, share their knowledge, enthusiasm and love of the skies above us.

    This year’s Astronomy Day comes at a good time, it is the day before the birthday of a man who spent his life promoting astronomy. On April 30, 1903, Leo J. Scanlon joined the human race. 

    In his 20’s, he built his first telescope and not long after, he and Chester Roe formed the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh. (AAAP) The club is still thriving. He was a plumber by trade but his real love was the stars above!

    Shortly afterward, he and friends, no doubt club members, designed and built the Valley View Observatory.

Leo sitting on the dome to prove its strength

Placing the dome

Almost ready for use

    Located in his backyard in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, it was the first observatory to have an aluminum domed roof on it. His design was copied by numerous professional observatories and gave us the image we picture when we think about observatories. It was dedicated in November of 1930 and stood there until 1997, 67 years later, when it was dismantled.

Leo and Albert Einstein

    In 1934, he sent a letter to Albert Einstein inviting him to visit the AAAP display at the convention of the American Association for the Advancement of Science which was being held in Pittsburgh. When Einstein arrived, he spent about 20 minutes at the display and later corresponded with Leo.

    During the same year, he was invited to watch the pouring of the glass which would form the 200” mirror for the Hale Telescope at the Corning Glass Works.

    Leo was influential in getting the city to build the Buhl Planetarium. After it was built, he and Nicholas Wagman, the director of the Allegheny Observatory were the first two speakers to give lectures at the facility.

    He also had a part in helping to create the Astronomical League in 1947.

    In 1998, a historical marker was placed on McKnight Road, not far from where his observatory sat. During the ceremony, he was told that an asteroid had been named after him!

Leo at First Light of the Brashear Telescope at Wagman, 1995

    Leo passed away in 1999. He led quite an exciting astronomical life for a plumber. He is another person who set an example for us, of what a person can accomplish.

    While we watch the rain falling outside our windows, let's give a little thought to the people like Leo and think about how we can follow in their footsteps!

    Happy Birthday Leo, thanks for all you’ve done for us!

What Can We Do This Weekend?

 Nothing planned for the upcoming weekend, are you looking for something to do? Let me give you a couple ideas…

    Foremost on my list are the two star parties being held by the Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh, (AAAP) at the Wagman Observatory in Deer Lakes Park. On  Friday and Saturday nights, the 28^th and 29^th of April, the club members will have a variety of telescopes set up on the observatory grounds and the two permanently mounted scopes will be open for viewing also.

    The bright planet Venus will be one of the objects viewed along with the moon, double stars and galaxies. If you’ve never been to a star party, this is your chance! If you’ve been to one in the past, come on back! You can’t beat the price, it’s free!

    For more information about the AAAP and the star parties, go to;

3AP.ORG

    The second item on this short list is that Saturday April 28^th is Independent Bookstore Day!  While you are out and about during the day, stop into your favorite independent bookstore. Many of the store will be having special events to celebrate the day.

    Before we go up to Wagman, we will be stopping at City Books, located on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Open from 11 to 5, they will have along with their great selection of used books (and new), Haley Clancy who will be composing poems for interested customers. She types them on her typewriter as she creates them, each one an individual one-of-a-kind poem.

    For more information on City Books, go to;

CityBooksPgh.com

    Support your local bookstores, they bring both knowledge and class to our neighborhoods! If you happen to visit City Books or come up to the star parties, keep an eye out for me. I’d love to see you there!

“There are stores that enrich the streets with their presence, and the most precious of them are the shops that sells old books!”

― Mehmet Murat ildan

The Launch

 Pulling into the circular drive around the building, we were surprised to see only one other car. We were early but had envisioned many more cars and people.

    We parked near the front door of the Allegheny Observatory, got out and walked down the sloping lawn in front of the building. The trees were in bloom and the sky was a deep shade of blue with no clouds to be seen. It was quite a difference from the storms that passed through the area the night before.

    Ann Marie and I had come to watch the test launch of a balloon in preparation for next year’s solar eclipse. (Less than a year away!) NASA and the University of Pittsburgh are planning a couple balloon launches during the eclipse to study the thin wavering bands of shadows seen just before and after these events. 

    While talking with a neighborhood dog walker, I saw Lou Coban, the head man at the observatory, coming out from the back of the building, wheeling two large gas canisters. His team followed behind carrying more gear. (They had parked further back from where we were) 

    They pinned a tarp onto the grass and started unpacking their gear. The balloon was wrapped in a plastic bag. White cloves were donned before anything was unpacked, I’m guessing to help maintain as much sterility as possible. Checklists had been checked and still questions flew, making sure nothing was forgotten.

    This was their second test flight with a possible 8 more before the April 8, 2024 eclipse. They plan on launching their two balloons from a location in Texas.

    The payload has two cameras, one pointing up at the balloon and the other, a 360 degree camera looking down at the ground. There is also a tracking device to help them find it after it parachutes to the ground. They are guessing that the flight will last about an hour, barring any difficulties, before the balloon reaches 85000 feet and the payload is released or the balloon pops.

    The group will then mount a expedition to try and reclaim the payload. The observatories name and phone number are printed on the sides in case someone comes across it before they locate it. A past flight took the balloon over the Laurel Highlands.

    The balloon was filled, using a gauge, they tested its lifting capability as they proceeded, adding just a bit more than the payload weight.

“Don’t let go!!!”

    Once the balloon was filled, the bottom was sealed and the items going on the ride were attached, one below the other.

    Verbally they rechecked their lists and at 10:13 the cord holding it to the earth was released. The balloon, mimicking the shape of the near-by observatory quickly rose up, getting smaller and smaller to the people below.  The observers and crew took pictures and shaded their eyes, watching it as it disappeared.

    Then, the clean-up started. The tools were put back where they belonged, where they could be found for the next flight. This was when Ann Marie and I returned to the car. After enjoying the show, we were ready to search out a diner and get some breakfast!

    Later, in the afternoon, we found out that the balloon went to 95,288 feet before it ruptured. The release device didn’t work for some reason. The payload was found in the top of a tree which had to be cut down to retrieve it. This is why they do the test flights, to help eliminate these problems. Next time it will be an even better flight!

Searchin'

 Thinking about all the things that can be found in near-by areas, I came up with quite a list. The amount of “cool finds” is limited only by your own imagination.

    In our travels, we have discovered old ruins where houses used to stand along with barns and sheds barely standing. Old abandoned bridges crossing streams and rivers, ghost signs barely perceptible on the walls of buildings and stores and shops, abandoned to the elements. We’ve found religious statues covered in dirt and vines, forgotten in the backyards of empty churches. We’ve searched out and found piles of rocks which once were used as furnaces to make iron.

    Our geocaching adventures have taken us to fantastic views from the tops of cliffs and have brought us to hidden waterfalls deep in forest valleys. We once came to a spot where an airplane had crash landed and not far away was an old mill stone quarry, the stones laying in piles, some half finished, all covered with leaves, small saplings and weeds. We’ve found old cars and even trolleys sitting in the woods. Huge limestone mines and tunnels, no longer used except by explorers and graffiti artists.

    There are so many things hidden in the hills and woods and alongside the roads of the tri-state area. All you have to do is go out and look for them.

    We’ve stopped to look at old construction equipment, rusting away beside the road. I’ve photographed old tractors with trees growing through their frames, farmhouses made of logs and collapsing with the weight of time, good for nothing except a person with a camera. We never know what we might come across.

    This past Friday, Ann Marie and I took another trip. We headed to the west towards Weirton, West Virginia. There were a few geocaches I had in mind to look for and there were also ruins of old steel mills that might be photogenic. I also had the general location of an old iron furnace that we’d try to find. Anything else we came across would be an added bonus.

    The day was loosely planned, our route was open to change, it all depended on what we came across. Weirton isn’t far from Pittsburgh, less than an hour drive. We entered the town shortly after 9. Our first stop was at a restaurant where we got some breakfast. Specializing in biscuits, we both had breakfast sandwiches. Properly fueled, we headed towards our first geocache.

    The Veterans Memorial Bridge was opened in 1990. It is like no other bridge in the surrounding area. Suspended by cables strung from a high center tower, it was the third bridge of this type in the world when it was built! The cache was very close to it. We needed to find some numbers and they would tell us where the cache was hidden.

    We walked up a gravel road and found the numbers we needed written on the back side of a guard rail. A walk of about a ¼ mile brought us to the end of the Veterans Bridge. The cache was hidden about 10 yards away from the bridge, a view that very few of the drivers crossing the bridge ever see. 

    We returned to the car happy, we got some fresh air, a nice walk and a successful find. We then headed towards the northern end of town to see what was left of the old steel mills. Sadly, most of the buildings were gone, torn down leaving only a few unremarkable buildings, lots of pipes and wide empty fields.

    We were driving on Main Street but it didn’t look like one. Open empty lots were on one side with a wall and fences on the other. The buildings were all gone, only a couple houses remained, it was mostly scrubby lots alongside a dirty brick road. There was hardly anything that showed how industrious this area used to be. Closer to the center of town the mills are still in operation but here it is another story.

    Driving up the hill we came to another cache. Hidden on a hillside covered with weeds and jagger bushes, I scrambled up to where I found some partially covered cement steps and some yellow brick walls. This spot was once someone’s front yard. The brick walls lined their sidewalk, now they were slanted and falling down, their only purpose now was to hide a geocache. 

    Not far away was another remnant of the mills, some sort of tower. The temptation to climb it was strong but I managed to resist it!

    A short drive then took us to the Peter Tarr Furnace. Built in the late 1700’s and working until 1815, all that’s left is the stack. Finding it wasn’t as tough as we imagined. It was sitting right beside the road, looking sort of like a decoration for the housing plan beside it. Reading up on it, we found out it has been rebuilt twice. What makes it interesting is that it is round as compared to the normal (?) square pyramid shaped furnaces. 

    We were a bit disappointed when we found it; it is built around a steel corrugated pipe and held together with modern cement. The “neatness” of it sort of takes away from the historic aspect of the location.

    We’ve found piles of stones hidden by trees and weeds, stones which once were a point in history. I would feel excited after finding them, feeling as if I was the first one to find them. Perhaps I was, the first in a year or two or maybe even decades. This furnace posed no problems, its neat shape was sitting right beside the road, we rounded the curve and there it was.

    We were still happy finding it; it was another furnace to add to our list!

    Crossing the Ohio River and entering Ohio, we headed north into East Liverpool. We drove around the town looking for a spot to get some coffee and some lunch. We saw lots of ghost signs and plenty of nice buildings, built in a time where decorations were commonly added. Nice decorative woodwork over the windows and doors and inset balconies set in between windows adorned many of them. Victorian types of gingerbread and cupolas, it was enjoyable driving around the town. 

    While driving along a brick street below a highway I caught a glimpse of something behind an old, bedraggled building, it looked like a furnace. Luckily, the traffic was nonexistent, and we were able to back up to see what we nearly missed. It was a large bottle kiln sitting behind the building. Used in the pottery industry these kilns, named after their shape, were commonplace in the town. 

    Trying to find more information about them, I found that they tended to be rather dangerous. Fires were often started resulting in factories burning down. We explored around it and the building, took a few pictures and then headed across the river, back into West Virginia.

    A quick stop at “The Largest Teapot in the World” for a snapshot (Hmmm, have they ever been in Bedford??) and then we headed towards Pennsylvania and home.

    Four caches searched for and four found, 100%, can’t complain about that! We found the furnace we were looking for, even though it wasn’t as exciting as we had hoped. We also found a pottery kiln that we weren’t expecting. We saw nice views of bridges and the Ohio River and enjoyed exploring the river towns we passed through on a nice day. It turned out to be a great trip!

    Why do we search for these things? Is it our curiosity, our yearning to learn more about our history or just the enjoyment of being out on the road together, enjoying each other’s company? Perhaps it is all of these things! There is so much more out there waiting to be found and seen and we will keep looking for them as long as we are able. It is fun and exciting following the impromptu maps in our heads and finding out where they lead us!

    (I just saw an article about another iron furnace we haven’t seen yet in Clearfield County. Hmmmm…could be another road trip in the near future!)

Gotta Map?

During some of my recent bookstore visits, I picked up a couple books worth mentioning. Both were purchased at City Books on Pittsburgh’s North Side and both of the books have to do with maps.

    The first is a nearly new book (2018) called The Writer’s Map. It contains a group of articles by twenty-four different authors. These essays or chapters are about how maps are often included in books and can also be influential in the first thoughts of a new book or story.

    The illustrations in this larger format book are very nicely copied, having maps of both real and imaginary places. All of them were made to help us find our way, whether through the real world or the book we are reading.

    I always enjoy having a map included on the inside cover of a book, (This book has one!) I refer to them frequently and am disappointed when they aren’t a good representation of the novel. These maps make the location of a story that much more real to me. It helps me to envision the place!

    The second book is an old Collier’s World Atlas and Gazetteer. Printed in 1935, it has the ability to take me back into the past.

    Back to when Alaska and Hawaii weren’t states yet, back to a time when the city of Pittsburgh was covered with railroads. I find it fun to browse through the maps and see what has changed over the past eighty-eight years. There are countries, and neighborhoods in this atlas which no longer exist and lots of places which have been absorbed by others. The statistics have changed a bit also. 

    There are a couple older atlases and maps in my collection which show Pittsburgh being spelled without the "h" at its end, (pre-1911) and where West Virginia hasn’t yet divided from Virginia because of different thoughts dealing with slavery. (Pre-1863) Looking at old maps can be another form of time travel.

    I find maps absolutely fascinating, whether they are the old crinkly maps, printed on tissue thin paper in the Beadeker Travel Guides, old folded gas station maps or star maps printed on thick paper in the Uranometria volumes. I have a couple atlases of the human body, filled with color plates showing the bones and what muscles are used to power them along with maps of the veins and arteries that fuel them.  Pictures of the human body, but they are maps never the less. In novels, my opinion of a book rises if it contains a map, or even better, a few maps! Maps such as; the Treasure Island map on the inside covers of the book, Swiss Family Robinson’s map, the map of Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley or the jungle maps of The Lost City of Z. They all guide us through the book. What a wonderful accompaniment!

    While reading The Writer’s Map, one of the chapters was written by Reif Larson who wrote The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet. Some of the maps in this book are included and after reading that chapter, I went to the bookshelf and pulled my copy of the book out and started re-reading it. As of right now, I’m about 60 pages into it. What a great book!  (It is about a young, (very young!) cartographer who is invited to make a speech at the Smithsonian Museum. They have no idea how old he is. He sets off on his own, going from Montana to Washington DC, mapping his journey in his journals. I’ve re-read it a few times and enjoyed it every time.)

    The fact that I started re-reading this book once again is an example of how I believe that all books are connected in some way. Books I am reading often have a similar plot, the same location or the same subject matter as the one I just completed. This doesn’t happen all the time but it occurs enough that I look forward to seeing what similarities the book I’m reading might have with those of the past. This example also shows how one book can lead me to another. In a way…it was a map to the book that was sitting on my shelf.

    A quote from another book I just read, The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson fits right in here. Writing about his father; “there was almost nothing he would’ve liked better than to cover the dining room table with maps and consider at length, possible routings”

Maps, where would we be without them?   I know I’d be lost!

Star Party Season is Almost Here!

If you are at all like me, you remember the two bright objects, very close to each other, in the western skies a few weeks ago. They weren’t stars, they were planets. The brighter one of the two was Venus and the fainter one, Jupiter. Since then, Jupiter is neared the horizon in the evening skies while Venus still stands strong in the twilight.

    Did you know that the planet Uranus will be close to the bright planet Venus towards the end of the month? You can see the pair from your backyard, use binoculars to see the fainter Uranus, OR, you can come up to the Wagman Observatory and see them there.

    The Amateur Astronomers Association of Pittsburgh will be holding star parties on the last day of March, (the 31^st) and the first of April. (no joke!) Being held at the Wagman Observatory in Deer Lakes Park, the club members will show you these objects and many others during the nights. Star parties are held in the warmer (?) months of the year. The March/April parties will be the start of the 2023 Star Party Season.

    The club holds these events to allow the general public to come and look through the telescopes belonging to the club and its members. There are two permanently mounted scopes at the observatory, an 11” refractor built by the prominent Pittsburgh optician John Brashear (above) and a 21” reflector. The mirror for the reflector was made by the same company that John Brashear founded over a century ago. (We are a very Pittsburgh oriented club!)

    There is no charge for these parties; they are open to anyone who wants to see more of the sky above them. Bring the family, please! The observatory is in a darker portion of the county and almost everyone will see many more stars than at home in their light polluted neighborhoods.

    Are you thinking about getting a telescope and aren’t sure how to go about doing it, not sure what kind or what size to get? There are lots of options available. At a star party there are always a variety of scopes, different styles and sizes, you can browse among them and see how the views differ and ask the owners what their opinions are.

    Have you recently gotten a telescope and aren’t sure how to set it up or how to use it? Bring it with you and chances are someone will be there that can give you a hand or some advice. Ask at the desk to see if someone can help you. Just setting up a scope will bring club members over to see what you have! You can also join the club if you're interested!

    The kids enjoy being able to look through the scopes and seeing planets they’ve read and learned about. There are a couple programs available for the kids to participate in. Those between 2^nd and 6^th grades can work on the Passport to the Universe Program. They are given a passport and the idea is to find the various astronomical things listed in it. After finding them, they are awarded a certificate and a book. For the older kids there is the Junior Messier Program. After finding some things a little bit harder, they also can get an award and a certificate. Club members are happy to help them find the objects they are searching for.

    Weather permitting, (a big condition here in Pittsburgh) during these star parties, we will be able to see Jupiter and Mercury, very close to the western horizon. They will be setting soon after sunset. Higher in the sky will be Venus and beside it, the planet Uranus. Since Uranus is so much dimmer than the brilliant Venus, you’ll probably need some binoculars or a telescope to see it. Club members will direct you to it, it won’t be hard to find, especially when you have a bright planet to lead you to it!

    Chances are, the moon will be the first thing the telescopes will be pointing towards, since you can easily see it while the sky is still bright. As the sky darkens, Venus and Uranus will come under scrutiny by the observers. Then things such as Mars, Orion and it’s nebula, star clusters, galaxies and double stars. If we are lucky, we will see a pass or two of the International Space Station or maybe the Chinese space station, Tiangong. There is also the possibility of seeing a couple “falling stars”. You never know what you might see at a star party till you get there and see for yourself. That’s part of the fun of them, what new things will I see tonight?

    Bring your binoculars; you’ll be amazed at how much you can see with them! Leave your flashlights at home, the moon will be providing more than enough light to see. Bright lights are frowned upon because the darker the area is, the easier it is to see the fainter objects and to see more details. So being, please, turn off your car headlights as you enter the grounds.

    For more information about star parties or the A.A.A.P., click here, 3AP.Org. Directions to the clubs two observatories can be found there along with the dates of future star parties. If the weather looks doubtful, call the observatory (724- 224-2510) to see if the party is still on. Inclement weather, clouds, rain or snow will be cause to cancel the event.

    It is a great way to spend a Friday or Saturday night, after a hard week of work, relaxing under the stars in the fresh air. Best thing of all…it’s free!

    If you come, look me up. Hope to see ya there!

Tia

Mary Kay Breinig was a woman I’ve had the pleasure and the honor of knowing for close to fifty years. Intelligent, funny, and extremely giving, she lived a life of sharing with others. Tia, as we knew her, loved hearing about other people’s achievements and helping them to achieve their dreams. She had numerous degrees; before her retirement, she worked in medical research at Pitt and was an assistant professor. She loved to share knowledge and to hear about people learning! Every so often we come across people that we can't help but admire, Tia was one of these!

    One of her biggest loves was to share the arts with others, especially her nieces and nephews. Museums, ballet, the opera and the symphony, she was a frequent viewer. Culture was so important, she often asked, “Did we bring our manners with us?” Being an accomplished cook, she was forever trying new recipes for the family dinners held at her apartment and house. She was no stranger to new restaurants or chefs that were making the news. She loved to travel and often brought her nieces and nephews along on her trips.

    Tia wasn’t one to voice her displeasure; at least I never heard her complaining. No matter what your interests might be, she was happy that you were being successful in them.

    Mary Kay was the eldest of four sisters. Their family grew and grew, she had 11 nieces and nephews and like most family trees, the limbs kept increasing. She was God-Mother to eight.

    I have two fond memories of this woman, out of so many…I went with her, Barb and Joellen to London, “Across the Pond”.  She never led us anywhere, she allowed us to explore the city as if we were the experts, not her. We visited pubs, all the touristy sites and saw 3 different plays. At one of the theaters, we sat in a small box, just large enough for the four of us, and then enjoyed drinks which were served to us in our seats during intermission. We felt like royalty!  

2 of the playbills that she saved. (She saved them all!)

    We ate in style at a memorable New Years Eve dinner; meeting and sharing the evening with a couple from Canada that was sitting at a table beside ours. The menu was later framed and hung in the house for years. The next day, the first day of 1986, we took a bus tour to Stonehenge. There we walked among the prehistoric stones, seeing a site I had always dreamed of visiting.

    Tia and I took a trip to New York City to see Phantom of the Opera. Flying up in the morning and exploring the city and then after dinner, seeing the play which was still fairly new, in its first few years. Besides the enjoyment of the performance, I’ll always remember sitting on a wall in a small park that afternoon. We stopped to let our feet rest a bit before we continued exploring the city. A couple young men were smoking a joint near-by and after she commented on the smell, I told her what it was. I still have a little trouble imagining that she didn’t know…

    Being avid readers, we had often shared favorite authors and books. How could I not like a woman who enjoys reading?

    She taught us all to keep learning, keep exploring our world. And also to be kind and share yourself and your skills with those you love. She set a wonderful example of how we should live and hopefully we will come close to reaching her high standards!

    On February 24^th, 2023 she passed away, going to join those of the family that have left us before. Tia has left us behind and has gone on to further travels into the world(s) beyond. She spent 86 years on this earth, admired and appreciated on every one of the days that she was with us! We will all miss her deeply!

B&B - Books and Bridges

 With the promise of a sunny day, Ann Marie and I took a short drive on Saturday. We ended up in Steubenville, Ohio where we visited a bookstore. BookMarx had been on our “to do” list for a while and this seemed like a perfect day for the trip. What the heck, a trip to a different state to visit a used bookshop, of course it sounded great to me!

    We followed rt. 22 into the West Virginia panhandle, and it wasn’t long until we were coming around the bend and seeing the Veterans Memorial Bridge which would take us into Ohio.

    The bookstore is situated in an old brick building. Like many old cities, Steubenville seems to be having problems with filling its storefronts. There were a lot of empty lots and vacant stores in the town. Inside the store, it was all we could want. The owner was friendly and had no problems with me taking pictures. “If you need any help, just ask!” But when I asked a couple questions, he merely reverted to his computer for the answers. 

    I found two books, just after he had told me they didn’t have anything dealing with iron furnaces, by exploring his books. One book I had already and the other didn’t interest me. It just goes to show what you can find by browsing! Computers are great, but don’t let them stop you from searching. That’s one of the fun things about bookstores!

    Set on nice wooden shelves, scattered between three rooms, there was plenty to keep us occupied. All the books are on specific shelves, ordered by subject matter. There was a nice sized local section that had a nice variety of tri-state books.  This is where I found the two books mentioned before. There was a children’s area with a huge black cat that was happy to be petted. Religion plays a good part in their business; there was a large religious section in a separate room in the back.  We enjoyed roaming around the store and seeing what was there.

    I asked the owner one more question as we were preparing to leave. “Do you have any books on books?” For this query, he got up and took me over to a shelf I had missed. On that shelf, I found two books which I added to our purchases.

    One of the books was titled, Ballads of Books, Chosen by Brander Matthews. A hardback printed in 1887, it is a collection of poetry dealing with books, reading, libraries and such. It's in good shape considering its age.

    The second book is titled Infinite Riches by David Magee. Co-titled The Adventures of a Rare Book Dealer, the book was published in 1973. It is a hardback and has the dust jacket. It is in good shape with only a couple very tiny tears in the paper cover.

    I also picked up a thin book called A Thoreau Gazetteer, which contains 23 different maps, all pertinent to Thoreau’s writings. I’m sure I’ll enjoy reading all of these books!

    We paid for our purchases and talked for awhile with the owner who told us he had sold the store and would soon be moving back to Alabama. A few buildings down from the store, we found a nice coffee shop where we refueled our caffeine supplies before hitting the road again. 

    We crossed over into West Virginia on the historic Market Street Bridge. This was built in 1905 and has grating as a road surface. The tires sang as we crossed the Ohio River. 

    Once we entered West Virginia we headed south on rt. 2, passing the Wabash Railroad bridge. What make this bridge interesting are the finials which sit atop its towers. It is a long cantilever bridge, built in 1904, back in the days when utilitarian structures were made to look appealing. It is owned and used by the Wheeling & Lake Erie railroad. At one time it had a pathway on it to allow pedestrians to cross over the river. Sadly, this is no longer allowed. (You know I’d be up there!)

Old postcard

    We turned east on rt. 27 which after entering Pennsylvania turned into rt. 50. We followed this to Bridgeville. We had a little bad luck with restaurants as we stopped at two different establishments for lunch. One which advertised itself as serving breakfast and lunch all day had closed at 11. (AM) The second one we came to was closing at 2, looking at my watch, it was 1:55. We laughed, a lot, and then found another place to eat.

    Soon after, we came through the Fort Pitt Tunnels and entered the city, home once again.