Stop #26 and a half; The Mon Incline

Date: August 17

Neighborhood: The Monongahela Incline
Pitt Stoppers: Mindy, Jimmy D., benoddi, Bobby D., Jonathan, Carolyn, Lily, Lisa, BTBNL, Tommy, Bish, Noreen, Gino, Kristin, Anwar, Chrissie, Erica
Bar: None.

Pluses: The angle, the view.
Weirdness: What would a tour of Pittsburgh be without a ride on the incline? The Mon Incline is the oldest continuously operating funicular in the US. And, no, I didn't know the word before looking it up.

Jimmy and benoddi are jazzed to ride the incline.

The view up the tracks.

Jimmy updating the captain's log.

The incline at night.

Stop #26; Mt. Washington

Date: August 17
Neighborhood: Mount Washington

Pitt Stoppers: Gino, Kristen, Lisa, Anwar, BTBNL, Jonathan, Carolyn, Lily, Mindy, Jimmy D., Bobby D., Noreen, Erica, Chrissie, Josh, Tommy T., benoddi.

Bar: Redbeard's Mountain Resort and Yacht Club

Pluses: Good food and outside patio.

Weirdness: The name. We get the mountain part, but it's no resort and we didn't see a single yacht.

Memento: Menu.

Aside: Well, we observed the first melee of the tour - a four person brawl that ended up in the middle of the street.






"I'm king of the world!"













Mindy likes Redbeard's. Bobby's zany for it.














Anwar just isn't quite sure about Redbeard's.












Josh enjoying the outdoor drinking facilities.














Erica and the Sisters C.













The obligatory Mt. Washington shot of SkyBlast.

Stop #25; South Shore

Date: August 17
Neighborhood: South Shore

Pitt Stoppers: Mindy, Jimmy D., Bobby D., Jonathan, Carolyn, Lily, Lisa, BTNL, Kristin, Gino, Tommy T., benoddi, Josh, Noreen

Bar: The Gandy Dancer

Pluses: The tremendously classy decorum - the marble floors, the stained glass, the wood panels, the brass bar rails. It has it all.

Weirdness: A gandy dancer is a slang term for workers who maintained railroads.
Memento: Napkin.







The official GD picture.













Bobby doing his best GD impression.













Gino, Kristen, and Lisa making the blog!












Noreen, Tommy, Bobby D., benoddi (and his gandy hat)















Jimmy and Mindy being Gandy Dancers (to Girl from Ipanema)

Stop #24; Herr's Island

Date: August 11
Neighborhood: Herr's Island
Pitt Stoppers: Mindy, Jimmy D., Dave, Big Al, Colin, Paul, Richard, benoddi, Bobby D., Laurel, Jonathan, Carolyn, Lily, Lisa
Bar: Red Fin Blues
Pluses: Deck and patio right on the river.

Weirdness: Red Fin Blues had the most aggressive tiki torches that I've ever seen. about foot of flame flew from each. Doo doo doo. Those who were there will understand.

Aside: I never did get official confirmation on whether Herr's Island is in the city or not. It's not separately listed on the City's website, but I just don't think it is part of Troy Hill. Insights into this quirk are welcome.






Enjoying the patio by the river.

Stop #23; Troy Hill

Date: August 11
Neighborhood: Troy Hill
Pitt Stoppers: Mindy, Jimmy D., Big Al, Colin, Chip, Cousin Richard, Paul, Richard, benoddi, Bobby D., Laurel, Jonathan, Carolyn, Lily.
Bar: Penn Brewery
Pluses: Great beer and German food.

Weirdness: No real weirdness factor here. Outdoor dining in the Biergarten was great.

Essen und trinken im Biergarten

Stop #22B; Spring Garden

Date: August 11

Neighborhood: Spring Garden

Pitt Stoppers: Colin, Jimmy D., Mindy, Big Al

Bar: Parrott's

Pluses: Really big high-def TV - perfect for the Steeler's game.

Weirdness: Besides the two t's in Parrott's, there were parrots all over the bar. See below.

Aside: When we realized that there was a bar actually in Spring Garden, a group of us went up and made a quick Stop to get the neighborhood done properly.

Here's Polly.

Colin's putting on a tough face for the Spring Garden crowd.

Stop #22A; Spring Garden

Date: August 11
Neighborhood: Spring Garden
Pitt Stoppers: Jimmy D., Bobby D., Colin, Mindy, Benoddi, Colin, Jonathan, Carolyn, Lily, Chip, Cousin Richard, Big Al, Dave, Richard, Laurel, Paul
Bar: Frank and Jerry's Bier Haus
Pluses: Great staff (Hi Beth!) who told us about Paul's Pittsburgh Charities which sponsors a city-wide scavenger hunt...sounds like we're in training.

Weirdness: There are gas tanks from motorcycles scattered around the bar.

Aside: When we got there, I realized that the Bier Haus is not in Spring Garden. It's right across the street from Spring Garden in East Allegheny. Not to be denied, a group of us took the last swig of our beers and ran across the street to the Spring Garden sign to make it official.






The view of the Bier Haus from Spring Garden.






Richard, Chip, and Colin discussing the impressive size of the beer glasses.








Charlie's Angels?

Making it official.