Day 4- Pittsburgh to DC

I bet you've never stood in front of a giant coffee pot. Okay, you've probably never wanted to...



The morning started off well. We got room service for breakfast. Normally this would not happen with us, but we have lots of Marriott dollars (thanks to Blue Cross/Blue Shield and their reward program.) So after our big breakfast splurge, we took off. Last night we thought Pittsburgh was great. That was until the dumb gps kept routing us to the wrong place. It was quite frustrating. I got out the paper map and then did something that my husband didn't understand. I asked a lady for directions. The really crazy part...it worked. She gave me "lady directions" (go to the brown building and turn, etc. ) We finally got out of Pittsburgh but not before Scott broke out his arsenal of gps devices. We had 3 things spouting directions. (All we really needed was the lady with the flip flops and the floppy hat walking down the street.)

Drew in front of the Pittsburgh skyline

Cole giving the Steelers stadium a thumbs up.

Scott taking pictures of downtown Pittsburgh

As we drove through the PA countryside, we were amazed at how much it looks like Southwest MO with its rolling hills. We stopped by Shanksville, PA where United Flight 93 went down on 9/11. It was a sad memorial. They have a temporary memorial now, but they are working on a permanent one that will be built over the next couple of years.

Flight 93 crash site is the grassy area beyond the red tractor.
The permanent memorial will be the white concrete in the middle with the passengers and crew's names listed on them. They will also plant a row of 40 trees along the site. One for each person that was on the flight that day except for the stupid terrorists.

Lots of remembrances from people are attached to the fence.


We stopped at a nearby town and got some food to take with us. Scott was trying to eat a salad while driving with his leg. I couldn't believe he thought he was a better driver in those circumstances, so I got to drive again. I think he was actually relieved this time, as he didn't want to drive in DC. I don't care if I get lost, so that takes a lot of pressure off.


We then stopped in Bedford PA to see the giant coffee pot. It was quick, but we couldn't be that close without stopping for a picture.


We finally made it to DC. Our hotel is really cool. We're staying at the Carlyle Suites in downtown DC. The people that work here are amazing. When you come back, they say, "Welcome home." We're on the same street as an embassy...Grenada anyone? The area is busy with lots of walkers/bikers, etc. We walked a couple of blocks to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant. We had another great meal. We got some groceries at the Safeway 2 blocks away and came back to the room. Drew got a box of 100 Flavor Ice that will last him until tomorrow night. We have a small kitchen in our room, so we're able to eat here a little bit. We'll be here for 3 nights.


We have a White House tour in the morning at 8:30. I'm sure Obama is going to want to meet with us and get our ideas about how things are going. :)