Son Trek #2, part 7

Part six here.

Our son gave me permission to reveal where he lives.  "River City" is . . .

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(Since Pittsburgh, PA is home to six--count 'em, 6--universities, you'd be hard pressed to track the Sonster down.)

We drove there by way of the Southern Tier (the string of New York State counties along the Pennsylvania border), stopping at Allegany State Park, NY; Chautauqua Lake, NY; and Lake Erie, PA (one of the Great Lakes, so big that it actually has tides).   On the way home, we took a nice hike in Ricketts Glen State Park, PA, of which I had fond memories from having hiked there with my parents and siblings roughly 50 years ago.  (Yes, I really am that old.  :) )

A Conservative synagogue in Pittsburgh served as our shul away from home shul on Shabbat (Sabbath).  Between Shabbat services, we had lunch with our son for the first time in a couple of years.  Seeing him again after such a long "drought" made us a pair of very happy parents.

The three of us spent all of Sunday together.  We began our day with a tour of the famous Frank Lloyd Wright house Fallingwater, which is within driving distance of Pittsburgh.

Fallingwater, complete with scaffolding, 

so you'll know that the photo's not copied from a postcard  :)

[For closer views, click on the photos.]

It's quite fascinating, how Wright went out of his way to build nature into the house.

Our son, who's the real photographer in the family, took plenty of pictures, often shooting less conventional photos, such as shots of nature along the paths and on the grounds.  Maybe I can persuade him to let me post a few.

After returning to Pittsburgh, we schlepped the young man with us on the Monongahela Incline to get the city view from the top of Mt. Washington.

A double-arched bridge
(Actually, it's a quadruple-arched bridge--
there are two inverted arches in addition to the more usual variety.
It looks a bit like a figure eight
at the point at which the two sets of arches meet.)

Here's why the Mon Incline is not just a tourist trap, but is actually part of the Pittsburgh public transit system:

Mt. Washington is a long way up.
(Note to self:  This shot is from Monday.)

And here's a pre-sunset shot:

Glass Gothic

On Monday, when our son had to return to the lab, my husband and I went to Point State Park, among other places in Pittsburgh.

Point State Park, shot from Mt. Washington

I couldn't resist taking this photo, despite the lamp post--it isn't every day that one can get four bridges in one shot.  (Nor is it every city that paints its bridges yellow.)

City of Bridges
(or Mother Duck and Her Ducklings, er, Mother Bridge and her Bridgelings :) )

Heinz Field, from the Point State Park fountain

I'm not a sports fan, but I think this is a neat shot--it looks as if a section of the stadium is either about to go sailing or about to take flight.  :)

Hope you enjoyed the news and views.