Pennsylvania

I went to Philadelphia. It's not a city deserving of a particularly long sentence. I had fun my first day; less on my second. One massively disappointing thing was going to the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and being so thoroughly underwhelmed by the sparse exhibits. It's my fault for being passionate about something though, that never leads anywhere good. And that Museum- I forget what it's called but I know Rocky ran up the steps that one time- was something of a yawn after the Met. Snobby of me to say, I know, and there were bright spots but mostly it was a waste of money for me. Some things did catch my interest; the African American Museum was great and the Meeting House of Friends was the largest in the world. Interesting place. I stayed at a hostel ages out of the city that was an old mansion which was fun; walking from the bus stop under beautiful trees and past a working stable was a treat. And one morning my server for "brunch" (ugh, what a pointless meal. But hey, I woke up late; I deserve the punishment) could have been Jack McFarland- he was that camp and adorabubble. And I made a friend in my hostel who was Russian ethical vegetarian (gasp!) and who had spent her summer by the beach in Wilmington, North Carolina. Ash, you better appreciate how excited that made me. My friend was insanely intelligent and composed. It's tempting to go to Russia just to see her again and get to know her better.

Pittsburgh proved a bit more fun. I stayed with friends of friends; newlyweds that moved there so Mrs. could study library science. Mr. was around a fair bit so between me going on my infamously ambitious tourist walks (from one side of the city to the other and back again... what?! I wanted to go shopping in the South Side) and leaving on an overnight bus a few days later, we hung out a fair bit. I spent more time with Husband but both halves of this couple (or both hosts, if I'm emotionally healthy about my naming of these two individuals) were super friendly, intriguing people. They took me on a tour of the Cathedral of Learning (awesome Hogwarts-esque building that makes me want to study at the University of Pittsburgh so that I can do my required reading while sitting on a throne like I saw one girl doing.) and the Phipps Conservatory that the WWOOFer in me judged kind of harshly but the girly girl rejoiced in (Orchids! Fountains! Eee!). On my last night we attended a bike advocacy presentation that got me itching to get back on my bike in Melbourne and get better at cycling in the city. I'm so glad I'm not a cyclist in Pittsburgh, the City of Mountains. Though I guess I'd have killer calves. My only regret about Pittsburgh is that I didn't have more time to get to know the Newlyweds. But I had to get to Boston!