Day 5 - Pittsburgh

Even though we had planned on getting to Lot H by the Baltimore Sports Complex (Raven's Stadium & Camden Yards) because our hotel was so close, we still were in the second half of MINIs to arrive. But we made it before the announcements & prizes or before the mileage was updated on the bus!

We were to determined to make it Mr Ed's Candy Emporium Surprise and Delight since we've missed out on the goodies at the other stops and we thought we could manage a stop at the Gettysburg Memorial and the candy shop but once we got closer and saw the mayhem our convoy was making through town, we opted to skip Gettysburg. We still drove through part of it and were awed by the size of the area. We made it through to Mr Ed's and only stayed briefly because we knew we had quite a drive ahead of us.

We stopped for a quick bite on just the other side at a little diner. The husband and wife team worked their butts off as more MINIs pulled in to eat. it's just the 2 of them and they were amazing and sweet. They wised us safe travels and we were on our way.

After lunch, we were in for some ear-popping hill climbs and lots of turns and switchbacks. Apparently, the speed limits in the area are more like suggestions and I worked hard to maintain a reasonable speed (and the right gear!) to keep up with the group and not feel like I was out of control. The views were stunning. I'd forgotten what real hill country looks like. The hills in Texas are mole hills by comparison.

We made one more stop after we were out of the majority of the hills to switch drivers and Mom took us into Pittsburgh. It's a good thing too because I didn't realize there's a tunnel leading into town. I'm OK if I can see the end of the tunnel but I get anxious if I can't see the end of it. I did OK but I would have had a hard time if I was driving. We realized that we'd have to double back if we went to our hotel before the evening event so went straight to the Highmark Stadium. We drove by Heinz Field on the other side of the river but I wasn't able to get a good picture. I think I got some good video, though.

We ate, we chatted, we didn't win any prizes and then we headed out to our hotel. It's close to the morning event so we should be able to roll out pretty quickly.

Today's Route: