It’s our last day in Pittsburgh with a visit to the Cheesecake Factory. Yesterday, was a long, boring tour of the city including the Duquesne Incline, Grandpa Joe’s Candy Shop, and The Carnegie Science Center. I feel like I’ve seen it all, after hopping on and hopping off all day long. We were also responsible for entertaining the grands last night while mom and dad had a well deserved date night. We went to Noodles and Company so the little one could have mac & cheese. 

Pittsburgh is a great sports town, host of the very first World Series back in 1903. I saw the remnants of Forbes Field and Three Rivers Stadium, watched the Cubs play in PNC Park that is right next door to Heinz Stadium, home of the Steelers and Panthers. This morning I ran through Highmark Stadium where the Riverhounds play and the tour bus took us by PPG Paints Arena that the Penguins call home. Professional basketball never really caught on here after the Pipers and Condors dissolved in 1972. The Pipers were actually the very first ABA Champions in 1967-68  with star center Connie Hawkins but moved to Minnesota shortly after. With a history of Super Bowl, World Series, and Stanley Cup victories, they still call Pittsburgh the “city of champions” because no other city of comparable size has matched the success – but it’s been awhile. 2017 was the last for the Penguins, 2009 for the Steelers, and 1979 for the Pirates. 

Our flight back to Tampa, the new city of champions,  is later this afternoon and we’ll be staying there tonight before going home to entertain my wife’s sister and her husband for a few days. They are in the area for a funeral that sadly disrupted their plans to see us later in October. Covid, fires, funerals, and cancellations have kept us away from family and friends this past year. Only Pittsburgh seems to have escaped from messed up travel plans. It’s certainly not the most glamourous vacation haven we’ve been to but I’ve been impressed with how the city has bounced back from the downfall of the steel industry. I doubt that we’ll ever be back, but I’ve enjoyed our stay in the once “City of Champions.”