Wednesday, April 07, 2010

Vortex...

I have a theory that there is a vortex that swirls around Pittsburgh. Hours at a time are sucked into this mystery, never to be seen again. At least, that's the way that I feel about traffic near Pittsburgh. I needed to do some business at a bank that has the nearest branch there before I leave for Philadelphia tomorrow. The stupid thing is that when I got there, they said, "Oh, you could have done this at any ATM machine. No need to come out all this way."

So, much of today was spent... stop... go... stop.. go... stop... go.... stop. I don't think I've ever mashed my brakes so much in my life. The air was heady with the smell of brakes, pungent like a sour mixture of ethanol and smoke. My stomach cringes and my head lolls just thinking about it.

With so much congestion, I missed the meeting at the Botanical Society. I'm sad that I didn't get to go out to Greensburg for it. I was looking forward to hearing about wildflowers (this month's topic) and meeting some new people in the area. I'd really like to get to know plants better and what better way than making friends with people with the same passion and interest and are already experts. Oh well... there's always next month.

7 comments:

SueBeads said...

I so know what you mean. It's really a mystery how a relatively small city like Pittsburgh can become so congested and backed up - I have traveled a lot and do know that traffic in general is worse in other places, but it's SO annoying here for some reason! I was out yesterday - it seemed like it was idiot day - maybe that was what you were experiencing!

Pearl and Pebble said...

Traffic makes me nuts too. And it's so much more annoying when you have a pleasurable and peaceful place you want to be!!

Jeannie said...

I hope you don't have to deal with any potholes that are the size of my car.

We visit the Minnesota Arboretum in May and it's always so magaical. I look forward to it every year.

My mom was horticulturist and she taught me to see beauty in a single petal or leaf. She could revive a dead plant and she grew roses the size of a human skulls.
Her garden graced the cover of Home and Garden twice.

Gina Chalfant said...

Andrew, now that you live relatively close to Pittsburgh, some other places that you need to see- besides the strip district (food) are the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens in Oakland . Try to pop in and see the Nationality Rooms at the University of Pittsburgh right across from the Carnegie museum. Also a drive to Fallingwater, the home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright a little more than an hour outside of Pittsburgh,in the laurel highlands near Ohiopyle State Park is well worth the trip.

Andrew Thornton said...

Hey Sue!

It's true that I've been in other cities with worse traffic situations. Atlanta, LA, New York... but I guess it's different for me now, because I'm doing most of the driving now. Before I was mostly the passenger and while frustrating, it's not nearly as bad as actually being behind the wheel!

Andrew Thornton said...

Hey Jeannie!

When I used to live in Florida, I would go with my parents to the Tropical Fruit Club and have fun at those meetings. You know, I never really appreciated growing things until adulthood. It used to be something that my mom and dad always did and I would wonder why they would toil away for hours at the garden... of course when we were young it was to supplement our grocery list... but then I realized that magic and pleasure behind having something your own, growing it, seeing it develop and then harvesting. That is a beautiful cycle. Hopefully when the weather warms up and it's further along the way, I'll start my own garden.

Andrew Thornton said...

Hey Gina! Thanks for your recommendations! I'll definitely have to check those out. We tried to go out to Fallingwater the day we went out to Ohiopyle, but it had already closed. Another weekend sometime when I'm not working.

I'm really looking forward to exploring the area and really finding all the cool things there are to do near my new home. It'll be an adventure!