Ramps, ramps, ramps
Monday
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Oakland to South Side
After a particularly scary street crossing, at a highway off ramp, your humble narrator was soon as safe as he could be. A busted series of sidewalks and pathways guided one along his scuttle, and one was heading over to the Birmingham Bridge, which I’d be crossing the Monongahela River upon.
There you are, all caught up…
One was staring to ‘run out of gas’ at this particular moment. I had attended a walking tour of around two miles in length, then started my peregrinations to get back to mass transit for my ride back to HQ.
One of the absolutely deepest mysteries involving Pittsburgh I’ve encountered is why they didn’t extend the T Light Rail service out to the actual population center of the city (at least for nine months of the year) from Downtown, in the areas surrounding the universities in Oakland.
The fact that the service doesn’t go the airport either is a mystery.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
Inviting, no?
I took the opportunity hereabouts to have a quick sit down, and allow my batteries to recharge. As stated, my policy is to never stop moving for more than a minute or two, as it breaks momentum.
I did require, however, a couple of minutes without twenty pounds of camera crap hanging off of me. It wasn’t even my full kit, but on this particular day it felt like I had a cinder block in the bag.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
A few quick steps found me angling towards the Birmingham Bridge, leading to the ‘South Side’ section. Part of me wanted to continue on, and on, but a louder internal voice cried ‘nay.’ As it turned out, I was spent.
A change of plan occurred. I desperately needed a beverage, and there’s a great bar right at the other side of the bridge where they habitually have Guinness Stout on tap.
There! Motivation! Onwards!
– photo by Mitch Waxman
I wasn’t scuttling, so much as I was ‘drag assing’ when this shot was captured. One was musing, after seeing the bicycle infrastructure of Squirrel Hill on the morning walking tour, about just how ‘effed up this section of the city is in comparison. There’s a reason, of course.
Wealthy and politically relevant people live in Squirrel Hill, so you do your ‘safe streets’ stuff there. For them. Poorer and less relevant people live in the direction I was heading, so…
– photo by Mitch Waxman
It is impossible for me to walk over this bridge and not take a photo of those mounds of raw materials, piled on the piers of a concrete company below. It just cannot happen.
My back was really starting to ache right about here, but I won’t mention what was happening to my front. Brrr.
– photo by Mitch Waxman
This was the last shot from this walk. I stopped off at that local bar and had a pint of Guinness, which was refreshing and offered me a bit of carbohydrate based energy to walk the next mile or so to get to the light rail, and then back to HQ. Moe the dog seemed happy to see me.
He might have been faking it though.
Back tomorrow with something different – at this – your Newtown Pentacle.
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