Labor Day Weekend

Hi everyone. I made it home today in one piece and without any incident. There was no traffic anywhere, meaning that no one else was traveling via car today or I got on the road before everyone else did. Either way, it was smooth sailing all the way home.

Since it is a slow and relaxing night, I wanted to go ahead and chronicle my time in Pittsburgh. So, let’s get started.

Thursday, Travel Day: The initial plan was to drive all the way to Pittsburgh on Friday. After buying tickets for a 6 p.m. event on Friday and not wanting to spend a good chunk of the day in the car prior to to the event, I decided to start vacation a half a day early and leave immediately after work. I didn’t make it all the way to Pittsburgh but landed myself in Columbus, Ohio, about three hours away from the city. I spent the night in the room, watching TV, and eating takeout. Nothing says starting a vacation by doing absolutely nothing.

Friday, First Full Day: After breakfast, which consisted of a mini muffin, a bagel, and questionable hotel coffee, I headed off to Pittsburgh.

Just twenty minutes outside the city, I had to make a quick pit stop in Carnegie, Pennsylvania. The small town was not on my itinerary when I planned the trip initially, but according to the 2026 Pittsburgh Book Crawl website, the city had a bookstore. So, I couldn’t resist visiting.

Woolly Bear Books and Gifts is located in downtown Carnegie in a cute storefront and in a historic building. While I told myself to only get one book, I walked out with two - Hell House by Richard Matheson and She Who Remains by Rene Karabash.

Conveniently across the street was an Italian restaurant called Lucatino Italian Taverna. I thought about eatting lunch in Pittsburgh, but the rain that had started earlier that day was still going and I had forgotten my umbrella somewhere. So, pasta seemed like a good idea while I waited out the weather. This proved to be a smart choice.

After lunch, I finally made my way into Pittsburgh.

Since I was a little early, my hotel room wasn’t ready. Fortunately, I could leave my bag at the hotel and explore the city until I could check-in.

My first non-hotel stop in the city was to City of Asylum Bookstore. It was gorgeous building with an interesting configuration for a bookstore - half of it was the traditional bookshelves with countless books and half was restaurant/event space. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend any events at the store, but I did pick up Strange Buildings and Strange Pictures, both by Uketsu. Strange Houses is already on my bookshelf. So, the other two books seemed necessary.

Next door to City of Asylum was The Bohemian, a brewery located in a portion of a historic theater. While they only had a small selection of beers, what they had makes it worth the visit. Plus, the brewery has a cool vintage feel to it that you don’t see in a lot of breweries (or I haven’t seen yet).

I made my way back to the hotel after sitting for a bit in the brewery but only stayed long enough to check-in and drop my stuff off. I wanted to make sure I gave myself more than enough time to get to The Clemente Museum my 6 pm tour. Located in a former fire station, the museum building was originally purchased by a photographer for a studio but was later converted into a museum focusing on Roberto Clemente by the same photographer who bought the building. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I ended up loving the visit. The guide knew what he was talking about, and the museum was filled with a variety of artifacts to include baseball bats, balls, and personal photos and letters. If you’re in the area, you should definitely visit.

The day ended with a visit to Church Brew Works for dinner. While I don’t know the full history of the building, it was constructed as a church and was later converted to a restaurant and brewery. It is always interesting to see how a building changes over time and see how its past life can make an appearance in its current life.

Saturday, Second Full Day: Saturday was more of a meandering day since I had no real plans and just wanted to see as much of the city as I could. Meals included a late breakfast at the Speckled Egg and an oddly timed meal at Nicky’s Thai Kitchen where I tried sake for the first time. I also had a drink at the Biergarten on the top of the Commoner. Rooftop bars seem like an unofficial requirement whenever I travel.

While meandering around, I made sure to stop at Amazing Books and Records, the final bookstore of the trip. Unlike the other two, the store is 100% used books and records. I love used book stores since they give me the chance to try books that I may not try otherwise since they tend to be cheaper. I wish I had brought some books that I didn’t want anymore since they do seem to take trade ins. (Don’t quote me on that. So, definitely double check if you plan on visiting.)

I visited my second museum on Saturday as well. This time it was the Andy Warhol Museum. I did not know Warhol was from Pittsburgh, and while I was aware about some of his work, I didn’t realize the amount of mediums he worked in such as film. The museum is set up chronologically. So, you could see how his work evolved, which was especially useful for me since I am a more visual person.

The one last thing that I did that day was see Manhunter in the Harris Theater, an independent movie theater operated by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. If given the chance, I will always visit an indie movie theater since they tend to show movies that aren’t always shown by the more mainstream theaters to include throw backs that were released years ago. So, it was fun to see a movie that I might not have seen otherwise.

Sunday, Last Full Day in Pittsburgh: Sunday was the big day. It was game day. I was finally seeing a game at PNC park.

I had some time to kill prior to the game, though, since gates opened at 12:00 pm and the game started at 1:35 pm. So, I had brunch at Sally Ann’s. They were showing Twilight at 9:30 am, which was kind of funny but a good distraction since I couldn’t seem to focus on my book. I then walked the riverfront along the Allegheny Rive, which has some amazing murals, and discovered the Point State Park, which had a fountain that I really wanted to play in. Unfortunately, I didn’t want to worry about changing clothes prior to the game or attending the stadium with wet clothes.

I eventually found myself back at the stadium but was still super early. That just meant that I spent sometime reading outside the stadium before getting in line 20ish minutes before the gates opened. All the waiting proved to be worth it, though . I was able to see the amazing skyline that defines PNC Park, grab two packs of baseball cards, and try local beers. But, one of the coolest parts was sitting in the outfield. This was only the third time I’ve sat in the outfield during an MLB game and was first time sitting immediately behind the outfield wall. I brought my glove in hopes to get a game ball, but I didn’t have any luck this time. Maybe next time.

Once the game was over and after dropping my glove and cards off at the hotel room, I ventured out one last time to try Allegheny City Brewing. They had amazing outdoor space (and beer of course). Conveniently, there was a pizza food truck there. So. it covered dinner and was also was some of the best pizza I’ve ever had.

That is how my last full day ended.

Monday, Travel Day: Today, I spent most of my time driving home, but I did make sure to get some coffee and a bagel at Origin Story Coffee Shop before I left Pittsburgh and had a burger at Milkman in Cincinnati for lunch.

Well, that was my trip to Pittsburgh. I will post again soon.

Lunch in Carnegie, PA

City of Asylum Bookstore

Mural at the Clemente Museum

The Andy Warhol Museum

The Harris Theater

View from My Seat in PNC Park