Payin it forward, Pittsburgh

The Iron City welcomed us on a sunny Monday afternoon - timed perfectly with happy hour. We knocked back a few and started to warm up to the Industrial city of Pittsburgh, PA. Betsy found a donation only hostel on couchsurfing.org called 'Pay it Forward Hostel' and we rolled into the neighborhood knowing we would be their 11th and 12th guests since they had officially opened about 2 weeks prior to our visit.

I'll admit to being a bit apprehensive at first, but the hostel turned out to be a funky 3 story townhouse hosting a few more like-minded travelers. We ended up meeting some great folks and giving our super accommodating hosts their first guestbook. I'm a big fan of the donation only hosteling concept. Not only because I'm traveling on a threadbare budget, but with donations you can interpret your contribution to be more than just monetary value. Taking donations instead of having a set fee also helps organizations escape following the rigidities of city codes for things silly things like fire safety...

Since we were only in Pittsburgh for 19 hours we didn't have loads of time to explore. We did manage to ride a restored cable car up the Duquesne Incline, a railway that climbs Mt. Washington and was built in 1877. The view of the city was incredible. It captured a panoramic view of the golden triangle, Pittsburgh's business district located at the merging point of the cities' three major rivers... and bridges as far as the eye could see.

Morning came and we jumped in the car, armed with peanut butter sandwiches and iced coffees, prepared for our 8 hour drive to Deer Creek. Ready to trade a tired industrial city for the corn fields and windmills of Indiana.

Playing Ketchup

Sippin mint juleps on a tour of the Houmas Plantation

Howdy y'all! You'll have to excuse my acquired (textual) southern accent, as I've spent quite a bit of time down south since my last post. I'm currently in a life phase of constant travel, roadtripping around the country via phish tour and other exciting ventures, so here's a quick recap of the last 4 months or so...

Spring break of my senior year brought me to New Orleans for my second trip there inside of one year's time frame. Had some silly late nights in the french quarter, ate sinfully delicious seafood (highlights including charbroiled oysters & crawfish), and explored the rich history of plantation life on the Mississippi River.

Then graduation snuck up on me and soon enough I joined the ranks of unemployed college graduates. Can't say I've ever been happier. Memorial day weekend I found myself in Houston at a friends wedding, indulging in some damn good Texas barbecue and casually sipping tequila to beat the heat. Naturally, I couldn't possibly go to Texas without visiting Austin, so sure enough I met my friend there (fresh from NOLA!). In the beautiful upbeat (& offbeat) city of Austin we floated down some rivers, shopped along Congress, experienced the glory of food trucks, bar-hopped along 6th st, and lounged away the stifling hot days in Barton Springs natural pools. Absolutely loved Austin, a hip city with people as attractive as they were friendly.

As for a more current swanning around status, I'm in Harrisonburg, Va, alive and thriving from the first few weeks of Phish tour(Worcester> Atlantic City> Portsmouth). I met up with my fellow ramblin' lady friend, Betsy, and we're taking on America this summer...two recent graduates on an epic adventure...'just tryin to find a city to live in'.

Phishin in Worcester, tour opener