I Got Six: Pennsylvania Travels Wrap-Up

Our travels through Pennsylvania were covered extensively through the last three posts, but I've always ended our series with some places that didn't conveniently fit the flow of my write ups, but are definitely worth a mention in some manner.

Because of the flow of those posts, I wanted to include more detailed contact information for the places we've visited during our travels, like I have traditionally done for all destinations covered in this blog, as well as links to the previous blog posts.

Known to the locals as "Dippy", this Diplodocus sculpture has stood guard in front
of Pittsburgh's Carnegie Museum of Natural History since 1999

Pittsburgh 
As we discovered, staying close to the center of Pittsburgh can be a spendy proposition. The Renaissance Hotel in the downtown area was a nice splurge that was conveniently located to our Eddie Izzard show at the Byham Theater that night.  For the rest of our stay, we targeted the Greentree area and the Comfort Inn on Banksville proved to be located close enough to everything and much more friendly to the pocketbook.  I-376 and the Fort Pitt Bridge generally is a sludgy crawl at most times of the day, but thanks to the number of bridges and tunnels in the area, you can easily bypass this route from this hotel to get into all areas of the city.

Also nearby the Byham Theater is Pork and Beans, a barbecue-centric place where we grabbed dinner before our date with Eddie. Feel-wise, the interior reminds me of a combination of Columbus's Short North Food Hall and Bristol Republic. The food itself offers up the standard fare, but here we went with some of the more unique items on the menu in their Three Little Pigs sandwich (combining ham, pastrami belly, and a fried pork cutlet, ham with beer mustard and slaw) and their Korean Pork Sandwich (featuring green tomato Kimchi, fermented cucumbers, mint, cilantro and scallions.)  Add in an appetizer and one of their 30 local craft beers on tap and you'll be more than stuffed for the rest of your evening.

Comfort Inn - Greentree/Banksville
1100 Banksville Rd. (Google Maps)
(412) 343-0700
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Pork & Beans
136 6th St. (Google Maps)
(412) 338-1876
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Other Pittsburgh Destinations Visited (Original blogpost link)

B52 Cafe
5202 Butler St. (Google Maps)
(412) 781-5204
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Church Brew Works
3525 Liberty Av. (Google Maps)
(412) 688-8200
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Colangelo's Bakery
207 21st St. (Google Maps)
(412) 665-3640
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La Prima Espresso
205 21st St. (Google Maps)
(412) 281-1922
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One of the many cathedral-like passages at the University of
Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning

Nationality Rooms at the Cathedral of Learning
University of Pittsburgh
4200 Fifth Av (Google Maps)
(412) 624-6000
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Pittsburgh Zoo
7370 Baker St. (Google Maps)
(412) 665-3640
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The Pub Chip Shop
1830 E. Carson St (Google Maps)
(412) 381-2447
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Old Allegheny City map located outside the Randyland compound

Randyland
1501 Arch St (Google Maps)
(412) 342-8152
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Strange Roots Brewing
501 E. Ohio St (Google Maps)
(412) 407-2506
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Philadelphia 
We didn't exactly come to the City of Brotherly Love to take a walk around a cemetery, but the Christ Church Burial Ground proved to bit of a break from the rush to get as much as we could get done done with our 48 hours in the city.

Established in 1719, Christ Church's most famous resident, if you will, is Benjamin Franklin and his family.  One can grab a free look at Franklin's final resting space from the street if one desires, but for a very modest fee, one can step inside to wander around the grounds, where other historical figures in this country's history are buried. In addition, the ample shade coverage from the cemetery's numerous trees provides relief from a hot summer sun, allowing for a leisurely and peaceful walk as you wander from one gravestone to another.

Opening to the public in 2014, Conshohocken Brewing now sports five locations scattered throughout the northern boroughs of the Philadelphia area. The Bridgeport location intrigued us the most, as it sported a roomy, casual atmosphere in combination with a three-barrel system/small batch offerings and some food offerings that ventured beyond the typical.

The beers turned out to be a mixed bag - nothing wow-inducing, but there were a couple (especially the Philly Vice Sour Berliner Weisse and the unique Sweet Sunshine, a Sour Farmhouse IPA) that were solid refreshment on this hot, humid day.  The food turned out to be more memorable, with a really lovely rendition of Beer Fried Cheese Curds (with a Chipotle Ranch and Sriracha Aioli) followed by Brussels Sprouts Tacos (not something we would think of putting in tortillas, but it works quite well here.)

Christ Church Burial Ground

340 N. 5th Street (Google Maps)
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(215) 922-1695
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Conshohocken Brewing
3 De Kalb St,  (Google Maps)
Bridgeport, PA 19405
(610) 239-5999
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Other Philadelphia Destinations Visited (Original blogpost link)

Bourse Market Philadelphia
111 S Independence Mall E (Google Maps)
(215) 625-0300
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Vendor visited at Bourse Food Hall
LALO Filipino: Facebook     Instagram     Website     Yelp

Reading Terminal Market is a must visit for almost any first-timer to Philadelphia

Reading Terminal Market
51 N. 12th St. (Google Maps)
(215) 922-2317
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Vendors visited at Reading Market include: 
DiNic's Roast Pork: Facebook     Instagram     Website     Yelp
Miller's Twist Pretzels: Facebook     Instagram     Website     Yelp
Kamal's Middle Eastern: Facebook     Instagram     Website     Yelp
Amina's Syrian Foods:  Instagram     Website

Independence National Historical Park (Visitor's Center)
599 Market St. (Google Maps)
Philadelphia, PA 19106
(800) 537-7676
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Jezabel's Argentine Cafe
206 S. 45th St (Google Maps)
(267) 519-2494
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Yards Brewing
500 Spring Garden St (Google Maps)
(215) 525-0175
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Pennsylvania/Delaware/West Virginia
Originally built in an attempt to boost economics in Western Maryland and West Virginia into Morgantown, I-68 (known as the National Freeway) offers a way to avoid the tolls of the Pennsylvania Turnpike without too much of a detour for most Ohio residents.

This meant we sauntered southward for a bit into Delaware, allowing us a visit to the nation's first state for the first time in years for both of us. We didn't stay too long, but we did manage to try out a pretty fair coffee place in Brew Haha!  Not unlike Lithopolis' Das Kaffeehaus, Europe (specifically, Italy) was the inspiration for this now small chain of coffee cafes, with all a selection of teas, coffee beans, pastries, and all the usual coffee drinks.

Morgantown is the home of West Virginia University, and college towns are generally good spots for finding more unique eats.  However, we really didn't expect Egyptian to be in the viewfinder, and Cairo 2 Go provided both a chance for a quick lunch bite and an initial exploration for both of us into this cuisine.

Most of the items were familiar to us from other Middle Eastern/Mediterranean-based restaurants we have visited, but items like two Alexandria-Style items (Beef Sausage and Liver), Koshary (a mix of pasta, chickpeas, lentils, fried onions and tomato sauce), Mulukhiyah Soup, and more. Sadly, we didn't have enough time to give the more exotic items a go, but we were happy with the previous mentioned Beef Sausage and Egyptian Falafel wrap, and would definitely be willing to explore more next time we're in the area.

Brew Haha!
1812 Marsh Rd.  (Google Maps)
Wilmington, DE 19810
(302) 529-1125
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Cairo 2 Go
1006 Suncrest Towne Centre Dr., (Google Maps)
Morgantown, WV 26505 
(304) 322-4505
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Other Pennsylvania-based Destinations (including National Parks)

Flight 93 National Memorial
6424 Lincoln Hwy (US 30) (Google Maps)
Stoystown, PA 15563
(814) 893-6322
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Fort Necessity National Battlefield
1 Washington Pkwy  (Google Maps)
Farmington, PA 15437
(724) 329-5512
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Memorial depicting where President Abraham Lincoln delivered his famous
Gettysburg Address, during the dedication of the battlefield cemetery

Gettysburg National Military Monument
1195 Baltimore Pike (Google Maps)
Gettysburg, PA 17325
(717) 334-1124
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Valley Forge National Historical Park
1400 North Outer Line Dr (Google Maps)
King of Prussia, PA 19406
(610) 783-1000
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Blue and Grey Bar and Grill
2 Baltimore St (Google Maps)
Gettysburg, PA 17325
(717) 334-1999
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Harrisburg Senators/FNB Field

245 Championship Way (Google Maps)
Harrisburg, PA 17101
(717) 231-4444
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Lancaster Brewing Company
469 Eisenhower Blvd (Google Maps)
Harrisburg, PA 17111
(717) 564-4448
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