Lost in the Forest: My Journey to the Eastern US
Last week, I had a work trip that brought me to the forested landscape of the Eastern US. The lush greenness alone of this region stands in stark contrast to the dry, high mountain desert terrain that I’m used to out West.
It’s always so pleasant to see rolling hills covered thickly with trees. Pretty! Well, at least that’s the upside. But there’s also a slight downside, for a stranger like me.
Pittsburg International Airport Travel
I flew in and out of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, with a final destination of Morgantown, West Virginia. My visit dovetailed with “back to school week” for WVU, I might add, voted biggest party school of the nation. But that’s a different story.
I wasn’t super excited about having a 1 ½ hour road trip added to my travel time, but I will say I was impressed by the Pittsburg International Airport.
Huge, wide walkways with clean carpets offer plenty of space to mosey (or rush frantically) to your gate, with no immediate threats of being run down by the golf cart drivers. Although not needed on this particular trip, I always give [grateful] bonus points to any airport that features a kids play area. (Such a simple, brilliant concept… why do we not see more of it?) A Happy Me also spotted a Body Shop, allowing me to stock up on my favorites. (Denver International Airport recently closed their Body Shop, much to my dismay).
Here are my 2 Best Tips for travel to/from the Pittsburg International Airport:
- If you are returning a rental car and need to fill up with gas: Drive into the airport, completely through, and then exit back out of the airport (I don’t think it matters which route you chose, I drove through ‘arriving flights’). There is a gas station right there as you exit the airport. Once you fill up, there are signs clearly directing you how to easily head back into the airport area to the rental car returns. Not sure how you are supposed to know about this? But it works pretty slick.
- Early departure the next day? There is a Hyatt Regency attached via a short walkway to the Pittsburg International Airport terminal. Holy comfortable and stress free travel! I loved completely eliminating the “unknown travel time, with unpredictable traffic” element you typically have to account for when heading to your flight. I stayed there Friday night before my early morning departure the next day.
I returned my rental car that night before, then took the very short walk right from the airport parking ramp to the Hyatt. As I was somewhat stranded at that point, I ate at the expensive hotel Olive Press Restaurant that night, but at least it was excellent food. I highly recommend the beef filet with grilled Portobello, and Chocolate Pots de Crème for dessert. Both were fantastic.
And put those inadequate silverware fears to rest… they go ahead and give you a hunting knife to tackle that steak. When I commented to the waiter that they don’t mess around with the steak knives he replied, “We used to. But we don’t anymore.”
The reason behind this bold change was left unclear. But I certainly felt safe, as I dined alone with my utensil/weapon that evening.
West Virginia ~ Everything’s Buried in Trees
Again, the bulk of my week was spent working in West Virginia. I’ve been to this part of the country before, so was not completely unaware of what the landscape is like. It is lush. And it is pretty (except for the trash alongside the interstate, but hey – we all deal with that).
I did, however, find myself a little disoriented and mildly annoyed by attempting to navigate, the first couple of days. I got lost a couple of times. Cause here’s the thing about all those trees, and windy hilly roads: you can’t see anything. As in, anything up ahead of you that may indicate you’re about to stumble across what you’re looking for.
Everything looks like highway, lined with trees. I’m accustomed to being able to see at least ½ mile ahead, to know whether I’m about to find a cluster of restaurants and stores? Nope, not here. I constantly felt like I was on a road that *may* or *may not* be headed toward either a pasture of cows, or the business packed cluster I was shooting for.
Then throw in the added challenge of streets either being:
- Unmarked, or
- Quintuple marked with signs.
You know, real abrupt like. Since the signs were covered by trees and shielded from view, up until you were about 15 feet away. Now you suddenly get to decide if you want to exit that roundabout onto the street marked simultaneously as “Mileground Rd”, “119-N”, “705-E”, “to 857”, and also “to I-68”.
Whaa? Yes, no, maybe?
I got eventually got the hang of it. And although I just plain crave the solitude (at the least the first night or two, until I start missing my kids) that work travel brings with it in the evenings, after a while I felt bold enough to go out and explore.
I continue to marvel at the lovely diversity in this country’s landscape. After I stopped feeling so lost in the forest, I started appreciating the Eastern US a bit more. It really is pretty.
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Are you from, or have you traveled to this area before? What did you think?
