Finding Myself in the Keystone State
I'd never been to Pennsylvania before this trip, and I have to say it was pretty great. There's a ton of railroad history, combined with friendly folks, good food, and nice scenery. Despite the rain (there was a lot of rain), and a minor EV charging setback, I enjoyed several days there.
My friend, Hawk, lives in Pittsburgh, and I left St. Louis to see him first. I love how the city is nestled in the hills. I need to try to get a shot from my dashcam (though it might be too late as of this writing), but you can't see the city as you approach. The highway enters a tunnel in an almost rural area, and you pop out in the middle of downtown. Neat infrastructure.
Hawk bleeds yellow and gold, a quintessential yinzer. He took me to the best bars, and we hit the art festival in downtown. Check out these carved wooden flowers.
Sadly, I don't have more pictures of the city. Too busy chatting with Hawk. Either that or my phone did something weird because I could swear I took at least a few. Pittsburgh was really neat, though, I'd like to have more time to explore.
Leaving Pittsburgh, I headed out to Altoona and caught Horseshoe Curve. I stood under an umbrella and watched four separate trains descending the grade going east. Pictures don't really do it justice.
Leaving Altoona, I made a bit of an oopsie. Driving an EV[1] across the country is far easier than it was even five years ago, but it's not perfect. The car told me to go to a particular spot and that I'd arrive there with about 10% left. Unfortunately, with the rain I used more energy than expected, to the point I was getting really low. Normally I would expect the car to warn me and suggest a closer alternative. It didn't, and because of the rain, the mountains, and traffic, I didn't try to look. It appeared I'd make it to the charger, and everything would be fine.
The charging station was dead. I was there with less than 20 miles of range, with the nearest station 23 miles away. Not good.
The first option was to try to nurse it along to the charger. Going slow, disabling climate control, and coasting as much as possible can add a few miles to the estimate. The rain and the mountains made this unattractive.
Option two would be to wait for roadside assistance. They could bring a charger or potentially fix the broken station. (Most likely, the station experienced a power loss, still baffled as to how the car didn't know that in time to send me to a better spot.)
The final option was a hotel with a slow charger about five miles down the road. This was the option I chose, but they didn't want to let me use it without a room. Frustrating. I considered waiting for roadside, but the room was cheaper, and in the end, I booked the room, and cooled my heels for two hours.
The whole situation was silly. I had no problem paying something for the charger, I didn't think it was worth the cost of the room. The hotel's argument was they paid for the chargers, but they paid for them whether someone booked a room or not. By forcing me to rent a room, they ended up losing too because they couldn't rent it to someone else, and they had to clean it.
Honestly, in a "find myself" journey, it ended up being a blessing. Driving in the rain sucked. I'd not slept well, so I was tired. For a bit, it felt like the whole experience was ruined, in part because I'd planned to go all the way to Atlantic City, and touch the ocean before heading to my hotel in Philly.
Instead, I dried off, took a quick nap, and did some writing. I realized the trip doesn't have to be perfect to be successful, and I need more attainable goals. This experience helped me to see something I'd missed. In my work, in my hobbies, and in life, I tend to set out to do everything, and feel like a failure when I only accomplish seventy-five percent. For the trip, I wanted to see all the Big Boys, I wanted to visit a ton of people, I wanted to touch both oceans, I wanted to do all of it in three weeks.
The plan was never realistic.
I chose, at that moment, to focus on what I can obtain, which meant not calling everyone along the way. It meant not exhausting myself driving to stand on a beach for three minutes, It meant doing the parts I actually enjoy. I let go of the lofty goals, and made the trip about what I want, rather than about impressing someone.
It meant making these updates a little slower as well, because I'm enjoying myself. As a teaser, the trip is going well. I stumbled on some really cool stuff I'm excited to share, I've seen four of eight of the locomotives, and there's an exciting development around seeing #4014. Suffice to say, it's all a success, and I will document each step, even if it takes a bit longer.