Didnt ride a single mile today so total remains the same.
*Usual shitty writing disclaimer* Its 23:45,im tired and I have just had my mind scrambled by something I will talk about later.
I woke with a dry mouth that tasted like old granddad (Youll have to read my last post for that not to sound really dodgy). This was my first chance to sleep in for days which is a big deal for someone who doesn’t normally get up before 11am so I missed breakfast and drank mountain dew in an attempt to feel more human.
I eventually dragged myself out of bed and headed down to the bistro to get some food and then met up with Syd to go to home depot or home deeeeeepot as its called over here to buy a couple of nuts and bolts for my scooter and to see if I could track down an extra battery for my sat nav at best buy next door.
I got the nuts and bolts but the battery proved to be a bit more elusive so I will have to order one online and get it sent to a hotel…..or something.
We then headed back to Syd’s place. Syd runs a greyhound rescue and has 12ish greyhounds living in her house as well as a big hound type thing called Watson,a chiwawa type thing called Cheeto and whole host of freaky cats. 12 greyhounds in one house sounds like heaven to me so I was very excited about this visit and I wasn’t disappointed. There were hounds of all different shaped and sizes including one that looked like a full size version of real Franco.
Bev,Syd’s lovely,very motherly mother insisted on getting some photos of fake Franc in front of a banner with their rescues logo on it so we set about trying to get the hounds to sit down with FF.
Living in the house is also Skeletor who had to have his eyes removed as a kitten. This cat is amazing and still walks around like he can see and can even jump up and open doors by the handle. I have no idea how thats even possible !
And this guy who was born with a weird deformed claw that has a single claw on the end of it.
We hung out with the dogs for a while and then Syd dropped me back at my hotel so I could work out a plan for the next couple of days,organise for the oil leak on my scoot to be fixed when I get to Chicago with help from my good friend Graham,have a shower and get organised.
We then headed out for some food and then up to a hill top that has viewing platforms that over look the city.
Robbie and Syd posed for a photo with fake Franco and Pittsburgh in the background. Pittsburgh is breathtakingly beautiful with around 90 bridges across the 3 rivers that run through it. Definitely a place to visit if you are over here (unless you are from Ohio then please stay away).
We then headed back to the car and drove back down the hill to the south side to go to a freak show. We queued up to get into an old theatre that remined me of a slightly run down Komedia. There were stalls down either side of the hall selling all kinds of cool stuff and the bar sold cider so I felt right at home. We bumped into Ande and he coven from the night before and then the show started.
I didnt really know what to expect from this show,I heard there was going to be sword swallowers,suspension acts and some burlesque dancers. Well…….. I have seen some weird stuff working at the Merlin but this was one of the oddest thing for a while. The only way to really describe it is witch based burlesque. There was an amazing tree costume that moved around the stage and screamed at people,a stripping,blood soaked baby complete with umbilical cord and LEDs under its skin and a narrator that looked like something from Pans Labyrinth and to me sounded slightly like Mrs Doubtfire. It was certainly an experience and not something I will forget any time soon which is what this trip is all about.
While outside smoking I met a drag queen called Janet Granite who very kindly agreed to have her photo taken with myself and FF.
We went back in to catch some more of the show but by this time I had been stood up for hours and my ankle was swelling up again so it felt like I had a water balloon full of pain strapped to my right leg. So we headed off back to the hotel while trying to make sense about what we had just seen and talking about suicide,not because of the show,I am not really sure how we started talking about it.We came to the conclusion that suicide means homework with all the letters you have to write,I mean you don’t want to offend anyone by forgetting to write them one.
I got dropped off at the hotel bid farewell to Syd and Robbie (for now),resisted the urge to have another drink and here I am now.
I really am having the time of my life and my fear that I would simply do lots of riding without much actually happening has certainly been put to rest. I have met so money cool people and I am not even a week in to my journey.
Tomorrow I head to Cleveland to visit the rock and roll hall of fame,then I head west to Syracuse and I aim to be in Chicago by Tuesday.
Oh I forgot to mention Bev made me a packed lunch for the road including oranges which I will probably give to a homeless ( I dont do fruit) and a whole load of American chocolate bars. Just need to find somewhere to carry it all on my scoot.
Night,night thanks for reading,thanks for all the support,thank you Pittsburgh for being so cool,keep donating !
Rollin on tens. 