I love road trips, seeing new places, and having new experiences, and a trip to Pennsylvania in August 2026 checked all of those boxes!
We left on the morning of August 18th, and after a drive north through the Shenandoah Valley on I-81 and Rt. 522, we crossed into beautiful West Virginia.
We stopped for lunch in historic Berkeley Springs, WV. Regarded as the first “spa” in America, the warm mineral waters here have attracted visitors–including George Washington!–since colonial times. You can read more about the springs and their history on the website for Berkeley Springs State Park.
After driving through a narrow section of Maryland (where we crossed the Potomac River), we were in Pennsylvania!
While the Pennsylvania Turnpike certainly isn’t one of my favorite roads, it was pretty okay this trip, and it offered the most direct route to Pittsburgh.
First view of the city!
Given a lifetime lived in very rural settings, I found the architecture of these big city buildings quite fascinating!
Before this trip, I don’t think I’d ever stayed in a hotel with more than 8 floors. Seriously! Staying on the 21st floor was definitely a new experience–but what a view! From our room we could see the Allegheny River, the Roberto Clemente Bridge, and a bit of PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
I used my camera’s awesome zoom lens to get a better look at the ball park. Wow!
Our hotel (shown as the blue dot in the picture below) was close to Point State Park at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers. Combined, these two rivers form the Ohio River that flows for over 900 miles and ultimately empties into the Mississippi River.
The original block house from Fort Pitt is still on the Point, and there’s also a museum at the park.
The large fountain at the Point was temporarily out of service for cleaning, and that was probably a good thing as we would have otherwise been soaked while taking this selfie!
From the Point we were able to see the Acrisure Stadium on the Allegheny River where the Pittsburgh Steelers play, and across the Monongahela River we could see the Duquesne Incline making its way up Mount Washington.
After leaving the Point, we walked along the Allegheny on part of the Three Rivers Heritage Trail, stopping to admire the murals that had been painted there.
Before the trip, I’d used some fabric I had left from a previous sewing project to make myself a small cross-body purse. Kind of a “When in Rome” thing, huh?
After walking across the Roberto Clemente Bridge, we arrived at PNC Park to attend a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game! Someone I know was an especially happy guy because this is definitely one of his favorite happy places. ❤️
What a cool place!
Great seats, great weather, great game, and SO much fun, especially since the Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers 4-1.
The next morning we walked to an area known as Market Square. So many “city” things to see!
Some of these buildings date back to the 1800s and early 1900s…
Soon it was time to make our way back across the Clemente Bridge and the Allegheny River for another game.
DISCLAIMER: I did not take this wonderful picture of PNC Park and the Pittsburgh skyline just before the start of the game on August 19, 2026. And I’ve been unable to re-find the person who posted it on a Pirates fan site on Facebook to either ask permission to share it or to give him credit for the image.
But I saved it for a reason! If you look very, very closely in the section behind the Pirates dugout, why, there we are!
Such fun to be this close to the players, though the netting sometimes made it tough to get good pictures. But I took a BUNCH of pictures!
Woo-hoo! #43, Rafael Flores, Jr., hit his second homerun of the day to score the game-tying run in the 9th inning with one out!
Below is another picture I didn’t take–but can you find us? It was taken just after I’d taken the picture above!
And then with 2 outs in the 9th, Brandon Lowe hit a home run to win the game for the Pirates!
What an exciting afternoon!! But guess what? There was more of Pittsburgh yet to see! If you recall, earlier I mentioned Mount Washington and the Duquesne Incline. That was our next stop! 😊
The views from the top are amazing… It was very easy to see where the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers come together just past the point!
We were so thankful that we had two perfect weather days during our visit to Pittsburgh. Things were a bit different, however, the next morning!
We headed north on Rt. 28 towards Tarentum, PA. Even though it was only about 20 miles away, the heavy rain and dark skies made it seem like a longer drive.
It was still raining as we were eating breakfast at Massart’s Restaurant at 310 E 6th Avenue in Tarentum. This restaurant has been in business for just over 100 years, so of course I have to wonder if my dad, his siblings, and his parents ever ate there. I’m pretty sure they did!
We drove around the town for a while, stopping so I could photograph the house where my paternal grandmother grew up. I initially found the house during a trip to Tarentum in 2017.
The “Koontz Kids” – Leonard, Hazel (my grandmother), John, Eva, and Victor Raymond at 543 E. 2nd Avenue, Tarentum, Pennsylvania.
I don’t know if the man standing in front of the house in this undated photograph is my grandfather, or my great-grandfather. It is obvious that he is holding something–and it looks like a violin to me. My great-grandfather was a musician, and after serving as the music director at various resorts in Virginia over the years, towards the end of his life he moved to Tarentum to live with his son. He died in July 1905.
Leaving Tarentum, we crossed the Allegheny River and drove northeast towards the cemetery where some of my paternal ancestors are buried.
In the “front” row in the picture below are the graves of my great uncle, Victor Raymond Koontz (1888-1939); my great-grandfather, John Victor Koontz (1861-1935) and my great-grandmother, Lottie May Erwin Wolf Koontz (1871-1929) on the shared stone; and another great uncle who lived less than a month, Lester W. Koontz (1896).
From a newspaper article, I know that my great-great grandfather, the Swiss immigrant, John P. Koontz was also buried somewhere in this cemetery in 1905, and while I am thankful that I had the opportunity to look for his grave a second time, it’s still disappointing that I, again, left without finding it….
I did pause for a moment, though, to pay my respects to my great-great grandmother, Marietta (Lottie’s mom), and her husband, Benton.
From interstates, turnpikes, and city streets to tree-lined back roads through rural Pennsylvania, we covered a lot of territory!
Our last night in the “Keystone State” was spent in a rustic lodge at Lake Raystown Resort. While the accommodations got somewhat of a mixed review, the lake, itself, was quite beautiful.
We had great weather–and pretty scenery–again for the drive back to Virginia the next day.
When we stopped for lunch in Hancock, Maryland, we made a quick visit to the National Historical Park and the Potomac River. Water lilies were growing in abundance in the canal.
This was really an amazing trip–so much fun, so many new experiences!–and our Blue Ridge Mountains were patiently waiting to welcome us home. ❤️
Until next time,
Sharon