Pack Some Snacks & Warhol- Pittsburgh, PA
As I’m hopping on my flight I received a text from the adjudicator I’m going to meet at the event the following day in Pittsburgh, PA. “Still on the ground here in NY! Hoping we’ll be taking off soon!”
“Uh, okay” I thought as I responded, “No worries, me too! See you in PA!” Soon after I receive a response, “Wait, are you still in LA?! The event is tonight at 7:30pm!”
It’s 1:30pm in Los Angeles 4:30pm in Pittsburgh. I was informed that the event was the following evening. Obviously, there was a miscommunication. Well, all I can do at this point is go straight from the airport to the event. I was going to be about 40 minutes late, but better late than never. Quite honestly, I had to take a deep breath and just know that regardless I was going to get there and my job was going to get done. However, I only brought a light snack on the plane thinking I would eat dinner shortly after I landed. But they have concessions at these events, I’ll just buy something there. Right?..
Wrong. As soon as I arrived they had just shut down concessions. If you know me, a hungry Tasheena is not a happy Tasheena. I still had a job to do. So all I could do was count on my peanuts and pretzels from the flight to hold me over for a few hours before I could get to the hotel and finally eat.
Nic and I adjudicated. Filmed potential dancers of the program. Choose scholarship recipients and awarded them at the end of the event. Stuck around for a half hour and chatted with dancers and students, but by then I was lightheaded, and my stomach a bit nauseated. Luckily my colleague and I were in agreement that our jobs had been done and time to go. “Let’s go eat!” Nic said.
“Ugh, please”. He drove us in his car rental to our hotels and we found that there is absolutely nothing near the Pittsburgh airport. He stopped by the Hilton so I could check in and in doing so they handed me a goodie bag because my boss who happened to be a gold member gets one every time they book. Thanks boss! Chips, water, candy bars.. Cool! Should hold me off just in case. As I jumped back into the car I start snacking as Nic is driving and we realize nothing is open past 10pm and it was 10 past 11pm. Awesome. “Well”, I said, “Guess just take me back to the hotel and I’ll order overpriced room service.”
As we drove the little windy roads back to the hotel the nausea kicked in hard care and my vision a little blurry. We pulled up to the entrance of the hotel and suddenly what was my goodie bag became a barf bag. Gross. I know. But hey, at least there was a bag. Nic, did his best to not look at me with disgust but either way I had already embraced that it was quite disgusting. We said a goodbye as he watched and made sure I made my way back into the hotel. I made my way to my room and plopped into bed conquered by the foodless night Pittsburgh offered me.
The next day when I woke I made my way down to complimentary breakfast nurturing myself back to life with every bite. Horrible is what I felt, but the great thing is the event was last night, my flight back to LA tomorrow, so today is a free day!
I’ve always loved roaming cities, trying the food and seeing art and culture of a new environment. So what a better chance. I made my way downtown, and my first stop is to honor the love of his work, The Andy Warhol Museum. For a nice $20 you can get in and experience the entire exhibit. 7 stories of Warhol. I took their recommendation to begin my journey on the 7th floor which was the beginning of his life all the way down to the end of his life and work in chronological order.There is no filming or photography in the exhibit but you are allowed to in the lobby which include a gift shop and cafe’ decorated with portraits of the genius himself. And if you’re a die hard Warhol fan, you can even purchase an annual membership including benefits such as unlimited general admission to Carnegie Museum of Art, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, The Andy Warhol Museum, and Carnegie Science Center, exclusive invitations to exhibition previews, monthly tours, and other special programming, free reciprocal admission, free subscription to CARNEGIE magazine, discounts and much more. If I lived in this city I would definitely be on it. http://www.warhol.org/support/membership/
I left the museum at closing time (5pm) and meandered across the Warhol Bridge making my way into the city. In the center of the city is Market Square with a plethora of food choices. All I really wanted was a nice turkey sandwich and a Guinness. And the Diamond Bar and Grill fulfilled those desires. Quite busy, but a nice friendly classic American Tavern with great choices of some hearty meals. http://www.diamondmarketgrill.com/
After my meal I wandered back to the Warhol bridge for some dance improv. It was a nice chilly evening of 55 degrees. The rest of the evening consisted of rest before my 3:30AM wake up call to venture back to LA. But this time I would come bearing snacks, lots of them. Most importantly, a whole new outlook on the nurturing of oneself while becoming a traveler.
Follow the journey on social media (Facebook, IG, Snapchat, and Twitter) @tasheenamedina #TasheenaTravels.
