Duquesne Incline

We didn't necessarily have any plan. We were simply going to take a ride up one of the inclines in Pittsburgh and see what there is to see atop Mt. Washington.

There were a ridiculous number of improvisations for this plan:

• We switched our mind several times as to whether to go up the Monongahela or Dusquesne Incline. 
• We opted to do this after our visit to the Pittsburgh Zoo went on for longer than expected and therefore scrapped our plan to see the Carnegie Science Museum.
• We had no script atop Mt. Washington, just a general resolve to see stuff, resolving to head home when we'd seen enough.

Had we changed our mind on any of those items, the most random aspect of the trip wouldn't have occurred.

Selfie with my cousin's daughter. We came across her whole family at the Duquesne Incline. 

My cousin, Tammy, and her family were visiting Pittsburgh, too. And we ended up in the Incline's engine house at the same time. We were headed down. They were coming up before the Pirates Game. I saw Tammy walk by, or at least someone I thought was Tammy (it's been a few years). Following her was a young woman who looked like her daughter. Too much of a coincidence to not call out "Tammy."

Ironically, last summer, we came across her brother in Boston, though that meet-up was not quite the spontaneous occasion that I enjoyed today.

Four Johnsons in Boston, July 2015. Hey, wait, I'm wearing the same shirt in these two photos.

Among the many, many great reasons to travel are the happenstances like what took place today. Those odd moments where you see someone you know by random chance. Those moments where you strike up conversations with those you meet (like the intern at the zoo who told me what they use to feed the otters) are also quite rewarding.

By the way, as I'm writing this Sherry is meeting up with her cousin down at the park across the street. Tomorrow we may well see another cousin as we travel through western PA.