I’ve had this post ready to for a while, just kept forgetting to post it.  Last weekend I was down passing through New Stanton (on 119 during the storm that went through, which was not fun, since apparently it was decided that 119 did not need any salt), which triggered lights in my brain to finally post this.

So, the truth is, I don’t know a whole lot about New Stanton.  I’ve driven through it many times (and by it even more times on the Turnpike).  The bit that I’ve seen encompasses a few restaurants and gas stations, but every time I go into the community itself, I am greeted by this sign:

Nothing too fancy, nothing too exciting, just a normal sign greeting you as you exit off the highway into New Stanton.

Now, there are tons of signs all over the Turnpike about how that area is a “High Merge Area” and has a disposition to have a great amount of truck traffic.

So I looked a little closer at the sign, and here is what I found:

So if I understand corretly, all the online stores, presumably of the internt, are located in New Stanton.  And since it is a heavy traffic area, that is why they always load so slowly!

Now that that mystery has been solved, it’s time to send in the horses to clear out all the lottery balls in the tubes…somehow that can be put into a metaphor for New Stanton, or possibly taken literally.  Your choice.

Since it is summer, I have been walking to more and more places and taking lots more pictures from my cell phone. For the past couple of weeks I have walked past the Bakery Square development on Penn Avenue in East Liberty many a time and I have started taking some pictures. I thought it would be an interesting thing to document here on the Pittsburgh Metroblog and I want to invite everyone to participate. I think it will be interesting to see how the pictures of this development look over time.

This project has already generated some excitement and some controversy in Pittsburgh, which is one of the reasons why I think I started watching the building in the first place.

I have created a Flickr group for photos of Bakery Square: http://www.flickr.com/groups/bakerysqaure

If you are a Flickr user please join the group and add your pictures – I will try to post them here on a regular basis. If you aren’t a flickr user, thats okay too – you can send them to me (info – at – IheartPGH.com) and I can add them.

Here is a really great picture I found on Flickr of the Nabisco Bakery that was taken in 1946. (Photo Cowtool)

Here are some of the pictures I have taken in the past few weeks, nothing too exciting in terms of changes but it will be interesting to see how this project progresses.

June 26, 2008

July 10, 2008 – The Building Facade

I believe other Metblog cities have done it, so I’m taking a cue from them and introducing you to the village of Farmington.  The idea struck me when I was on the road this weekend (camping and running events for work) and I thought it would be a fun idea.  I tend to travel to Farmington quite a bit (and live there over the summer), so if nothing else, it may provide some inspiration for you to come visit.

 For me, the quickest way to Farmington is to hop on the Turnpike to New Stanton and then take 119, which turns into 40.  But it is also accessible via 381, which also makes for a nice trip through Ohiopyle and the opportunity to stop at Falling Water, or even 281, which will put you through Confluence.

 Farmington is south of Uniontown, up on the mountain, and home to Nemacolin Woodlands.  Other points of interest (which are at least near, and I believe in the same township of Wharton) are Jumonville, The Summit Inn, the Stone House, Fort Necessity National Battlefield and Laurel Caverns.  Summertime also brings a giant flea market worth checking out.  I want to say it’s the first weekend of each month, but I’m not positive on that.

 Driving up 40 will take you up a winding mountain highway.  On the way up there are two pull-offs, one for Lick Hollow picnic area (which is rarely, if ever open, a sign eternally proclaiming “closed for season”) and one which provides a scenic overlook of Uniontown.  The scenic overlook, as well as a pull-off on the way down with a spring are both home to geocaches.  And even though I generally try not to encourage the park-and-grab variety, these two are worth it, both providing very interesting locations to visit and beautiful and unique scenery.

More after the jump, including eateries and entertainment! (more…)