I left off my recap of the interview trail after having finished my time in Chicago and landed in Pittsburgh. I landed and caught the airport flyer bus to my hotel. About an hour and $3.75 later (can you believe how cheap that is!) I had arrived at the stop just three blocks from my hotel and I got to walk past my interview location while on the way to the hotel!
And to make it even sweeter, it was "free cookie friday" at check in!
The morning felt particularly early but it was a great program presentation (with good food) to help me stay engaged. I finished the interview day around 1:30 PM and took a 20 minute power nap before hitting the sights. I started at "the cathedral of learning." It's the tallest academic building in the country (maybe the world) and it is a sight to be seen (particularly on a sunny day!)
Inside it's a bit like Hogwarts (or so I'm told, because I have never actually read nor have I seen a single Harry Potter movie)
There were a bunch of children with violins that had just finished some sort of concert and I was bummed to have missed it. I took the elevator to the highest floor allowed, to the level of the Honor's college. Look at the view!
Sort of like the Zoo Lights in Tacoma that we often frequent, this conservatory called Phipps, was all decked out for the Holidays. 
I arrived before sunset and toured the indoor displays and once the sun went down explored the outdoor light show. I was dazzled by some of the Chihully art sculptures, and happy to see that his work is not just recognized in the Northwest!
This one was my favorite:
I truly felt like the Christmas spirit was contagious in this place, and how could it not be when surrounded with rooms like this?
I learned a lot about alternative insulation
The sunset from the rooftop garden was breathtaking (as usual the photo doesn't do it justice)I felt like I could stay forever, but I had plans to run off to. I met up with an applicant that I met earlier than day from South Dakota. I said goodbye to Phipps and enjoyed the garden views as I left
We laughed along with the 20-something characters in this comedic version of the Christmas Carol
We had a great time, and I felt like I really had a break from the fatigue of the trail. We walked home by 11 pm. I had a flight to catch early the next day and had to be out the door by 5:30 AM so I knew it would be a short night of rest. Little did I know just how short it would turn out to be...I know you probably saw it on Facebook, but there was a bit of a domestic dispute that broke out in my hotel, in the room across the hall from me. I was awoken from sleep at 1:45 AM with yelling and screaming. I called the front desk for fear that someone was going to get hurt and the security guy (as seen/heard out of my peep hole) told the patrons of that room that "the girl across the hall is complaining about how loud you are." I was so frustrated! But they calmed down and I tried to do the same. I was in and out of a sleepy haze due to the noise of people running up and down the halls, opening and closing doors. I was pulled out abruptly again at 3 AM with a loud thud and a female screaming. I ran to the door and saw fists flying and a girl tackled to the floor. I called the front desk again, this time expressing my concern of the fear of someone's health as the underlying concern (not just noise!) and said that if they didn't call 911 I was going to. Well, the cops showed up and by about 4:30 AM things ACTUALLY settled down. To top it off, when I was checking out, I met the security guard that figuratively thew me under the bus the night before with his "girl across the hall" comment--and he accused me of being the "tall blond from 511 that was making all the noise last night"!!!! I couldn't believe it. No matter how much I told him that I was the one from 512 that was concerned about the girl in 511 he was convinced that I was the one making all the trouble.....I sighed, said I hoped he had a great day and walked off to the bus stop.
This is the view of the conservatory that would become my next stop for the afternoon:
The had a great exhibit that made me think of you, Diana Glassman, because it was all about how energy efficient they had made their work space
My date for the night, Molly, was in town for the night as well and had purchased tickets to a play that evening. She was planning on going alone, but we decided to have a great date night by first dining at a great little spot called "the Porch" before heading to an adorable little local theater which happened to be only 5 blocks from the hotel!
Believe it or not, I slept well on the short flight to Minneapolis. More on that trip (and the subsequent trip to Stanford) to come. I can only muster up the energy to write about one city at a time :). I'm off to my final interview on Thursday in Portland, so if you're sick of reading about my traveling tales, they are almost over!
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