Nov. 8, 2013
We left the CITY behind as we began our trek to Pittsburgh! (We actually ended up staying at a hotel in Washington, PA because everything was booked up in Pittsburgh.)
After crossing the border, we couldn't pass through Buffalo without a stop at Salsarita's! Our pal Steve came up from the Roch-cha-cha to join us for lunch!
Outside of Salsarita's I spotted an electronic billboard with great WKBW promotions for Eyewitness News and Access Hollywood!
Speaking of WKBW, we drove past Buffalo's Channel 7 after getting back on the road!
I caught this cool ad for WBBZ's Bucky and Sully Show as we continued on. Like Cyndi Lauper, we drove all night to get to our destination! We shopped and eventually dropped at the Doubletree hotel in Washington, PA.
Nov. 9, 2013
After settling into our hotel the previous night, we were up bright and early to dive into all things Pittsburgh! We had lunch at an amazing restaurant called Pickles and let me tell you, their hoagies are AWESOME!
After lunch, we got to see the Andy Warhol Museum and it was an enormous pop culture emporium! So many exhibits, sights and curiosities to indulge in!
I was happy to see the Dean & Britta CD on sale in the gift shop, since I'm a fan of Britta Phillips' singing in 80s classic Jem & The Holograms! In fact, many of the museum's displays reflected things that have touched my life including Lucille Ball, Madonna and male hustlers!
We got to pose with a fabulous backdrop featuring Andy Warhol and Marilyn Monroe in the lobby of the museum!
Back at the hotel, I struggled to pull in channels with my portable Eviant TV. The only station that scanned in was KDKA (RF25.) Unfortunately, Washington wasn't the capitol of great over-the-air reception from what I experienced.
Later that evening, Mr. A and I broke off for a night out at Images nightclub! (I LOVED their CBS-esque "eye" logo!)
We came in like Canadian Wrecking Balls, ready to drink and dance the night away with some Pittsburgh pals we met up with!
DJ K4rl played great music, took requests and was all around awesome! He was doing a live-to-air broadcast that went out to listeners around the world, while keeping the club patrons shaking it all night! (Check him out on Twitter and Soundcloud!)
Nov. 10, 2013
The Duquesne Incline was another wonderful attraction we visited on our trip!
We piled into a compact trolley car that would take us up to a beautiful vantage point overlooking the city!
Compare my view of Pittsburgh from the trolley car with a pic I snagged from WPMY's Cool TV subchannel (RF42-2) back on July 6, 2012!
We were Inclined to look at the plethora of history on display at the upper station!
The observation deck allowed for some incredible shots of downtown Pittsburgh! Compare with the view I caught on WTAE (RF51) a month earlier!
The reason we couldn't book a hotel in Pittsburgh? The big Steelers football game taking place that Sunday at the Heinz Field stadium! We could see the match in progress while we toured the Incline!
The wooden cable cars added a neat vintage allure to the beautiful views we observed.
We were way up in the air, but I reached greater heights when we made our way to WTAE shortly after!
As we approached the station, I spotted a tower with the iconic "4" logo on it!
Before my trip, I contacted the awesome Ray Petelin to see if I could get a tour of WTAE! He couldn't give me a full walk through, but he generously agreed to meet me and my pal Mr. A in the lobby to chat and take pics!
Of course I can't go through a station's parking lot without documenting their news trucks! The Action News branding never looked better!
I was all 4 posing with these great vehicles!
When I started documenting my DTV DXing journey back in 2009 I never expected stations like WTAE to reach me all the way in Markham! Pittsburgh is rarer than my Upstate New York reception, but seems to pop up a few times each year!
During the photo shoot, I sometimes felt like I was posing like Van-na White!
Other times I was invoking Car-son Daly.
No matter which TV personality I was channeling, it was a blast to be visiting the station!
There was a great sign near the entrance showcasing WTAE's media properties!
After getting buzzed in, there were more great station logos in the lobby!
Years ago I told Mr. A about "This TV" being a movie channel and he replied "What about That TV?"
Quicker than a Ray of light, Mr. Petelin came and met with us in the lobby!
This picture is proof that two Rays are better than one!
I've been a fan of Ray's since watching him on Erie, PA's WSEE because of his great energy and quick witted humour! Check out a shot of Ray in action I caught in June 2011 just months before he moved to WTAE!
Ray is one my favourite meteorologists because of his fun personality on-air and online! I was all 4 getting to talk with him about his career and what led him to WTAE! We chatted about his time in Erie and he mentioned his appreciation for WSEE legend Joey Stevens!
My love of long distance TV came up as well and a few years back he blew my mind by tweeting that I was the "master of DXing!" (I also love that Ray's followers are affectionately dubbed "weather babies!")
Meanwhile, Mr. A was capturing some of the awards on display in the lobby! WTAE has won the prestigious Edward R. Murrow Award many times over the years for their news reports.
Back in 2010 I noticed Ray wearing some funky shoes during a WSEE broadcast, so it was neat to see him sporting some bold sneakers in person!
A HUGE thanks to Ray for taking the time to meet with us and for being so friendly and welcoming! Check out "20 Things You Don't Know About Ray Petelin" at WTAE as well as his Facebook Page and Twitter!
I had to get in on the Action displayed on the wall before I left!
Since Mr. A and I weren't able to go past the lobby, the security guard generously offered to snap some pics for us! Special thanks for the following shots from the interior of WTAE:
This is WTAE's control room!
There was wall to wall coverage of WTAE's station management!
The station's offices looked marble-ous! (Once again, special thanks for the contribution of these behind the scenes pics!)
Due to spotty local reception, I tuned to WTAE via hotel cable to snap this pic of Ray's forecast! It was cool seeing him on the news right after visiting him that day!
Nov. 11, 2013
Before we checked out, I had to get a shot of the hotel channel guide!
Once we were on the road, I spotted Levin Furniture which I knew from ads I'd seen over the years on stations like Cleveland, OH's WEWS!
As we drove, my eyes popped out when I saw Pittsburgh's NBC affiliate WPXI passing by! These were the best pics I could get since we couldn't pull over!
We also passed by one of KDKA's towers, which is mentioned more in depth on Scott Fybush's amazing site.
While making our way home, we drove through Meadville, PA where I noticed Flick's TV & Appliance. I'd seen their ad on WJET (RF24) back on Nov. 20, 2012!
I was also excited to see the Erie First Assembly church after seeing their commercials on WICU years ago!
Erie First also caught my attention with some of their provocative campaigns, such as the "Naked Church" ad I saw on WICU back in November 2009!
I'm not sure if even the "Naked Church" would approve of this stunning array of items I saw in the men's room of a gas station on the way home. The French Freedom Tickler is particularly magnifique!
Gas station gadgets or not, our group was tickled and delighted to hang out together over the weekend! We had a fabulous time!
I brought back a gaggle of TV magazines, plus souvenirs from the Warhol Museum, the Duquesne Incline and other shops!
Thanks to ALL who made this trip amazing! Stay tuned to TV Garth for more outrageous road trips and television MAGIC!
