Pittsburgh: Who Knew?!

Today the IFVP 2012 conference begins.
 
“The what,” you ask?
 
The IFVP.  That stands for the International Forum of Visual Practitioners.  Incorporated in 2002, the IFVP is the professional member organization for graphic facilitators, graphic recorders, scribes, and other visual practitioners who help bring visual clarity to group collaborations.
 
In other words, my Tribe.
 
This year’s conference takes place in the heart of Pittsburgh.  Which, I’ll admit, was an unexpected choice for our conference.  Especially since the location was announced during last year’s conference… in Hawaii.  I had only driven through Pittsburgh once, on my way to Punxsutawney to visit the world-famous groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil.  I vaguely remembered a river from that trip, and not much else.
 
This time around, I was a passenger on an airport shuttle, and could better absorb my surroundings. At first, you couldn’t see the city as the shuttle drove to the hotel. The landscape looked a lot like Kansas. Or Germany.
 
Then we drove through a tunnel right into the city.  The Fort Pitt Tunnel, to be precise.
 

We entered the tunnel in Pennsylvania, and emerged from the tunnel in Disneyland.

 
Seriously!  This city was NOTHING like what I expected it to be!  With its bright yellow bridges reminiscent of roller coasters, skyscrapers that could have been made from origami designs, and rivers full of people on boats enjoying the beautiful day, I was immediately enchanted… and convinced that this place was going to be FUN!
 
I’m surprised at how much I’m digging this town. It has this cool old-school feel. A bit like downtown SF, more like Boston. Only with more grit… and lots of heart.  Sunday night I had the best pasta from a local joint, and even drank a whole Fat Gary beer!  (Which, considering that I usually drink beer from a shotglass, is saying something!)  Yesterday over lunch, some hilarious locals engaged me in conversation about comic book movies and buying light sabers on clearance.  (My kind of people!)  And last night my IFVP board of directors met over dinner at a local place called The Sonoma Grille, and I had one of the best meals of my life.
 
Oh Pittsburgh, it’s only been a few days yet you’re already winning me over!