Thanksgiving Runs: Commonplace Coffee

We were having such a good time this morning we forgot to choose a meeting place for next  Sunday's run but given the holiday, I am arbitrarily selecting Commonplace Coffee in Squirrel Hill - the usual holiday default location.
I know most people are either out of town or running the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day but you can take your chances and show up at Commonplace on Thursday at 7:30AM (note the slightly later holiday time) and see if any like-minded runners appear.

Only a small group began this morning's run but slowly picked up members, first Michael running down Liberty, then Sharon arriving in her car and finally the run to the runners - in the end it was a fair size group augmented by Jan who seemed to turn up magically everywhere we went even though she was walking (how DID she do that?). On this twist to our usual downtown/ river trail route we started at 21st and Liberty, ran down Penn Ave to the Point - unfortunately we could not quite get there as the fountain is fenced off, although in true EE Runners spirit, we tried - and returned on the trail by the Allegheny all the way to its almost end at the Cork Factory (as Cheryl commented: it's all about beginnings and endings). Along the way we took in the many sites on Penn including the "Horne's" Tree and the Violin Shop. The plantings on the river trail were still attractive in their autumn colors and the river, as always, remains such a strong element of our city's landscape. We ran up and back on the pathway at the Convention Center, although it was slightly disappointing that the water feature and lights were not on. We admired the finials on the 16th Street Bridge while expanding our vocabulary and finally remarked on the currency of the historical marker ("Desperation and Decadence") describing one of the union stand-offs. It was a rich run!

Despite overwhelming the server at La Prima and getting apple instead of almond meles we experienced the usual coffee chat rejuvenation that included a quote about being responsible for the energy you bring to places and a unique display of useless but interesting talents.