April 3 Run: Starting at Caffe D'Amore on Butler at 54th, Lawrenceville: Allegheny Cemetery

Spring has sprung along with a multitude of gorgeous Magnolia trees, and Allegheny Cemetery is the perfect setting, so we'll explore.  Start and coffee will be at Caffe D'Amore at 5400 Butler St. in Lawrenceville.

On Sunday we had a first:  exploring Aspinwall!  It's adorable.  We started at the Aspinwall Riverfront Park - with a whimsical climbing sculpture by a famous artist - and more is planned, including free ice skating in the winter - could be great.  It is apparently so safe that one house had, among its inflatable-sized Easter decorations, an elaborate outdoor miniature train set just sitting out there.  It's also so small that within a short time we found ourselves in Fox Chapel, invading one of the private drives of the 1 percent.

Due to the Easter holiday, we had coffee at... the Waterworks Giant Eagle! Astoundingly, they have an entire comfy Starbucks tucked inside - along with a pretty impressive beer emporium - who knew?
Endorsed:

• New Barebones Theater production:  One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - April 21-May 7 at the New Hazlett Theater 
• Podcast: The Hidden Brain
• Busgazer app for telling you when the next bus is coming
• Hotels that have fire pits with s'mores, like they do in Duluth
• in a period full of bad news, here's some great news: chocolate boosts your workout

Not exactly endorsed, she said scowling, but she's not really:

• RBF - Resting Bitch Face 

March 27 Run: Aspinwall - Meet at Beans 'n Cream, 16 Brilliant Avenue

So we're crossing a river!  On Sunday we're starting at Aspinwall Beans 'n Cream on 16 Brilliant Ave. (map) - checking out a whole new neighborhood.

This is not really a shlep, so don't kvetch - as we discussed along with various other yiddish words last week, including ufsalukhus (sp?), which Lainy uses to great effect but when I've tried to find it, all I come up with is koolasuchus, some kind of Australian dinosaur which may or may not be related.  All this occurred at the cozy Big Dog Coffee place at the end of a pretty great South Side run.  We visited the origination spot for the StepTrek, ran down many adorable residential streets, discovered the new part of the trail overlooking another marina, and climbed on various ancient steelworks relics.  We also witnessed the big development going on at the former Duquesne Brewery - the Brew House Lofts.  As we came in from the cold, Big Dog had a fire going in the fireplace - some of us just stayed and stayed.

As a result, many endorsements:

• Coats with up-zippers
• AmeriCorps
• Videos for yoga and training:
•   Bryan Jones
•   Sri Pattabhi Jois (original Ashtanga guru)
•   Sydney Leroux Gym Sculpt
• Dish restaurant on the S. Side
• Zenith restaurant for vegans/vegetarians
• Starbucks new Clover Brewing system
• Annual Mindfulness Fair (was last week,) the Center for Mindfulness, and mindfulness in general
• There are now so many podcasts that we like that we are recommending whole groups of podcasts:  Radiotopia Network, and Panoply (from Slate)
• Not really an endorsement but some really weird thing about whispering over the internet called ASMR
• The Running Group's ability to communally problem-solve - twice!

March 20 Run: Meet at Big Dog Coffee for a Southside Run

Next Sunday, meet at Big Dog Coffee (2717 Sarah Street) for a South Side run!

This past Sunday, we started and ended at 61C, running down Murray Avenue down to Greenfield, then coming back up the hill via Greenfield Avenue, Lilac, and Shady.  We saw many new and old businesses throughout Squirrel Hill and Greenfield.  We also saw the place where an SUV accidentally drove on top of the roof of the Greenfield Giant Eagle (from the rear, via Greenfield Avenue); thankfully the fence held the car back from hitting the brick wall!

I don't have any major endorsements to share with you from coffee since there were only three of us and we mainly discussed public vs. private schools since the whole school decision is nearing for me personally.  Well, I should say, the chocolate pastry and apple danish from 61C Cafe could be endorsed :-).

March 13 Run: Meet at 61C Cafe for a Runners' Choice Run- and SPRING FORWARD YOUR CLOCKS!

This upcoming Sunday, let's meet at 61C Cafe for a default run, to be determined.

I was out of pocket this past Sunday, but I heard that the great weather and Schenley Park run attracted a big group.  So, sorry to say that I don't have any coffee notes to share.

PLEASE REMEMBER TO SET YOUR CLOCKS FORWARD ON SATURDAY NIGHT!  (Or else you will be an hour late for the run!)

March 6 Run: Wendy Bennett Trailhead for a Schenley Park run

Next Sunday we'll start at the Wendy Bennett Trailhead, at the start of Overlook Drive, foot of the Schenley Oval.  You know where it is, and if not, just follow Bartlett or Hobart to Schenley Park until you see the group standing around until 7:05 when they will take off in an unknown direction.  

Last Sunday we had a great run up to the top of the Pittsburgh world - the Robert Williams Memorial Park in Herron Hill.  To get there we passed Laurie's house and (sigh) Schenley High School that was, and went up and up and up until we arrived at the path around the reservoir, from which - especially now that the trees are bare - you can see vistas in all directions.  We then came back via the monumental Pitt sports complexes, which somehow also managed to be up and up - defying the laws of physics, but no matter.  We were very glad to finally stop climbing, and initiate the newest local Starbucks (does one open every day on the planet?) and take over a group-friendly table and schmooze for quite a while.  The multitude of topics simply overcame me so I have just a few endorsements to note:

• Charming photography of Belle Epoque Paris at the Frick

• Super low prices for trips to Montreal and other Canada destinations - experience a civilized country for a change

• The Full Monty - latest musical at CMU theater - sadly it's over now but don't miss their next production