I left the house about 7am Wednesday and pointed my car toward Pittsburgh, where I would attend the Pennsylvania Association of Numismatists (PAN) show on Thursday and Friday. Wednesday was a travel and fun day. After arriving in Monroeville, having some lunch and checking onto my hotel, I decided to get in a walk before meeting my sister for dinner.

I hadn't planned this, but something told me to go to an old stomping ground - North Park, where I walked a five-mile trail around the lake like I'd done in my younger days living in Pittsburgh. It was a beautiful fall day and I took this photo shortly after setting out.

When I came upon this nice bench later in the day, I couldn't just walk past it - something told me to stop. I did, and when I read the plaque it stopped me in my tracks - it was a memorial for a young woman who'd been killed in a car crash a few years earlier - and that woman was the grown-up delightful little girl who lived with her family across the street from us before we moved away from Pittsburgh. Bittersweet memories.

I had some time and rested at the park's Boathouse bar, having a beer and remembering our old neighbor. I arrived a little early for dinner and had a nice time catching up with my sister. I was tired, walking a total of 14,800 steps that day.

The PAN Show opened at Noon Thursday, and there was a line of people wrapped around the building waiting to get in. Parking was tough. I walked a long way, passing cars with plates from all over the U.S.Once inside I spoke briefly with dealer David Kahn about the new Powers books discussed last week.

CONECA

My next stop was the CONECA table, where I met up with Greg Bennick and Jim Zimmerman. That's me standing between them in a photo taken by Mim Bizic - that's my photo of her on the right. She'd collected error coins years ago and Greg signed her up as a member. At my suggestion Greg made some time to interview her at the show, and the transcript will appear in a later issue and be archived on the Newman Portal. Mim was a schoolteacher and very active with young numismatists, Hobo nickels and much more, even befriending Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak. Stay tuned for Greg's interview.

Bob Evans and the S.S. Central America
Next I stopped to see Bob Evans, Chief Scientist of the S.S. Central America project, where he was instrumental in finding, recovering, conserving and documenting tons of gold coins and ingots from the wreck that sank in a hurricane in 1857. See an article elsewhere in this issue for his latest blog post detailing his amazing adventure.

A highlight of the exhibit are these amazing numismatic "fossils" - rust flakes that grew on coins while they lay in repose on the ocean floor for over a century. Everyone needs to see these in person someday.

Here's another part of the exhibit, Bob in his trademark hat speaking to a visitor, and an unrelated photo I took while grabbing a soft drink at the Scheetz near my hotel - see an article elsewhere in this issue for how businesses like Scheetz are dealing with the disappearance of one cent coins.

Frick Museum and Park
I switched back to vacation mode Thursday afternoon, this time visiting the Frick Art Museum, only 19 minutes door-to-door from the PAN show. It's a world-class museum tucked into a Pittsburgh neighborhood, a gem that I always recommend to visitors.

Much of the permanent collection turned out to be in storage to make room for another exhibit. No matter - that gave me time to tour the Henry Clay Frick mansion on the same property. Awaiting the tour's start I found somewhat of a numismatic connection in the visitor's center. Here's a book about other Gilded Age millionaires, the Huntingtons. Archer Huntington was a numismatist and patron of the American Numismatic Society.

It was an interesting and educational tour. Here are some photos of the mansion (in the distance), the grounds, and the greenhouse.Across the street was Frick Park, and I took a walk along its magnificent trails.

PAN Speakers
Back at the show on Friday, I sat in on a couple of the educational programs. Greg Bennick spoke on countererstamps, and Larry Korchnak previewed his upcoming book on Siege Currency.

I left the show and quickly got back on the Pennsylvania turnpike for an uneventful drive back to Virginia. It was great to see many Pittsburgh friends - in addition to Mim and Larry, I talked with Pat McBride, Ben Costello, Carlos Kearns, Corleen Chesonis, Richard Crosby and others.I'm already looking forward to the spring show.