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Pittsburgh and More: A Bucket List Adventure (see additional "a la carte" details below)
Core Trip: Signature City Pittsburgh - 5/25 to 5/30/2025 - (Program #19287)
Program Summary
Experience Pittsburgh’s revitalized urban landscape and bustling local economy and find out what makes it “America’s Most Livable City.” A city once known for its rough edges is now revered for its world-class museums, rich historical narrative and spirited cultural scene. Follow the paths of history as you stroll through the Botanical Gardens and examine brushstrokes from Italian Renaissance Masterpieces.
Program Highlights
- Take an uphill ride on the storied Duquesne Incline and discover Pittsburgh from atop Mount Washington.
- Absorb the history of the Steel City by studying noblemen like Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick and John Heinz.
- Gain a thorough understanding of the city’s vibrant past and promising future with experts at the Phipps Conservatory, Carnegie Museum of Art, Frick Art and Historical Center and Rivers of Steel National Heritage Center.
Program Prices (per person)
- Double Occupancy: $1,999
- Single Occupancy: $2,319
Activity Level: Keep the Pace
Walking 1-2 miles a day and 60-90 minutes of standing for museum visits; stairs.
Program Price Includes
- 5 nights of accommodations
- 13 meals (5 B, 4 L, 4 D)
- 2 expert-led lectures
- 8 expert-led field trips
- Group travel and transfers throughout the program
- A Group Leader to accompany you throughout the program to handle all logistics
- Customary gratuities, taxes and destination fees
- The Road Scholar Assurance Plan, including 24-hour assistance for medical and other emergencies
Accommodations
Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh University Place, 5 nights - Located in the heart of Pittsburgh's medical and educational district, the recently renovated Hilton Garden Inn Pittsburgh University Place is perfectly set in an urban environment.
Enrollment Information
Bucket List Worthy?
What are the characteristics required for a destination to be considered ‘bucket list’ worthy? A unique panoramic vista? Jaw-dropping feats of architectural accomplishments? Preservation of 100’s of years of historical impact? Or is it being able to experience THE ART: not just world-renowned collections on walls, but also the public art of huge stained glass windows in a train station, cathedral-worthy rotunda’s in office buildings, the gravity-defying cathedrals themselves? Or, the culinary arts of fine dining in Gilded Age opulence, ethnic family dishes, quirky regional ‘specialities’? Maybe a bucket list destination must have an element of ‘no where else’? How about a 15-acre site listed on the National Registry of Historical Places that also just happens to be one of the "greenest" facilities in the world? Or maybe it’s experiencing the only aviary accorded honorary "National" status by the United States Congress? The OLLI Travel Committee takes all of these desires, requirements into consideration when planning adventures that are educational, enjoyable, and experiential. We are putting together an adventure that meets all of the above, along with planes, trains, bus, boat, & bike options, and does not require a passport.
Sooooo…given the above listed criteria, would you have put Pittsburgh on your bucket list? With the additional option of Cleveland? May 24th - Jun 5th, 2025 (end date fluid right now) OLLI members will have the opportunity for a multi-phased or ‘a la carte’ adventure that includes ALL of the above criteria plus some. The core of the Pittsburgh course of the adventure is the Road Scholar Signature City Pittsburgh tour (shown above), May 25th - 30th, 2025 (Sunday evening - Friday morning). The March 22nd - April 26th Friday E-News includes pictures and descriptions of tour elements that match each of the above criteria.
Additional Opportunities Outside of the Core Trip
OLLI will provide members additional opportunities if they choose to arrive on Saturday, May 24th. An option will be to attend Sunday brunch at the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Station, now Landry's Grand Concourse restaurant. The station, constructed in 1898, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Dining is beneath the architecturally majestic stained-glass cathedral roof. The Sunday brunch ($42.) is considered the city’s best brunch, as chosen by Pittsburgh Magazine and Pittsburgh’s most unique and grandeur dining experiences. Another option may be an in-depth behind-the-scenes tour of Acrisure Stadium, home of the Pittsburgh Steelers or a true 3 Rivers tour on a Gateway Clipper ship.
Friday, May 30th
OLLI members will also have options: 1. Return to Huntsville 2. Spend Friday in Pittsburgh at the Three Rivers Arts Festival - one of the nation’s oldest and largest juried outdoor performance and arts festivals that is held within and around the historic Point State Park. 3. Or, a day trip to Falling Water, the 1935 home created by Frank Lloyd Wright, considered the twentieth century’s most famous private house in the world, and is listed among Smithsonian's "Life List of 28 Places to See Before You Die". 4. Or other options such as possibly attending a professional baseball game, taking the incline to the top of Mt Washington for a visually stunning dinner.
Saturday, May 31st
OLLI members will have the opportunity to extend their adventure with a train ride to Cleveland, Ohio for a multi-day tour. This part of the adventure is being curated by Nancy Darnell and, as of publication deadline, is not quite ready for Prime Time. Experience states if Nancy is in charge, it will be An Adventure! It is starting with a train ride. Can’t wait to see where the adventure will go from there.
Initial Commitment
The May 25th - 30th, 2025 (Sunday evening - Friday morning) part of the OLLI at UAH a la carte adventure is the Road Scholar Signature City Pittsburgh tour.Road Scholar has temporarily ‘pulled’ this tour from their public website.
In order for this part of the trip to remain an OLLI at UAH only tour, we must have at least 18 people with a "trustworthy commitment" to this trip no later than May 1st, 2024. "Trustworthy commitment" means no financial deposit is required, and it is in pen on your calendar. Once 18 people have committed, Road Scholar will open the May 25th - 30th, 2025 part of the trip for enrollment to OLLI members only. At this time, a $100 deposit will be required.
The a la carte pricing options for the Pittsburgh - Cleveland adventure have yet to be finalized. What we DO know is that the Road Scholar Signature City part (Sunday dinner through Friday breakfast) is $1,999 for double occupancy and $2,319 for single occupancy. Everything before Sunday dinner or after Friday breakfast will be additional expenses.
Please contact Michelle Laverty at olli.info@uah.edu (Subject Line: PGH Trip) to commit to the trip or for more information.
A personal note from Michelle: I grew up in blue-collar, multi-ethnic, multi-generational Catholic Pittsburgh. As gritty and cabbage rolls as that sounds, I also grew up with access to, and benefited from, the accomplishments and philanthropy of an unprecedented and internationally impactful Gilded Age. The reason I joined the Travel Committee was to escort OLLI members to ‘The Only City with an Entrance’ and to share the industrial, historical, cultural richness that is Pittsburgh. Our time in Pittsburgh will be much more than the 2 expert-led lectures and 8 expert-led field trips provided by Road Scholar. Please join me as we experience why Pittsburgh and Cleveland should be bucket-list destinations.
