The two-day Three Rivers Regatta on the North Shore of Pittsburgh had a heavy burden hanging over it. It rained off and on both July 3rd, when I attended, and on the 4th of July.
Unfortunately, the rain wasn't the only problem. With no highly publicized website, few signs to point revelers in the right direction, and no indoor activities that I could make out, the "Roar and the Shore" hardly lured any Pittsburghs outdoors, and if they did find themselves near the river, they mostly stood around and got rained on.
Does this mean I didn't have any fun? No way. The best part about having a positive attitude is the fact that I look for and make my own fun. This is a skill you can develop and is absolutely necessary if you want to have happy adventures where ever you go.
Let's start with the watercraft:
The boat to the left stormed around the river so fast it was hard to get a good picture of it. In the dock, you can really get a sense of how pretty it is. The very first picture in this article was taken while a jet skier splashed river water everywhere and performed tricks. And Kyle Prawdzik, who is featured in the green t-shirt and is a member of Wakeboard Pittsburgh, may not be in the water, but his outgoing personality and his flips on the landlocked wakeboard were enough to gather a happy crowd.
The next best thing about the Regatta, for me, was the humor. You can see how empty the festival fields were. It's not that I usually take pleasure in other people's misery, but seeing the Regatta staff slumped on stools from boredom and watching camera crews patrolling the Riverwalk for anything that might be news worthy, well, I can't help myself. That amused me. The truth is, there were more birds out enjoying the day then there were Regatta spectators.
And the last thing at the Regatta that made me happy was the 99th Regional Readiness Command, an army reserve unit stationed in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania. They had two massive military vehicles on display. Three reservists greeted the onlookers, encouraged them to get in the vehicles and answered questions. One reservist with a very nice smile stood around answering my questions for at least five minutes. I asked, "Are you on active duty? Have you been to Iraq? Where do you work when you aren't called up?" The patient answers were yes, yes, and he works as a civilian for the reserves when he's not on active duty.
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