Thanksgiving 2.0, Volume 2

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Sightseeing: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Since we were only in Pittsburgh for a few days aside from Thanksgiving Day, we decided to focus our sightseeing - exploring the area near Siobhan and Pete's work!  We met Pete for lunch and walked around the Bloomfield neighborhood near his work.  Good lunch at Lot 17, Yuengling Beer and a pit stop at Paddy Cakes bakery for thumbprint cookies and cookie sandwiches!

Next Stop: Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh Campus

We drove through the hills and valleys and took in the sights of Pittsburgh - each neighborhood and borough different from the next!  After lunch in Bloomfield, we drove through the Carnegie Mellon Campus and University of Pittsburgh Campus.  Our destination was the Cathedral of Learning - a fantastic example of gothic architecture and a true testament to learning and knowledge!  While admiring the magnificence of the 42-story tower of knowledge, we couldn't help but be equally impressed with the Carnegie Library and museum.  On a cool fall day, Evelyn had fun kicking her feet through the leaves in front of the library and running around with daddy looking for the dinosaur statue!

Dinosaur Statue outside Carnegie Library

Cathedral of Learning

University of Pittsburgh Campus

We were completely unprepared for the amazing interior of the Cathedral of Learning and of the Nationality Room classrooms!  The first few floors of the building contain classrooms that are designed, decorated and furnished in historic splendor, dedicated to a particular nationality.  Again, I have to say that this is an awesome way to be immersed in the seeking out of knowledge, wisdom and education!  We were especially fortunate to visit while the rooms were decorated for the holidays - also culturally traditional decorations!

Czechoslovak Heritage Room

Italian Heritage Room

Evelyn taking in her first studies
in the Swedish Heritage Room

Commons Room

Thursday, November 25, 2010
Happy Thanksgiving!!

Senan and Evelyn play trains

The epitome of sharing and
cuteness!

Thanksgiving 2.0, Volume 1

Thanksgiving 2010

Auntie "Shani" Siobhan!

I begin writing about our adventurous cross-country trek while enjoying a bit of our holiday leftovers and contemplating venturing into a mini pumpkin pie cooking frenzy.  Mmmm!

We had a week long adventure to visit Siobhan and Pete out in Pittsburgh for Thanksgiving - to celebrate the holiday's with family in their new house!  It was great fun seeing a little piece of their life in Pittsburgh and spending late nights chit chatting over sweet lassi's as we prepped the holiday side dishes of our childhood memories.

Here are a few snap shots of our trip from Minnesota to Pittsburgh.  Lucky us, the weather cooperated with our travel itineraries the entire route!

Monday, November 22, 2010

First stop: Chicago, Illinois (Michael and Alyssa's house)

Due to our late departure (I have learned to add two hours to any estimation of departure when we are taking a long roadtrip) we got on the road as the sun was setting and traveled until 1am when we reached our first destination - Chicago and the house of a college friend.  It was wonderful to break the trip in half and wake up bright and early to realize that we only had eight hours left of driving (10 hours travel time plus a time zone change).  Evey was thrilled to meet a new little baby - Tilly!  She made sure to take care of the baby, handed her toys to play with and picked out little socks to go with her outfit.

Evelyn plays with "Baby" Tilly

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

First stop: University of Notre Dame (South Bend, Indiana)

Evey slept in the car from the time we left Chicago until we pulled off the exit in South Bend, Indiana to visit Notre Dame campus, Mommy's Alma mater.  This was a great place to stop and stretch.  The weather was beautiful (50s) and felt like the fall weather I remembered!  

Future Domer?

 The car ride was fun - I rode in back most of the time with Evelyn and had a bag full of toys and activities to keep her entertained.  We sang songs, counted and said our A, B, Cs, read books, colored, played with "babies" and even had a fashion show - complete with mommy's sunglasses!

Arrival: Pittsburgh, PA (Siobhan and Pete's house) 

We made it to Pittsburgh area by eight-ish... and then missed the exit off the turnpike (I take full responsibility for that mistake... I was expecting a different exit to Monroeville because "the directions don't say anything about getting on ANOTHER highway).  That's okay, we took the next exit and were ready to turn around and head 15 miles back to continue following Pete's directions.  The toll booth guy reassured us and said we were really close.

"All we had to do was head straight for 6 stop lights, turn right at the Dunkin Donuts, left at the T-intersection, right at the Sunoco and look for signs to the 993" (all with a "Pittsburgh Pete" accent).

 Seemed easy enough until we ventured down one wrong path after another and missed the quick left turn onto 993.  Tensions rose until we finally had Pete on the phone to direct us the last five miles to their house.  In the end, Pete jumped in his car to meet us at the Middle school parking lot and guide us the last mile to their house!  

By daylight, I now understand why Pittsburghers give their directions based on Gas stations and convenience stores.  The roads twist and turn until you don't know east from west, the street sign names are virtually non-existent and if there are signs then the road changes names two or three times along the route.

We made it after a day and a half of driving and 873 miles (plus the 10 miles we overshot) to Siobhan's new house - with Auntie Shani, two happy puppies and Pete to greet us!

Siobhan and Pete's House