It all started with a flight on U.S. Airways from Gatwick to Pittsburgh International. Generally a good flight, but a bit maddening to be getting a connector from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh when I was going to be turning around and heading to New Jersey anyway. Michael had flown into Pittsburgh in July, so to fulfill his round trip, we had to continue flying in and out of Pittsburgh. That aside, I did get a good deal on a rental car. A very cute Dodge Journey that even had a small built in cooler in the dashboard for drinks, which is a fantastic idea...if it didn't continuously get jammed.... I stopped using it because it is really annoying to be thirsty and keep hitting the button over and over and over again while driving and not being able to get your drink!
The first night, I stopped in Somerset Pennsylvania which is about an hour and a half outside of Pittsburgh. I stayed at the Super 8, which I have recently become aware is part of the same family of hotels as Days Inn. I don't like Days Inns. They are generally smelly, and the last one that I stayed in in Newark was disgusting. Really. Disgusting.
Super 8 was okay though. Let's face it...it is budget accommodation, so it is not "lovely", but it was adequate, with working AC, clean bedding, and towels, and no overpowering smell hiding something ....mysteriously wrong...
Pittsburgh was surprisingly beautiful. I was impressed to come out of a tunnel and see the city in all its glory. I grabbed the pic offline, because quite frankly I wasn't prepared to see a city when I came out of that tunnel.
After a restful stay at Super 8, I stopped by Wal-Mart for some necessities to bring back to the U.K., then drove the next 4.5 hours to Highlands to visit friends and join their end of summer BBQ. We played Rockband, we had shots, we at ribs, and dogs, and brownies, and I crashed at 2am...exhausted. The next morning, all of the crashers and hosts walked down to the pancake house for breakfast and after leaving behind my make-up (sigh), I drove over to my Dad and Stepmom's house.
My stepmom is part of the praise team of her church. They do concerts several times a year, and I have had the pleasure of attending several of them. This one was particularly nice, as it was in Ocean Grove at the pavilion right on the boardwalk. They sounded fantastic, and not to brag, but my stepmother's voice sounded lovely!
We all sing along :)
After the concert we went to Chili's for dinner. It was delicious! Then we headed to the house and kicked back for the night, watching a movie and eating a really delicious fruit ice pop.
Around noon the next morning (Monday), I took Sally (or Sally took me), to Northern Virginia to visit Sue and Danny. When I got there Sue was making dinner, and after a really tasty spicy chicken, we went to the pharmacy to buy some replacement makeup, toothbrush et al. We stayed up quite late catching up, then off to bed. I took a picture of Sue that was supposed to go right here...but I think she would kill me :)
After driving a few more hours I met with Lisa for lunch. It was so fantastic to catch up with her! As always, we had plenty to talk about, and I hope that she comes to visit me soon!
Around 3 I drove to Michelle's house to meet Mike. I stayed for a few hours and watched Mike and Nick swim in the pool, and chatted with Gerry, Michele and Rachel, before heading to Waynesboro and checking into Super 8 number 2 which was not a nice as the first one (no elevator and 50lb suitcase to lug up the steps with no help), but the room was fine...
Gerry, Michele, Mike and I met the next morning at Cracker Barrel and had a nice big breakfast before we headed off to West Virginia. It is not a drive I particularly enjoy, as it is through the mountains, very desolate and slow going due to the inclines, declines, hair pin turns and wildlife that assualt your senses for about 3 hours of the trip. I prefer interstate, where you can become zombie-like and drive in a straight line.
It the thick of our desolation I came upon a van in front of us. As I got closer I was alarmed to see that the only vehicle I had come across in the past hour was a van transporting an Inmate work crew! I am sure that this could be the opening scene of a very scary movie.
We survived unscathed though, and arrived at Mom and Patrick's house to a warm reception, a lovely ziti dinner, and loads of fun and engaging conversation. Not to mention, an ice cold gorgeous guest bedroom! My mother made brownies for us too! I also took the time to go through the recipes that my mother has collected...many of them are family recipes or recipes that I remember as being favorites during my childhood, and I scanned for myself. I am very happy to have added these to my own collection.
On Thursday evening we went to Tygart Dam, and had dinner at the lake. The food was tasty and the view was really fantastic.
On the way back from dinner we saw a very interesting sign which was photoworthy as far as I was concerned. It is the sort of thing that makes me miss America.
The next morning, we drove to Pittsburgh in torrential downpours, took off on time, made our connector with no issues, took off an hour late from Charlotte in a plane that was blowing AC that smelled like poop...(which is why it was an hour delayed...they were trying to figure out what the smell was and never had!)..landed at Gatwick and were finally HOME! Michael was elated to be back able to play in his room again and when I went up to check on him he was looking around the room with a giant smile and dreamy eyes while playing Lego.
We have had a full and busy week since we arrived home last Saturday, and I will be blogging about that in short order.
Til then....
