Six States, Seven Nights
Thanksgiving is over, and at long last I am back in my own house and sleeping in my own bed. The holiday week was lovely in many respects, in that we got to visit with scads of people, but it did have its downside. A rough itinerary of our week might have looked like this (had we bothered to write it down in advance, which we didn't):
- Friday, November 21
- OH/WV/PA Go to class, work, meet with bank folks to close on our refinance, leave for Pittsburgh. While looking for the hotel, get hopelessly lost in the Hill District. Curse MapQuest. Check into the hotel, find Michael, Ann, and Janey, and eat Indian food while watching The Italian Job
- Saturday, November 22
- PA I eat the most tooth-achingly sweet breakfast on earth (waffles with whipped cream and strawberries, and hot cocoa), walk all over the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, take the bus to Squirrel Hill and wander a lot, buying a bunch of spices and a new bra (not from the same place). Lunch at a Middle Eastern chain, which we discovered has a restaurant in Columbus. Wander some more. Bus back. Collapse.
- Sunday, November 23
- PA/MD/DC We all check out of the hotel and set out walking for Ritters Diner. While an excellent place (I would recommend it to anyone - especially the fried green tomatoes), it is much farther from Oakland than we had anticipated. Still, once we had sat a bit and eaten, all was good. From there we walked to Shadyside. Not as nifty-funky as Squirrel Hill - more like Georgetown, less like Dupont Circle. Way more chain stores. Still, pretty nice overall. Walked back to the hotel, got the car, and headed for DC (stopping in Squirrel Hill on our way out for road sammiches from Kazanski's Deli). Arrived in DC at around 8, checked in, and crashed. Both Washington and Cleveland lost. Foo.
- Monday, November 24
- DC/MD/DC A day at the office, where I got to see Jane, Lisa, and Rick (and the back of Brad's head at some point). Afterwards I pick up Joe at Rockville Metro and head for Chris and Diane's to see the gang (including newest member Isabella, who is tiny and very cute). On the way out, we took a turn through the old neighborhood. The two houses next to our old place have been torn down, and a giant $800K+ monstrosity put in their place.
- Tuesday, November 25
- DC/MD This was supposed to be a short day, but it didn't work out that way. Oh well. Once I finally left and picked Joe up at his folks' place, we were smack in the middle of rush hour, and taking the back roads didn't seem to help any. When we finally arrived at Mom's place in Easton, I was starving (I had skipped lunch in hopes of getting out earlier) and cranky from the traffic, and just didn't have the energy to explain, so I ate half a cabbage roll and a ton of mashed potatoes and figured I would fill Mom in on the no-red-meat thing later.
- Wednesday, Novermber 26
- MD Soup Night! OK, I am realizing how much of this week was about food, and it's kinda pathetic. Still, Wednesday wasn't only about soup - it was also about computers. Namely taking them apart and putting them back together and praying they would work. In the end, Mom ended up with the exact same thing she had before - an ancient machine that runs really slow - and we had to shlep the hand-me-down back home. Something wrong with it being able to identify the modem. Talk to Gillian about Christmas plans (she is hosting) and assuring her that if there are side dishes, she doesn't need to try to adjust the main dish to my taste. Mom thinks I'll be eating beef again by then. She is wrong.
- Thanksgiving!
- MD/DE/PA Get up, pack, watch the Macy's parade, and head for Philly. Only two hours and fifteen minutes, door to door, which isn't bad. We got to see Kevin and Colleen's new place, which is quite nice. I think they are more unpacked than we are, and they have lived there about a month. Thanksgiving dinner with Joe's family, followed by a round of "Apples to Apples," and then a long talk with Joe's dad about genealogy. Very cool.
- Friday, November 28
- PA/WV/OH Get up, pack, eat some breakfast, chat with the family, pack up a few turkey sandwiches and sodas for the road, and head out. On the way across the Turnpike, we managed to drive through an entire season change. When we left Philadelphia, it was dank and rainy, but not terribly cold. By the time we hit Pittsburgh, it was snowing, and when we crossed over from Wheeling into Ohio, we could see it sticking to the ground. The next morning we woke to a few inches of accumulation, although it was all gone by Sunday.
The rest of the weekend was spent dragging the last of the junk from upstairs, to be ready for the contractors who came today. Already they have filled the dump truck 1.5 times. Still, even with guys throwing brick and plaster chunks out the window, and racoons visiting the basement, it's good to be home.
posted by Alison @ 6:29 PM
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