After months of pessimistic posts, I finally have something nice to say. Let me start by noting that when I arrived in Pittsburgh to begin my vacation in early May, I felt as if I had stepped into a world of vivid green hues - maybe that tells you how grey/brown the landscape in MN was in early May. And as I passed through the small towns and villages near my birthplace, I was astonished at the hilly landscape. I realized that I had not left Minneapolis, a very flat city, for four months, which augmented the hilly landscape of western PA.
David was attending a conference at the University of Pittsburgh in the same week of my birthday, so it only made sense to meet up with him in Pittsburgh and then visit my family. I arrived for the last day of the conference and explored the area near Pitt campus, while David listened to talks about new discoveries in particle physics.
The University of Pittsburgh's Cathedral of Learning
Joe Mama's Italian restaurant near Pitt campus
Little Asia (?) near Pitt campus
Cathedral of Learning, revisited
Carnegie Museum
A little piece of Carnegie Mellon campus
Former Freemason temple and site of the conference
Disappointing gyros near Pitt campus...after having Turkish doener,
nothing will ever be as good.
After the conference, we made sure to go to the top of the Cathedral of Learning and then visit Phipp's Conservatory before leaving the city.
Carnegie Mellon campus and the Carnegie museums
Entrance to Phipp's
Cloister Garden
We then spent a few days in western Pennsylvania, visiting the college campus where my sister-in-law works, enjoying multiple birthday dinners, and enjoying the company of my younger brother's puppies.
Lovely Allegheny campus
Birthday dinner
Louie!
Louie wants chicken and biscuits.
I love birthdays! And cupcake gift bags!
Bruiser is such a good helper.
While visiting my family, we also managed to have an enormous breakfast at a local diner, discover a beaver dam in the woods near my grandfather's house, and pick watercress near the artesian well on his property.
All in all, it was a lovely visit. And by the time I returned to Minneapolis, there were finally buds on the trees!
