vacation, Tuesday, June 17th & Wednesday, June 18th

So….many of you know that Michael planned this entire vacation and that one of the locations was kept a secret from me.  He told me that we would go to Washington, DC, then Ithaca to visit the kids, then Niagara Falls, then some secret place.  Some of you thought he was taking me to Keepsake Quilting (even I rejected that J), some thought he was bringing me to Connecticut to see my friends (I didn’t think so….), some wanted to know the secret….and apparently Michael told all of his golfing buddies among others here at SCCL where we were going, but they were ALL very circumspect.  Anyway, at dinner on Monday night, our last night in Canada, he began to give me hints about where we were going.  I had NO idea….the hints finally became SO blatant, that I figured out he was taking me to my childhood home….where I haven’t been in FORTY years!!!  I immediately started crying and cried on and off for the whole day Tuesday, June 17^th.  What an emotional experience.  We got up on Tuesday morning in Canada….keyed 17 Adrian Avenue in Pittsburgh into the GPS, and were on our way.  AS we got closer and closer, I started to remember some things, and began to drive all around..this is the house I lived in from Zero to 5 years old:

see that jut out to the right?  It was just a big, long room.  I still remember
that's where we kept the piano

It’s on a very busy street, and my mom said that the 3^rd time she found me in the middle of the street (when my sisters were supposed to be watching out for me….hmmm…sisters not caring a thing about me seems to be a recurring theme in my life), she told my dad we had to move.  Here’s where we moved to (on a dead end street), and I lived there until I was 22:

 We knocked on the door, and MIchael talked the man who answered (I was crying too hard).  I didn't want to see the inside, but did want to tour our wonderful back yard.....probably to no one's surprise, it seemed smaller than I remembered.  I got to see where my mom's garden was, and realized that one of the big trees in the back yard had died.  We talked to the guy who lived there and he asked who had finished off the attic.  I still remember working on that with my dad.  The guy was VERY complementary about what a good job my dad had done.

I lived in that house until I moved to West Virginia (for just 3 months), and afterward to Connecticut, just after I graduated college.  Many people have asked me why I didn’t stay in Pittsburgh, or haven’t been back to visit…well, the year I graduated college, my parents retired to Florida….so I was ‘on my own’ anyway.  Plus, my job was ultimately in Connecticut, so that’s where I moved.  In retrospect, I’m glad my parents weren’t geographically close, since I learned very quickly that it was ‘sink or swim’ on my own…and that I had to figure out how to fix my own problems, whatever they were.  I’m sure I made more mistakes than I might have…but ultimately I have to say that I truly have a wonderful life and I know they would be thrilled for me.

I can't believe ARNOLD's was still there...it's the little grocery store
where I used to buy my 'Suzie Q's' on the way home from school!

We drove by my grade school (which is now apartments), and the high school.  I definitely wanted to take Micahel to my high school….it has a long, double “S” curve driveway up to the high school, and our driving teacher used to make us BACK DOWN that driveway for practice!!!  I took Michael 1/2 way around horseshoe bend, then peeled off for Laurel Gardens to drive by Aunt Eve & Uncle Cal’s house.  I drove by where Uncle Rose & Aunt Pete’s house was (yes…that’s always how they referred to themselves…with the backwards pronouns), but there were a LOT more houses than I remembered, and I couldn’t identify exactly which one was theirs.  I did a lot of driving on the back roads and finally... treacherously…. with a wrong turn or two, we got to our hotel, which was right on the Monongahela River!!! We relaxed for a bit, took a walk to dinner, then it was collapsing back at the room.

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When we got up on Wednesday (6/18), Michael said he hadn’t planned anything for the daytime and I knew exactly where I wanted to go.  When I was growing up, my mom worked at ‘Sears’ on the north side.  By the time I got to junior high, I was allowed to take the bus into Pittsburgh on Saturdays…first I’d go to Buhl Planetarium (they had lots of free exhibits), then I’d wander over to Carnegie Library and take out a bunch of books…then I’d walk to Sears and come home with my mom when she got off work at 5 PM.  Buhl Planetarium has since closed…but they built a huge, new Carnegie Science Center, so that’s where we spent the day.  I’d love to show you pictures…but again, my photo program is acting up…and I figure you’d like to get-on-with-my-life (I know I would), so, you’ll just have to imagine all of the things we saw.  I do need to mention one thing in detail.  Every Christmas, my parents would take us to Buhl Planetarium for the train display.  They had a HUGE room set up with many, many trains, going in and out of the country side.  There were tons of buildings and people set up, many of them moving!  There was a circus with swings, and a crack-the-whip ride, and tea cups spinning…it was magical.  This has been re-created (only it is now 2/3 BIGGER!!!) and is on permanent display at the science center.  Everything in the display is based on buildings in western Pennsylvania.  It was just as magical as I remembered.  We were there all day and were totally exhausted when we got back to the room….so it was quick nap time, then we jumped up and took a water taxi to the new stadium

(Three Rivers Stadium was built….and torn down in my lifetime) for a Pirates game!!!!   My honey and I had foot long hot dogs, lemon ice and popcorn for dinner, while proceeding to watch the Pirates get creamed by the Cincinnati Reds 11 – 4…..it didn’t matter…it was a magical evening and a beautiful, romantic and moving end to a wonderful vacation.