Pittsburgh

Sat morning Spouse & I drove to DC and picked up my aunt Mary and then drove to Pittsburgh to join the rest of the family.  The total drive time with 1 stop for food and restroom was 7 hours. We checked into the hotel and then met up with the family who' already arrived.  That evening we all went to dinner at Lidia's.  Most of had the pasta tasting trio which was amazing.  We had a wonderful meal and had a lot of fun.

David the college graduate and me

Anna, Gabby, and Randy

Paul, Evelyn and David

Mary & Eric (parents) and Evelyn

My handsome Spouse

Karen, Louis, Eric

The next morning I met fellow/former blogger David for breakfast at Pamela's Diner in the Strip District.  The family thought I was crazy for making breakfast plans with a stranger, but I explained that we 'know' each other through our blogs.

Me and David

The conversation was easy and we had a really nice visit over a delicious breakfast, and then David offered to give me a tour of Pittsburgh.  He drove me around and pointed out many noteworthy buildings, parks, stadiums, as well as shared lots of historic info only a true native would know.  We ended up at the top of Mount Washington where I took these photos:

I feel like Pittsburgh is an under-valued city for tourism.  There's so much to see and do here it surprises me that I haven't heard more people talk about going there.  I enjoyed it very much and wished I had more time to explore.  I hope to go back again, but its a long way to go for a weekend.

After returning to I hotel met up with most of the family and sat outside and talked for a while in the covered patio area, then everyone got dressed for the graduation.  First there was a small reception with sandwiches, salads, cookies, and drinks, then the diploma ceremony. 

The general commencement ceremony was early in the morning.  We all decided just to attend the diploma ceremony for his specific group in the Tepper Business School.  David's major was Business Administration with a 2nd major in Creative Writing.  He's already gotten a job with a DC consulting firm starting in July.  We're all very proud of his accomplishments.  Afterward David posed for photos with all the family.  Here are just two:

Me, David, Aunt Mary, Spouse

Proud parents Eric & Mary with David

Afterward the family went a park for a picnic dinner of pizza, wings, and subs.  But I made plans to see some of my family.  My cousin April's daughters Chelsea (and her husband Gabe) and Micah (and her fiance Justin) live in Pittsburgh so we made plans to get together for dinner.  Unfortunately Micah had to go on a business trip, but I did get to meet her fiance Justin.  Chelsea & Gabe invited me to dinner at their house and since the weather was so nice we ate outdoors.

Chelsea

We had a wonderful time catching up on each other's lives, talking about real estate investing, and Justin & Micah's upcoming wedding.  It was really, really great... such sweet folks.

When I got back to the hotel several of the family had gathered in our room and we talked and ate cookies that Karen had made.

The next morning Spouse & I and Aunt Mary headed back home.  It was a great weekend full of quality time with friends and both sides of my family.