Pittsburgh, 09

Well, we are officially back on the road but before we beguile you with the fantastically strange of Saigon, how about a little recap of our Summer in the States?

We flew from A'dam to D.C. both because the flight was a great price and we were planning on making a weekend out of it with Kate's parents, until all involved decided not to bother with that place and instead we continued straight back to Pittsburgh. Most of our time in PA was spent recouping, planning and just hanging out with Kate's parents eating delicious food and drinking mojitos, Manhattans, and margaritas on the back porch. We did earn our keep, however, by helping with some renovations, like switching the living room and dining room, stripping off old wallpaper and plaster (the past owners had a penchant for large floral print wallpaper, pepto pink trim and green ceilings), as well as selling the old van for a wad of 5s and 1s.

Eating (along with breathing and drinking water) was also high on our agenda and we made sure to visit several topnotch farmers markets chock full of tasty tidbits and scrumptious scrunchies, including but not limited to orange and yellow beets, Amish pies and fresh picked corn, all for surprisingly affordable prices. We also made the obligatory trip to the Strip District which is tons of fun and a foody's heaven. If you visit Pittsburgh, make sure to check out Macaroni Co. where the guys behind the counter will help you make your way through the mountains of specialty cheeses (we highly recommend the 5 year aged white cheddar). You can also fill up a bottle of olive oil from the house casks and buy some of the best ciabatta this side of the Apennines. We also recommend Penzeys for your every spice need, Wholeys for mountains of fish and meat and be sure to seek out a peperoni roll.

On the home food front, we gobbled up many delicious home-cooked meals that had quite a bit more variety than our 4 recipe repertoire. A particular favorite was the deliciously delightful champagne cake whipped up for a belated Mother's Day celebration. Mmm... We also had a few wicked backyard BBQs, including some hickory smoked ribs that even Kate had to concede were extraordinarily delectable. And while we had some great conversations over the meals, we also watched some great TV over the meals, like our little Burn Notice marathon leading up the start of the new season.

But when the weather was good - which was most of the time - we set out to get a little exercise by hitting the links. I shot about 20 over par, which I don't think is too bad for my first time out in 8 years or so. And Kate managed to actually make contact with the ball a few times, which is a big step for her. She'll be learning to walk and eat solid food by this time next year.

We also happened to be in Beaver Falls for the annual Memorial Day parade, a slice of Americana that you just don't get outside of the States. Firetrucks, fancy cars, ninjas in training, and high school marching bands complemented war veterans and Shriners in the slow roll down Main Street. And a few days earlier (or later, I can't remember now), we went to the Three Rivers Arts Festival, which, as you might be able to guess, is where folks gather to show off their artwork. A favorite of ours was the (way overpriced) Greg Stone with his accurately titled works, like "Pug, Snowman, Zombie."

But what trip home would be complete without a little consumerism? Kate decided she was done with sharing a laptop with me (she thinks I make the keyboard smell bad) so we started scouring the trusty craigslist ads and within a couple days, we'd located an awesome MacBook for about a third of it's retail price. And that is what I'm using now to write that we'll continue the blog next time with a little excursion down south for some good ol' fashioned confederate action.