I'm back.

With 2 cases of Yuengling and an awesome cold.
Somehow I've been on this pattern of sickness all year. It starts with an allergy attack, moves on to a sore throat, and then becomes brutal post nasal drip. I've seriously had it 4 times this year. At least. Next Time I'm marching my ass to the doc and making the germs stronger by throwing antibiotics on them. I can't stand this ball of snot in my throat and this feeling like I'm swimming in glue.

Before I get to the trip, my brother had a procedure yesterday to widen one of his bronchial tubes that involves them lasering out the scar tissue and removing some junk. Yes, Junk. He was sore as hell yesterday when I went over there to watch RAW. He might be the toughest person I know. So much for whining about my sniffle. Guess I'll soldier on.

Pennsylvania -
So we left Thursday Morning at 8 AM and had to drive a different route due to 8o being closed by a jackknifed semi on account of lake effect snow. I took us across Indiana on route 30 through my bitrthplace, Ft. Wayne, Indiana. Yep. I lived there 'til I was 5, so no drug dealer jokes, mkay?
We stopped at Rally's Hamburgers there and pressed on. Not much to report through Ohio, because, well, It's Ohio. Sorry, TaraD. We arrived at 6:30 PM, 7:30 local time at the Omni William Penn in Pittsburgh. It was a lovely old-school luxury hotel. The hottest part was the group rate of $150 a nite! We dined like true Pennsylvanians on room service; Perogies, Fish & Chips, and a 6 Pack of Yuengling! Worth all the $53 they charged us for it. At night (after 8 PM) central, we had to be almost completely silent because the baby was in the same room as us. We also had to sit in the dark, but we brought flashlights and had a lot of fun.
Friday, Kiki had to go present, so she left us to our own devices. I strapped Miette to me and went out in the cold about a block to Kaufmann's, a local department store. That night, Pittsburgh was lighting all its Holiday lights, so Kaufmanns was all decked out. Coincidentally, the day was bittersweet, because people were lamenting kaufmann's becoming Macy's next year, just like here in Chicago.
I went back and my wife and her co-presenter were in the room. They brought sandwiches and were talking baby, since Kiki just had one and her co-presenter is due in January. I'll call the co-presenter "Lenny" for the sake of anonymity. The reason is that Lenny reported to Kiki that even now almost to her 7th month, she's still having sickness. The reason? Pregnancy and Prozac don't mix. Scary crap, y'all. I know part of Lenny's issues manifested themselves in Bulimia, and part of me wonders if the weight gain associated with pregnancy isn't contributing to the vomiting... mostly because her cheeks and nose look pregnant. Low blow, I know, but it's to be expected with pregnancy, and I seriously wonder how this previously bulimic ex-cheerleader is dealing with all this weight. Her bigger issue, in Dr. Thompson's mind, is her daddy. This is a guy who smells like a molester let alone his unbelievably creepy gaze. He gives me the willies every time I see him. His Father-Daughter dance at her wedding was to " Thank Heaven For Little Girls" Seriously. It makes ME want to be bulimic.
Most of Saturday was spent with Miette napping and me surfing the internet in a dark luxury hotel room. Kiki KILLED at her presentation, and to celebrate that and Miette's 6-month birthday, we went to the opulent hotel restaurant. Miette was an angel to such a degree that people around us commented on it. We had a fabulous dinner and returned to the room for flashlit giggling.
Saturday we went into the hill country to see Kiki's relatives. We passed by the Monroeville Mall where Dawn of the Dead (The original) was filmed on the way to once-fabulous Portage, PA. First stop was her cousin Marcy's. Marcy has 4 boys. One's in Iraq, I think, and 2 were home. They went from beinmg awkward country kids at our wedding to trunk-necked athletes. Also, Miette got to see her first live pig! It used to be a 2 pound potbelly that the 4th boy who's now in college got as a gift. It now weighs 66 pounds. 66 POUNDS! and llives in their laundry room. It lives with 2 dogs, and no shit, acts like a dog. It wags its tail, and rolls over so you can scratch its belly.
We then moved on to Uncle Tom's. Uncle tom has a beautiful piece of property on a wooded ridge. On it he's built the foundation to a magnificent house, and he lives in the foundation. The only light is from skylites at ground level. Uncle Tom was real defensive about the way is property and house look, but I sure wasn't judging him. The guy lives comfortable and though it is in a foundation, it's not uncomfortable, and he has no mortgage. It's paid for. We had some godawful pizza and then hit the road.
Portage is a really depressed area. The big topic everywhere we visited was finding work. Lots of it has to do with the fact that they live in Portage, but it's tough to imagine them living elsewhere. I can't imagine having to leave my home to find work. I mean, Kiki's cousin Marcy lives in the house that Kiki's dad and all his siblings live in.
We moved on to get my precious Yuengling - $18/case of 24 bottles. I seriously wanted to bring back 6. Kiki stopped me at 2.
We then stopped by the market because Miette was out of baby food. It was pretty scary looking. Kind of like a warehouse with a single door and no windows. Kiki half jokingly said, "Hope I don't get kidnapped!" Miette and I waited in the car.
Unscathed, Kiki made her way out and we headed up the mountain to cousin Charlene's. When we got there, her husband Barry was outside, and said he'd be in after he and a friend got done shootin'.
We went upstairs to one of Charlene's 4 girls' rooms, and I tried to set up Miette's Pack 'n' play. The Pack'n'Play, for the childless, is a combination playpen, portable crib, and changing table in one convenient 50 lb. bundle. I could not for the life of me get it set up. After 20 sweaty minutes of me almost swearing in front of her religious cousins, we got it standing. I offered to soothe Miette to sleep so that Kiki could visit, and because I needed a nap myself.
I slept more than Miette did. In 2-minute bursts before she fussed again. Kiki came up and decided we'd forgo the nap, which terrified me, because I know how Miette can be when she misses a nap. She was exactly the opposite. Whe was a playful delight to the assembled 25 or so relatives. Including 9 girls between the ages of 6 and 14 that passed Miette around, much to my terror.
Later, we gathered Miette and got ready to feed her. I was putting away the pack and play and discovered that the directions were printed on the back of the mattress. Following them, I broke down and set up the thing about 6 times in a minute. Gah!
Miette continued to perform thoughout her feeding. We grazed among several crock pots of food, and then decided to head for the Hotel. Miette did not want to get back in that carseat.
Kiki's family are all wonderful, loving, generous people. As we drove home, she lamented not being able to see them more or do more for them, since they live in such a depressed area. I asked her if she thought they seemed deprived, and they sure don't. They are all so pleasant. We'll just have to visit more.
The Johnstown, PA Holiday Inn Express was our last stop, and it was something of a dump. Standard Motel crap, but 3 of the 4 lamps didn't work.
We were on the road by 7 AM central.
10 hour drive back. Ugh. One last complaint about Ohio; they have like 7 rest stops on I-80 through Ohio. The 5 eastern ones are all brand new beautiful buildings with several non-hardee's choices in them. The last 2 heading west are dumps last updated in the 1960s, and since then, even the Hardee's and Roy Rogers have pulled out. Our choices consisted of combos and a hot dog drawer.
We waited 'til Indiana.
I had a great time, especially spending all that time with Miette and Kiki, but I'm glad I'm Back.