A Very Busy Monday Traveling from Ohio to Pittsburgh to Charlotte

On our way back to the Pittsburgh airport from Ohio, we had time for one more restaurant. Instead of grabbing something in the suburbs, we made a quick trip to the Strip District of the city to pick up some lunch to go from the Caribbean/S. American inspired restaurant Kaya.  We ate some of our lunch/dinner in the car and some at the airport. As a result, we didn't realize we missed the box of toppings for our burger until we had already eaten it!! Oops!

Very tasty black bean dip and tortilla chips

An almost completely eaten burger.

We found the egg that belonged on the burger, just missed the lettuce, tomato, and pickles.

I forgot to take a picture of the fish tacos because I was distracted by trying to keep it all from falling apart. I thought they were really good, but Colin thought they had a strange taste to them.  He really enjoyed the burger and the black bean dip. I thought it was all delicious!

After a jam-packed 3 day trip, I had to get back on the road after our flight from Pittsburgh. So my Monday consisted of a 2 hour drive from Ohio to Pittsburgh, an hour flight to Raleigh, about an hour at home to unpack one bag and re-pack another bag, and then a 3-hour drive from Raleigh to Charlotte for a 2-day training! As you can imagine, it was an exhausting day. But, I was glad to see our friends in Pittsburgh and Ohio and meet their families!

Thankfully, the training in Charlotte was enjoyable and I met people from all over the country.  We ate a delicious dinner at the farm-to-fork restaurant Harvest Moon Grille. There were about 8-9 of us at dinner and most ordered something different off their always changing menu. I really enjoyed my pasta with vegetables and prosciutto. But the highlight of the dinner was the cheese platter with whey crackers and local red pepper jelly. The local cheeses, a brie and cheddar from Chapel Hill Creamery, and a blue cheese from a farm in western NC were AMAZING! Coupled with the red pepper jelly and the crackers, the combination was divine. Several of us at the table enjoyed it so much, and when we asked for a little more red pepper jelly to finish off the cheese, the wonderful server was so kind to have the kitchen add more cheese to our platter as well.  Overall, it was a very enjoyable dining experience which I highly recommend to anyone in Charlotte.  I didn't want to pull out the camera and take pictures, so you will have to imagine the beautiful display in addition to the delicious food.

The second day of training (Wednesday) ended a little early, providing me with some time to visit with my college roommate and friend, Michaela.  Her youngest child, 6-month-old Noelle was born around Thanksgiving and I had yet to meet her.  She was so precious, happy, and calm, even after getting her vaccinations at the doctor!  We all enjoyed a tortellini dinner, filled with story-telling and smiles. My favorite part was when we all got to share what we were thankful for.  I will always be grateful for my friendship with Michaela and the ability to visit with her and her family fairly often.

I was also thankful when I arrived back home Wednesday evening, after 5 days away.  I spent the next 3 days enjoying a somewhat normal routine before getting back on the road again!  More on that trip another day. Stay tuned!

What are your favorite restaurants in Pittsburgh and/or Charlotte, NC?

The Beginning of Many June Travels Starts With Pittsburgh!

I didn't purposely plan to travel so much this month, but fun opportunities were planned for the month that I couldn't resist.  And, a few last-minute trips were added to the mix - apparently I am in high demand! :)

On the agenda this month are 3 leisure trips and 2 work trips. The leisure trips include Pittsburgh, Rhode Island, and the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  Work trips include Charlotte and Asheville. Of the 30 days in June, I will be out of town 14 of those days!!

The first trip started on the 1st of June, with a quick (50 minute) flight from Raleigh to Pittsburgh. Colin had a work conference in the days leading up to the weekend, so I decided to meet up with him at the end of his conference.  One of my very good friends moved from Raleigh to State College, PA to pursue a PhD at Penn State last year, so tops on my agenda was some quality girl time.  We had so much to talk about since she is getting married this fall.  And, the first thing she did when I walked out of the airport into her embrace was to ask me to be her bridesmaid! I'm super excited since I've never been one before!!

We spent the early afternoon in Mt. Washington, catching up on school, work, and life before meeting up with her fiance's family. His family always gets together the same weekend in June so the guys can go to Canada on a fishing trip while the girls all hang out in Pittsburgh.

After enjoying a veggie wrap at The Grandview Saloon, my girlfriend and I went to walk around downtown a bit before heading to her future in-laws apartment.  I wish I took pictures of their place because it was gorgeous.  The apartment has very high ceilings, huge windows, and a very open feel.  It was nice to hang out, rest a bit, and get to know the family.

Though we were still full from lunch, we decided to go out to a local, sustainable restaurant for dinner once Colin got out of the conference.  We decided on the restaurant Habitat, located in the Fairmont Hotel. The elegant restaurant made me feel a little under-dressed in my jeans, but no one seemed to mind.

My salmon with brussels sprouts 

Colin's burger got cut off in the picture

I brought my really nice camera, but left the SD card in the laptop back in North Carolina. Instead of buying a new SD card, I just decided to take pictures with my phone all weekend.

Saturday night Colin and I stayed in a brand new Hyatt Hotel in the South side section of Pittsburgh. The entire area where the hotel was located looked brand new, not just the hotel.  We checked in pretty late Saturday night and left around 11am the next day, so we didn't get to enjoy some of the best features - like the full kitchen in each room, grills out on the deck, and cushioned seating and a fire pit on the deck!  I did manage to get a run in along the Monongahela River Sunday morning when Colin attended his last conference session.

Full kitchen in our hotel room

Nice, clean, IKEA decor throughout

Beautiful location with a greenway along the river - perfect for a 5k run!

On Sunday, we decided to take a trip to the outskirts of Cleveland (aka Amish Country) to visit with Colin's law school friend and his family.  They live just under 2 hours from Pittsburgh, so it was an easy journey.  I didn't do a good job taking pictures at all!  We were too busy enjoying catching up with our friends and running around with their 3 year old and 15-month-old to stop and take pictures.

I did manage to get this pictures of the Amish kids riding their horse 

and buggy to their "hang out area" while we were waiting for our friends.

As we were told, the kids have a few years they are allowed to "rebel" and not follow any rules before they "settle down and join the church."  It was interesting to see the horses racing down the street and many had their music blaring!

It was also my second experience riding in the "trunk" of a station wagon. I lost my bearings because I couldn't even remember the name of the delicious and beautiful restaurant where we had dinner Sunday night!  I ended up looking at our credit card bill to find out that it was called the Welshfield Inn.  They had a steak special with horseradish sauce that gave the entree some bite!  Overall we had a very pleasant dining experience on the back patio thanks to two well-behaved kids, enjoyable conversation, delicious food, and a beautiful day. Coupled with the amazing hospitality we received from our friends, we had a delightful visit.

Stay tuned for details about our last day in Ohio/Pittsburgh and my trip to Charlotte - yes they were back-to-back.  And, I'm traveling now (again for work), but I will try to keep the blog updated!  Thanks for your patience.

Have you ever ridden in the very back part of a station wagon before?

The first time I did was when a large group of us when to a ski cabin for a weekend in college. This time it's because there were too many car seats in the back seat!