Flights to Pittsburgh, Figs Soon!

Last year I'd traveled more than in any previous year of my life. It was awesome and exhausting and wonderful. The trips of 2016 included:

International

• Greece - Bryce and I went to (the city of) Athens and the island of Mykonos, eating gyros, fresh seafood, and baklava all the while.
• Italy - with my husband and my parents. We visited Rome, Florence, Sorrento, the Almafi Coast, Sicily, and Venice. 

Domestic

• California - twice to Southern California for visiting family and, of course, Disneyland and Universal Studios.
• Colorado - my very first time! I stayed in Denver, visited the Denver Botanic Gardens,  and caught a concert at Red Rocks Ampitheater. 
• Hawaii - our first trip back to the islands after moving away 3 years prior, we went to Oahu and visited our favorite spots including the Battleship Missouri, Leonard's Bakery for Malasadas, many beaches, restaurants, and hikes.
• Oregon - a long, laid-back weekend in Portland eating, drinking, and hiking.
• Washington - although I live in Seattle I made trips within the state to the George Ampitheater in George, WA for camping and 3 consecutive Dave Matthews Band concerts; to Leavenworth, WA for a long weekend and plenty of Bavarian charm; to Tri-Cities, WA for an annual wine tasting trip.

While last year was KILLER for collecting passport stamps and airline miles it left me with no time to visit my hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Sorry, Pittsburgh, Italy needed me!

This year, at at the end of June, I went back home to Pittsburgh for the first time in a year and a half. I was welcomed back with that killer North East humidity and enjoyed a Pittsburgh Pirates baseball game, a day at Kennywood Park, 4 days of quality time with relatives at our family's cabin in the Laurel Highlands, just an hour outside of Pittsburgh. [Heading to Pittsburgh? Check out these ideas for what to do in Pittsburgh!] We even drove the 10 hours to and from Evansville, Indiana, to visit my Grandma Sally who was nearly 99 years old. It was wonderful to see her, hear her voice and hilarious comments, and hug her again.

Thankfully we made the trip to see her because she passed away just a week later. Our old gal was 9 days short of her 99th birthday! She was as tough as nails and lived a full and long life. To honor her life and be with family, I visited Pittsburgh for the second time in a month!

Some things that I didn't get to do during my first visit were accomplished during the second trip to Pittsburgh. Soon you'll be up to speed on Kennywood Park, our infamous summer hangout and theme park, plus what to ride, eat, and drink there. I'm putting together another Fav 5 Pittsburgh post for you, as well, to cover some of the best spots in "tahn" as we'd say there. So many requests for Primanti Brothers Sandwiches after the first Pittsburgh recap, sorry yinz guys!

Pittsburgh, the City of Bridges

Now we're back in Seattle for the only truly hot part of the year. It's generally warm here all summer but the temperature truly heats up for just a few weeks in August. That time is now. Plus, we've got smoke from fires in Canada, our friendly neighbor to the North, clogging up our skies so we're way out of our comfort zone. 

Seattle's Pike Place Market with so much smoke in the air from Canada's wildfires

While it's not the best time in Seattle for humans without air-conditioning, my garden and fig tree have loved the heat.

The zucchini that was awaiting us in our garden was giant. That's a pint glass next to it! We sliced and grilled half of it and made zoodles/spiralized the other half.

Our first zucchini from the garden for 2017

The figs on our tree are almost ready! I picked three yesterday. Like Goldilox's porridge, one was too ripe (left), one was underripe (middle), and the third (right) I'm waiting to try today.

The first figs of the year from our tree

I'm looking forward to the cooler temps and clear skies in Seattle, eating plenty of figs, and anticipating future flights.