As per usual, Jordan and I ran the gauntlet this Christmas. We spend Christmas Eve with the Patton side of the family in Covington. This year, it was Vicky, Henry, Meghan, Tom, Jordan and I. Following dinner we drove to my parent’s house in Norcross. We woke up there on Christmas morning and opened presents. We then drove back to Covington to open gifts and eat brunch, then headed back to Norcross for dinner. It is always a crazy time, but we really enjoy getting to do the most important parts with both families (Christmas morning and the main meal of the day). We were, per usual, totally spoiled and received far more than we deserve. We got to spend some good quality time with our families (except Kristen and James, who had to stay in St. Louis). After dinner at my parent’s house, Rachel’s boyfriend (Tyler) and his sister (Marissa) came over and joined us for some board games. So an exhausting, but worth it, 24 hours! The fun was not over, as I headed to Aberdeen with my family the next day!
Monday, March 8, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
December Adventure
So for those of you who followed me so that I could enter a competition: thank you! I didn’t reach the threshold of 12 followers, so I could not enter, but I appreciate your support regardless.
I have been intending to update for a while, but did not realize how sloppy I had been until I received an email from Kristen: “I think it is time for your quarterly update.” Hmmm. I’m getting a reputation. So much for keeping family and friends up to date on our life in Pittsburgh! Rather than update all at once, I am going to try and post about different things over the next couple of posts. That said, here is our December adventure.
Things since November 22 have been busy (surprise? I think not!) We did go to Atlanta for Thanksgiving and do all of the intended events, though not in the order listed. The weekend was over before we knew it and we flew straight back to Pittsburgh for an intense three weeks (two for Jordan) to complete our first semester here.
We left Pittsburgh on December 18 to head home for the holidays. By time we got to Charleston, WV, it had begun snowing. The weather got worse and worse until, about three and a half hours in, we had to stop altogether. We had been warned of several wrecks on the road when we went through a tollbooth after Charleston, so we assumed that the stop was related to a wreck. Boy, were we wrong! Four hours later, we were still sitting at the exact same spot. . You see, our car could handle the weather (having four-wheel drive), but many of the cars around us could not. Eventually, the truck in front of us decided to make a break for it and Jordan decided to follow him. Thank goodness we did! We got to the front of the line of traffic and the DOT representative told us to wait for the snow plough (about 10 minutes away) and to follow it down to exit 44 (Beckley, WV) where there were several motels. The roads were closed for the night, so we would get no further than exit 44. I used my iPhone to track down a couple of motels off of exit 44 and managed to find one with a room available. When we pulled off of the exit, we grabbed some food at the McDonalds (the first time I have eaten at McDonalds in years… literally, years) and then we saw it – a Courtyard by Marriott. From his short time as a consultant, Jordan learned to love Courtyards. According to him, they are the best mid-level hotel. So we checked to see if there was a room available (there was) and canceled our reservation at the other place. Good call Jordan – this hotel has a Starbucks , wireless internet and a gym!
The next day (December 19) we decided to make a break for it – there was a big Patton family event that evening that we really wanted to make it to. Every year, Jordan’s family does a Patton-Park-Little (PPL) Christmas dinner, which is always a really special evening. Jordan’s dad, who is a Doctor, has been in practice with two guys forever. They all have children virtually the same age. Jonathan, Jordan’s older brother, is the exception – he is the oldest and the others do not have children his age. Kristen, Jordan’s older sister, is ages with Will and Jessica, Jordan is ages with Henry and Seth, and Meghan is ages with Esther and Claire. These guys all grew up like siblings or really close cousins. As they have all gotten older, it has become more and more difficult for all of the “kids” to get together. Eight of the ten kids are married and only two (I think) of the ten still live in Covington. For Jordan, specifically, Seth and Henry are not only his oldest friends, but were also his best friends growing up. Henry and his wife, Dana, live in Covington and we got to see them occasionally when we lived in Atlanta. Seth and his wife, Rachel, however, have been living in Turkey and we have not seen them since they came to our wedding (June 2007). This year, Seth and Rachel would also be at PPL. All that to say, this annual tradition was something that we would not miss. Weather be damned.
But we did. Three hours later, we had driven (and sometimes slid) around but only got about three miles away. We called the Courtyard to make sure we could still get another room and retreated back to our comfortable hotel. We took a loooong nap, I went to the gym, and then we had dinner at IHOP (another place I had not eaten at in years!) The next morning (December 20) we finally got on the road and escaped southwards before another band of snow could ruin our plans!
We spent the next couple of days in Norcross with my family and the following couple of days in Covington with Jordan’s family. In the end, the snow cut our stay at home short, but it was honestly nice to be forced to do nothing for a couple of days. If we were in Pittsburgh, I would have been doing stuff around the house. If we were in Georgia, we would have been doing things with our families. Inconvenient? Yes. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Yes.
Our car the morning of December 19.
Jordan trying to free us from Beckley, WV.
Given up and heading to IHOP for diner!
I have been intending to update for a while, but did not realize how sloppy I had been until I received an email from Kristen: “I think it is time for your quarterly update.” Hmmm. I’m getting a reputation. So much for keeping family and friends up to date on our life in Pittsburgh! Rather than update all at once, I am going to try and post about different things over the next couple of posts. That said, here is our December adventure.
Things since November 22 have been busy (surprise? I think not!) We did go to Atlanta for Thanksgiving and do all of the intended events, though not in the order listed. The weekend was over before we knew it and we flew straight back to Pittsburgh for an intense three weeks (two for Jordan) to complete our first semester here.
We left Pittsburgh on December 18 to head home for the holidays. By time we got to Charleston, WV, it had begun snowing. The weather got worse and worse until, about three and a half hours in, we had to stop altogether. We had been warned of several wrecks on the road when we went through a tollbooth after Charleston, so we assumed that the stop was related to a wreck. Boy, were we wrong! Four hours later, we were still sitting at the exact same spot. . You see, our car could handle the weather (having four-wheel drive), but many of the cars around us could not. Eventually, the truck in front of us decided to make a break for it and Jordan decided to follow him. Thank goodness we did! We got to the front of the line of traffic and the DOT representative told us to wait for the snow plough (about 10 minutes away) and to follow it down to exit 44 (Beckley, WV) where there were several motels. The roads were closed for the night, so we would get no further than exit 44. I used my iPhone to track down a couple of motels off of exit 44 and managed to find one with a room available. When we pulled off of the exit, we grabbed some food at the McDonalds (the first time I have eaten at McDonalds in years… literally, years) and then we saw it – a Courtyard by Marriott. From his short time as a consultant, Jordan learned to love Courtyards. According to him, they are the best mid-level hotel. So we checked to see if there was a room available (there was) and canceled our reservation at the other place. Good call Jordan – this hotel has a Starbucks , wireless internet and a gym!
The next day (December 19) we decided to make a break for it – there was a big Patton family event that evening that we really wanted to make it to. Every year, Jordan’s family does a Patton-Park-Little (PPL) Christmas dinner, which is always a really special evening. Jordan’s dad, who is a Doctor, has been in practice with two guys forever. They all have children virtually the same age. Jonathan, Jordan’s older brother, is the exception – he is the oldest and the others do not have children his age. Kristen, Jordan’s older sister, is ages with Will and Jessica, Jordan is ages with Henry and Seth, and Meghan is ages with Esther and Claire. These guys all grew up like siblings or really close cousins. As they have all gotten older, it has become more and more difficult for all of the “kids” to get together. Eight of the ten kids are married and only two (I think) of the ten still live in Covington. For Jordan, specifically, Seth and Henry are not only his oldest friends, but were also his best friends growing up. Henry and his wife, Dana, live in Covington and we got to see them occasionally when we lived in Atlanta. Seth and his wife, Rachel, however, have been living in Turkey and we have not seen them since they came to our wedding (June 2007). This year, Seth and Rachel would also be at PPL. All that to say, this annual tradition was something that we would not miss. Weather be damned.
But we did. Three hours later, we had driven (and sometimes slid) around but only got about three miles away. We called the Courtyard to make sure we could still get another room and retreated back to our comfortable hotel. We took a loooong nap, I went to the gym, and then we had dinner at IHOP (another place I had not eaten at in years!) The next morning (December 20) we finally got on the road and escaped southwards before another band of snow could ruin our plans!
We spent the next couple of days in Norcross with my family and the following couple of days in Covington with Jordan’s family. In the end, the snow cut our stay at home short, but it was honestly nice to be forced to do nothing for a couple of days. If we were in Pittsburgh, I would have been doing stuff around the house. If we were in Georgia, we would have been doing things with our families. Inconvenient? Yes. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Yes.
Our car the morning of December 19.
Jordan trying to free us from Beckley, WV.
Given up and heading to IHOP for diner!
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