Since Adam is already taking a week off from his new job for vacation in CA, we decided that we would leave after work on Friday. We would hit the road right around Chase's bedtime... he would be tired and sleep the whole way up... then we would transfer him to the pack and play.
Perfect plan.
Imperfect kid.
He didn't fall asleep.
The. Whole. Trip.
There was one point where his eyes were drowsy... then BAM! We hit the Allegheny Mountain tunnel and the wonderful strobe light effect from the lights assaulted Chase's senses and he was up for the rest of the journey.
Not to mention the fact that the normal '3 hour PA turnpike' trip turned into a '4 hour PA turnpike construction free for all'.
This is the last thing you want to see when you have a tired but not sleeping baby in the car.
Probably one of the most ridiculous things to happen on this leg of the trip was when we missed one turn off... one stinkin exit ramp. Jill (our Garmin voice) says 'keep left', 'keep left', 'keep left' until we are right next to the ramp and she changed her tune and screamed 'bear right'. Ok, she may not have screamed it but I swear there was malice in her voice. So we take the wrong exit and wait for Jill to bail us out... which she tries to do by shouting non-existent streets to turn on. Seriously, 3 streets she tells us to turn right on... not a single one was there. We are currently headed into an unknown area in Pittsburgh at 11pm. Eventually we come to a forced left turn... so we turn and, in what can only be described as herding cattle, we are forced into the Rivers Casino garage. Now I have heard people talking about being 'sucked into gambling' but this was on a whole new level.
Adam made a quick and illegal u-turn before we hit the turn styles and yet again we find ourselves in downtown Pittsburgh. Finally, after half listening to Jill and half going on common sense, we leave downtown and are back on the road to the burbs.
Stupid missed exit.
At this point Chase is actually lamenting "Chase night night" from his car seat. The poor kid is begging to go to sleep. That has never happened.
We finally get to Spencer and Jessica's... I swear I heard a chorus of "Hallelujah" in the background.
Once the pack and play was set up, I cuddled with Chase to calm him down a little... you know, maybe sing a song or 2. After about 30 seconds in my arms he looks up at me, takes the paci from his mouth and says 'packnplay'. I hesitate because he can't possibly be asking for what I think he is asking for. He repeats himself. So I kiss him on the head, lay him down and walk out the door.
I didn't hear from him until 7:15 the next morning.
Love it.
The next morning we were treated to homemade pancakes with an apple and raisin compote topping... thanks Jessica!
Then we set off to see the Pittsburgh sites.
We putzed around The Strip for a while... checking out the fun things it has to offer.
Such as a huge fish tank at the market...
Wonderful little (and not so little) shops filled with coffee, spices, food, trinkets...
you name it, they had it.
Chase was a little out of sorts being that he got about 4 hours less sleep than normal so he rode close to mom...
Which was more than ok with me. I love having him this close ;~)
We went to lunch at a fantastic Thai restaurant called Thai Cuisine. If you are ever in town, I highly recommend it!
Chase had his first taste of Pad Thai (boring I know but I love it!)
After lunch we went home to put Chase down for a nap... we still had the meeting to make it through that night. Surely he needed sleep.
We spent an hour and a half trying to get him to sleep with absolutely no luck. Not even a glimmer of sleeping occurred. Well that isn't entirely true. Adam and I were both passing out in between dealing with Chase.
Alrighty then... 4 hours missing sleep, no nap and sitting through a meeting. This should be easy.
He wasn't an angel but he wasn't horrible either. We ended up out in the hall... far enough so Chase wouldn't totally disrupt the meeting but close enough where I could still hear.
I didn't capture the majestic-ness of this church but trust me... it's awesome. It sits on a very high hill and when you are at the top, you basically have a 360 degree view. It's breathtaking... quite literally if you have a spirited and agile almost 2 year old ;~)
After the meeting we decided to grab a bite to eat... Chase had other plans. He passed out in the car on the way there... quite literally passed out. Didn't wake when I turned the car off, didn't wake when Daddy kissed him goodnight and didn't wake when we got home and slammed the car doors. He did wake for the walk in but only long enough to get a new diaper, get pj's on, say hi to the cat and then he was out again.
For the second night in a row he went to bed, in the pack and play, without fight or complaint. I am feeling much better about a week in CA now.
Sunday morning was nice and relaxed... we didn't hear from Chase until 8:15.
Some quality time with Daddy.
Chase making himself at home. Pulled his chair over here all by himself, sat down and had his morning milk and oatmeal right here.
And of course some morning Elmo TD (that's Elmo TV for those who don't speak Chase)
Our wonderful hosts checking out a video on my blog... and whenever Chase is on the computer, he has to be watching... the kid likes himself.
We set out for a morning stroll around the neighborhood...
where we ran into...
a squirrel having breakfast directly over our heads. He couldn't have been more than 8 feet away and he was just happily chomping on nuts while we stared at him. As Adam remarked "that hardly ever happens".
After our walk we headed to Primanti Brothers for lunch. If you haven't heard of this place you may want to click HERE or HERE to get a better idea.
The basic gist is that they serve their sandwiches with fries and coleslaw in the sandwich.
Spencer likes to cover his with hot sauce ;~)
I was skeptical at first but after the first bite... I was a believer. Yet another place to go if you are ever in town!
Primanti Brothers are also extremely welcoming ;~)
After lunch we hit the road and thankfully we got this...
for over an hour. That is quite a feat since he normally sleeps for 30-45 minutes in the car... over an hour was nothing short of a miracle.
Thankfully the rest of the trip home was uneventful. We dropped everything in the dining room and proceeded to do whatever Chase wanted to do... he deserved a little quality time ;~) Then dinner, bath and bedtime.
And bedtime is calling me. 'Mamah night night'.
2 comments:
I thought Pittsburg was the friendliest city, and I LOVE Primanti Bros. Mmm. I could go for one of thier sandwiches now. Glad you guys had a good time and made it home safely!
Such cute pictures! Our Garmin can lead us astray sometimes too. What is up with that? LOL.
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