While I love seeing the Mettenburgs, I placed a moratorium on visiting them in the winter months years ago after getting trapped in their driveway multiple times (a minivan is no match for the snow and steepness that is Pittsburgh between late October and early March). While this limits our trips to just late spring and summer months, it does make it for a lovely break when driving to Iowa in the summer.
Usually we spend 2-weeks in Iowa during the summer, but given Allen's limited vacation leave and no longer having Casa Zimmerman at our disposal, we only booked an Airbnb for seven days in the homeland. This meant, however, that we were able to spend a few days in Pittsburgh hanging out with Joe, Cate and the rest of the crew.
We got in late Friday afternoon – shortly after Joe finished work. We hung out for a while and were then joined by Elise Pearson, who was working in Pittsburgh while the rest of her family was in the DMV. Elise stayed for dinner so we were able to spend several hours catching up before crashing. It rained for most of the day Saturday, which leant itself to a leisurely breakfast, a series of games and cat naps.
When we originally reached out to the Mettenburgs about visiting, they suggested several potential activities for Saturday evening. Noa immediately shut down Picklesburgh – they have an irrational hatred of all things brined. However, we were all intrigued by the prospect of seeing Danny Elfman perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. And while attending meant circumventing pickle enthusiasts who'd been reveling in dill all day and navigating a packed and under construction parking garage (props to Gigi for driving the kids and finding a spot first), it was all worth it to hear pieces from Batman, Beetlejuice and Milk, as well as see Elfman perform live, The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The next morning, we packed up the van, said our goodbye, and smoothly exited the Mettenburgs' driveway before making our way to Iowa.
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