An (Almost) White Christmas

It's basically a fact that we will never have a "white" Christmas here in Louisiana.

However, last week/weekend I had the opportunity to go to Pittsburgh and was able to experience a white "almost" Christmas!

Day 1: Drove 17.5 hours from Louisiana to Pittsburgh, PA in a Prius.  Needless to say, I needed to stretch my legs desperately.  We first saw snow in West Virginia (same as last year)

Once in Pittsburgh, there was even more snow on the ground! We went out to dinner (courtesy of my parent's gift cards) and bought some last minute cold weather essentials--like gloves and headbands. (That's when I knew it was going to be a great weekend)

Day 2: We woke up to SNOW!! Lots and lots of snow --on the ground and in the air!

We drove. in the snow. super scary. don't do it.

We were lucky enough not to have hit any ice--but we thought about it EVERY TIME we went up and down a steep hill. I do not know how people drive in the mountains! Finding the covered bridges in Pittsburgh's countryside was probably my most favorite part of the whole weekend. When we got to the first one, it was snowing a lot and the scenery was magical. We proceeded to play in the snow and made our way downtown to  explore IN THE SNOW! Did I mention it was snowing!? We visited an "urban winery" in the heart of Pittsburgh which was very cool--Pittsburgh Winery is definitely a place to check out.(hello, free wine tasting) That night, we visited the Phipp's Conservatory and saw all of the pretty Christmas lights and displays they had. We also tried our luck at the River's Casino and didn't do too bad.

Day 3:  This day was dedicated to what Josh wanted to do (and arguably the whole reason we even came to Pittsburgh) The NFL Steeler's Game (which they won--thank goodness). I became famous on twitter, froze my butt off (apparently three+ layers are not enough), and then froze even more. The game was fun and we had better seats than we did last year--but it was the COLDEST game ever. Even the locals sitting next to us were sympathizing with us and agreed that this was the coldest game they've ever been to. My water bottle FROZE in the cup holder. Yea it was COLD.

Day 4: Monday, we almost couldn't find anything to do! We did everything we could think of--next time we will have to come with more of a plan. We explored more of downtown, went ice skating, checked out a brewery inside an old church (way cool), and ate at a restaurant on top of Mt. Washington overlooking the whole city! So it wasn't a boring day at all. There's always something different and interesting to do!

Day 5: Drove 17.5 hours away from the snow and back to Louisiana. Least favorite day. EVER. Especially since we woke up at 3:30 am to drive back.

Pretty sure I've said this before, but for real..Next year we are FLYING!

Because I Said So!!!!!

Snow in West Virginia!

Freezing at the Steelers Game!

Pittsburgh Winery visit

Phipp's Conservatory

I tweeted this picture of the city and it got retweeted by the Weather Channel and I was asked if it could be used on NBC Nightly News!! #famousstatus

Ice Skating--lasted for about 5 mins--it was in the 20s that day

Church Works Brewery inside of an old church--it was said that the priest of the church used to come for a beer every week after the church closed.