Off we go.....

Keith and I are leaving tomorrow after work to head to Pennsylvania to visit his family. With the football team having a bye week this weekend, this was a perfect weekend to get away. It will be nice to spend some time with Keith's family and to get in some rest and relaxation time.

Keith grew up in a town called Indian Head, which is in southwest PA about an hour south of Pittsburgh. His aunt and uncle currently live in the house that he grew up in and that is where we are going to stay. His mom is going to come to Indian Head from Somerset, PA where she lives. It will be really good to see them all and to catch up on the happenings in everyone's lives.

A few things we are going to do while we are up there are:

• We are going into the city of Pittsburgh on Thursday. We are going to visit the University of Pittsburgh campus (where Keith got his Masters degrees). Hopefully I will finally be able to see the Heinz Chapel that Keith has been telling me about for 3 years. I haven't been able to see it up until now because the only time we have been up there for an extended period of time is around Christmas and New Year's and it's always been closed. I know that he has been looking forward to showing it to me and I am excited to finally see it. (Side note - he was planning on proposing to me in the Chapel in January 2006 when we were on our way back home from visiting his family, but my engagement ring - which he had special ordered - wasn't ready before we left for the trip. He also really wanted to get married in that Chapel but of course, since we were living in Richmond at the time, it made more sense to get married there.)

• We are also going to have dinner with an old friend of Keith's while we are in Pittsburgh. Liz and Keith were in library school together at Pitt and they have maintained contact for the past 10 years. I first met Liz & her husband at our wedding and then we had lunch with her when we were up in PA for the holidays last year. After lunch, we went back to her house and hung out with her and her husband and met her kids (she has three children who are in their late teens/early twenties). We had a lot of fun spending time with them last year and I am very much looking forward to seeing her again.

• On Saturday, Keith's aunt Kay is having a "Thanksgiving Dinner" for the family since we will not be able to be there on Thanksgiving Day. Keith's cousin, her husband and her two teenage kids will be joining us for dinner. In addition to the yummy food that we are going to have, I am also looking forward to the conversation, laughter and fun that we are going to have while we are all together. Keith's cousin's husband is a HUGE game fanatic. He loves to play cards or a board game or anything! So, no doubt we will be playing something fun and having a great time.

• On our way home on Sunday, Keith and I are going to stop at the Jean Bonnet Tavern in Bedford, PA. The Tavern is a place that Keith has been telling me about ever since we started dating. It is nothing fancy but a restaurant that Keith really likes. Every time we pass by it on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, we say we should stop, but for one reason or another, we don't. So, this time, in celebration of our actual 1st anniversary on Sunday, we are going to stop at the Tavern and have dinner. It's another thing I am looking forward to and I am sure it's going to be great!

Now, I have to get off this computer so I can finish doing laundry and get all packed up. It should be a fun and interesting adventure. I will blog when we get back and hopefully have fun stories to tell.

I hope everyone has a great weekend!