Fall Splendor in the city: Pittsburgh

We had a lovely visit with my husbands sis and her family last weekend..The weather was perfect.  We traveled and showed them a lot of the city, checked out the Columbus Day Parade, ate some great Italian Food at Enrico Biscotti in the Strip District and drove up to Mt. Washington and enjoyed the fabulous view..Sharing time with your family is so important and we loved having them visit..We hope they'll make it a yearly tradition..

Parade in Bloomfield

Check out the Sister's of the Poor..they were in it as well..

Some of the parade watchers

Lots of Biscotti..

Excellent rating for a nice lunch

If course Fettucini and meatballs with fresh Italian bread!!!

Out to dinner while vacationing with the family!

She's a good sport!

We were on a mini vacation with our grandchildren..We do a "no parents" allowed trip with them and we totally enjoy it..They like to dine casually and we like to take them for some more upscale dinners so we balance it and do a little of each..Our dining experience this trip wasn't what we expected..  Poor service and the quality of the food was mediocre..so we won't visit this restaurant again..  Even the usual cafe we frequent was disappointing..Too bad!

This year the weather co-operated and we did lots..  Paddle boat, mini golf, ping pong,swimming and fishing are just a few of the things we did..

The grounds at this resort were beautiful..and fishing turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip. ..They couldn't wait to go but once we got there and someone had to bait the hook..no one wanted to do it..  All encouraged the other when they saw those huge night crawler's ..Not me I told them for sure!  I'm laughing as I write about this..Our oldest granddaughter stepped up to the plate(she's not only beautiful but such a good sport) and then the oldest grandson decided he could do it..and all got their poles ready to go.  Unfortunately not a fish was caught but some great laugh out memories for sure!  Can't wait until next year!!!!

Visiting Tennessee!

What a week to visit ...Hot hot hot!!! but in spite of the hot temperatures we enjoyed the Smoky Mountains and the surrounding areas..Over one half million acres of beautiful land; spectacular rock formations, waterfalls and a lot of history to absorb..We  managed to see a whole lot.. We had wanted to go to Dollywood but with the heat opted out for this visit..One of the days we packed a picnic lunch and relaxed by a beautiful brook and waterfall..Nature at its finest..  Shopped and dined at some great restaurants.  Since food is on the top of my list we looked forward to trying some places we had never dined..and enjoyed the food and some refreshing drinks..Here are a few of the meals we enjoyed...I have to admit that most of them weren't the healthiest choices but we were on vacation..Good excuse, right?

Fried grouper!!!

This bread was fantastic..Coarse salt brushed on top..Reminded me of a soft pretzel

Barbeque spare ribs

Pizza at Mellow Mushroom!! yummy..multi grain pizza dough

Coconut cream pie with graham cracker crust