after a fun weekend out of town (and a ton of driving), there is definitely something to be said about being home! we had a great weekend and the weather couldn't have helped more in making the weekend an even bigger success! the sunny days yesterday and today were just gorgeous and made the long drive (and main reason for not having been back to iup in 8 years) much more enjoyable.
we pulled off of mayer street around 7 a.m. and made a quick stop at giant to load up on children's motrin and tylenol for tony who spiked a high fever through the night. after that little snag in the plan, we were off, tony (still in his pj's) and determined to have a good time at the wedding he's been talking about all week.
after one stop, we arrived at iup, only to find out that it was the culmination of a week long celebration leading up to indiana, pa's hometown boy, the late jimmy stewart's 100th birthday...a huge, huge, huge deal for the indiana residents and an unexpected treat for the d'angelo's.
we enjoyed a great lunch uptown at the coney, walked philly street and "visited" some old haunts, took in some of the js b-day celebration and then headed to campus for a visit to the oak grove and to check out some of the changes that have occured since i was last there.
it was wonderful to be able to share the oak grove and the beautiful (very quiet this time of year...graduation was 2 weeks ago) campus with tony and john. at one point, t said to me, "mama, i like your school...it's nice". it was very cute. we were also able to view the new world trade center memorial in the oak grove. there were several iup alumnus that lost their lives in the towers on 9/11 (many worked at cantor fitgerald). standing tall in the oak grove is now a piece of the twisted metal from one of the towers with a plaque, dedicated on 9/11/02 (one year after the attacks) to those that lost their lives. it's quite amazing to see it that close.
we loaded into the car and continued on our road trip to greensburg, pa to check in to the hotel and get ready for doreen and paul's wedding. we had a great time, and it was nice to share in this special day in d&p's new life together! it's been a long road to get there, and i know i can speak for all of our friend's that we couldn't be happier for doreen as she has truly found her prince ! emotions were definitely high as we watched her on her father's arm walking down the aisle.
everyone had fun at the reception. tony was excellent for being "sick", although he wasn't as into the dancing as he normally would have been and was content to dance while being held by either myself or john (and watch the pretty little girls in their dresses from the sidelines) before crashing in his stroller for the remainder of the reception and heading upstairs to our room for the night.
on our ride home this afternoon, we thought it appropriate this memorial day weekend to stop at the united flight 93 memorial site in shanksville, somerset county to pay tribute to those brave people who stopped the terrorists from sending the plane down in dc and instead into this empty field, thereby limiting the casualties to themselves only.
we personally did not know anyone connected to the 9/11 attacks, however you can't help but be overcome with emotions when you see the field and the items left behind by loved ones for those close to them they've lost. the national parks registry has the typed out transcripts of the phone conversations many of them had with the 911 dispatchers...just a few words into i was unable to continue.
we hope everyone enjoys the rest of their long holiday weekend and hope that in the midst of rushing from one picnic to the next, you are able to stop and take a moment to thank all those people who have left their families and loved ones to fight and then lost their lives so that we may continue to live ours. happy memorial day!
click here to view the full album of photos from our weekend! enjoy!
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