A Christmas Family Road Trip Across Pennsylvania

On December 23rd we departed on a whirlwind road trip across Pennsylvania. It was quick, beautiful, and joyous!

“They say the Grinch’s heart grew three sizes that day”

I am not the Grinch, but I do think that this trip refilled the reservoir of my heart. I will draw on these memories and feelings during times when I am feeling parched.

The details: This year we traveled over 845 miles around Pennsylvania from the Lehigh Valley in the east to Bedford and into the Allegheny Mountains to North Huntington and New Kensington just outside of Pittsburgh in the west and north to Erie, PA. Then we traveled back home across interstate 80 in one marathon session to the Lehigh Valley. We saw many of the regions of Pennsylvania.

How was the weather?: In short the weather was overcast but not cold. There was no snow on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. During the short hike that I took through my aunt’s backyard, I thought to myself, why it feels more like a sloppy, damp March day today than Christmas Eve.

How was the weather across the state?: We had the opportunity to observe the weather and snow coverage across the state. We learned that southern Pennsylvania was by and large free of snow (except around Somerset County) on both the eastern part of the state and the western part.

Contrary to what I have always believed, this year, western PA had higher temperatures during the time while we were away. I had aways thought eastern PA was the warmer part of the state. Not always true.

Fun weather fact: We also observed the most snow coverage on ground while traveling on I-80, in the middle part of the state, especially around the Clearfield, PA area. I always get a little nervous traveling on I-80 across the state because Mr. Katie and I do not always have the best weather luck while driving on it. In the past, we have encountered both scary blizzardy conditions and torrential rain while driving on it. This time there were zero problems while driving it.

Did you have a great trip?: In a word: YES! It was a very special holiday where we had the opportunity to see lots of family and participate in multiple family gatherings. We are so grateful to everyone who hosted us and helped make our holidays so special. This trip really filled our buckets with love. Truly. Since arriving home, I spent a day just glowing with happiness from the trip. Then I have started to get a little bit grumpy but by preparing this blog and remembering the good feelings and good will, I have drawn power from the power of this trip.

Here are the some pictures from the trip:

We visited my father’s favorite Chinese Buffet in Bedford, PA as we made our way across the state. The restaurant gifted us a 2025 bamboo wall scroll calendar that we plan to hang in our house. Afterwards, we drove to St. John the Baptist New Baltimore to visit my parent’s grave .

Here is the view of my parent’s church and the Allegheny Mountains from their grave.

Then we arrived at our hotel, which was located closer to the holiday gatherings that we were attending in Westmoreland County.

Here is a picture of our stockings hung with care in our hotel room.

We hung out in my sister’s Liz’s room during much of our three night stay in Westmoreland County. She generously agreed to host the hanging-out-room in her King-Suite room. We loved it! There were three hotel rooms full of family members staying at our hotel and more family in the local area who visited the hotel.

Here are three guys hanging out on a couch.

On Christmas Eve, we visited my grandparent’s grave and laid some more flowers. We also visited my aunt and cousin at their house not far from the graveyard, which is the same house where my father and his siblings grew up.

After that, we got dressed for our Christmas Eve festivities.

Here are some pictures from my Aunt Heidi and Uncle Jim’s Christmas Eve party. Their house was decorated for Christmas to the nines.

The food spread was also great and the company was excellent.

Their downstairs bathroom even had a Christmas shower curtains and Christmas lights.

Santa must have known that we weren’t at home and delivered presents to our hotel room.

Later that day, we traveled to my sister Jenny and brother-in-law Jonathan’s house for a lovely Christmas celebration. They also know how to pull out all the stops for Christmas! We had a great time eating food, playing games, and enjoying the ambience and each other.

They also decorated the outside of their house beautifully for Christmas. Uncle Jonathan also showed us his motorcycle upon request from Nugget.

Later that evening we hung out at our hotel. Some of family enjoyed Chinese food on Christmas Day just like in the movie The Christmas Story.

It was a great Christmas!

Later this week, I hope to share with you some more pictures from the Erie lag of our trip.

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