About 10 days after he turning one, Xavier and I took a three month vacation and travelled around the USA. None of it was sponsored or covered by any travel companies. Not much of it was preplanned. It was one of those -go with your gut- kind of trips… a bit crazy given that I was traveling with a baby, but definitely one of the best things I’ve ever experienced. To begin with, I spent a while with him in Los Angeles… took road trips to Vegas with people I love… we flew to Florida to see family, but today I want to share something I hold dear about our 2 weeks in Pittsburgh.

I’ve written about Pittsburgh before. A few times actually. I spent 6 months here with the hopes of living in the US when I was 22. And as you probably already gather, I’ve been back for a million different reasons every year since. While California is the usual destination, Pittsburgh always tugs on my heart strings.

We arrived at the very end of summer. The seasons shift quickly in Pittsburgh, and it’s one of the only places in the world where I’ve been blessed to experience all four seasons, in all its gloom and glory. On this trip, we spent most of our time with my awesome cousin Aleen, her wonderful husband Paul and two kids George and Grace. When Aleen asked what was on my wish list for this trip, all I really had in mind were two things; Pitaland, and to take Xavier to a pumpkin patch. Well, Aleen planned an afternoon that completely exceeded my expectation of taking a photo of Xavier in a simple pumpkin patch.

We took a short trip from Aleen’s place to Simmons Farm, and the drive in was glorious. We arrived at about 4pm. The tired sun rested gently on the hills that seemed to stretch for days . It looked and felt like something out of a movie. Aleen told me it was beautiful, and I believed her - but experiencing it was incredibly grounding. We spent a little over an hour picking fresh apples and enjoying everything that this gorgeous property had to offer.

People always ask me why I visit the States so much. My time spent in Pittsburgh on this trip pretty much captured the answer.

It feels like home.