A Chance to Meet an Important Man in Mary’s Life

It’s a Saturday morning, I’ve already been to the gym, and I’m in that good mood that comes with a view of nothing but vacation ahead. We’re going on a road trip: first to Park Slope, Brooklyn to visit Mary’s son and daughter in law, and then Sunday, a long drive to Pittsburgh, PA.

I haven’t driven the vast length of Pennsylvania since a roadtrip as a teen, when we drove nonstop from New Jersey all the way to Gary Indiana. I remember thinking how long and large Pennsylvania was, it seemed like the biggest state I’d ever traversed. Our reasons for this visit are simple. I want to meet Jim Cunningham, Mary’s father.

He’s the proud parent of ten children, some of whom are still in Pittsburgh, and others who have settled around the country. I think it’s important to meet the man who my sweetheart Mary is so proud of, with whom she talks on the phone regularly, and so we set off. It might be a bit of a long drive, but in the long run, meeting the man in person is important to me.

We’ll also be experimenting with a really neat concept–we’ve rented an apartment through Airbnb, a service that connects apartment owners with people looking for hotel-like accommodations. The website has become a huge success, with a billion-dollar plus valuation….we wrote about them four years ago when they were just a start-up. I will be writing an article about the rental experience and enjoying a little holiday in the city of three rivers next week.