PHX - DSM - PIT - DTW

I left for Phoenix on 3/21. It was Kylie's birthday and I didn't need any excuse to get back to the warmth! That night, we went to dinner at Taco Guild with her parents and her sister, Jena, who was in town. It was a fun night with the Murray's!

On Saturday, Kylie and I got up early to watch the Iowa women's first round game before we were off for a girls day with massages at the Verde River Golf and Social Club - Spa, and pool time with some much needed Vitamin D! The Iowa women won and so did we!

Girls day at Verde River Golf and Social Club

In true Kylie and Dylan fashion, we bellied up at Barstool in Scottsdale for some March Madness games on Sunday. They always treat us right at the 'Stool!

Kylie flew out for work on Monday so I had her place to myself until I left on Thursday. It's always a comfy spot and I took it easy and worked some long hours that week before leaving for Des Moines. 

I took off for Des Moines on the 27th as we had our work "Connection Week" the following week. I didn't have a ton of free time for get togethers with a busy work week but I was able to see a few people and hit a few of my old favorites. My first stop after dropping my bags was heading to Bubba for a Des Moines IPA. I also stopped in for dinner later on the trip at Jesse's Embers before the new ownership took place on April 7. I was able to hit a few other favorite spots and even had a home-cooked meal thanks to the Lacy's. I was also grateful to see my parents who came down for dinner on my last night. As always, I did a terrible job taking pictures, but managed to get one at the Saddle!

I got in to Des Moines on Thursday evening and stayed in a guest suite at my old condo building. It was great being back but I want to stay again when it's pool weather! On Sunday, I moved to Hotel Fort Des Moines for the week for work. Our Connection Week allows employees to travel to Des Moines two specific times a year since we are a mostly remote company although headquartered in Des Moines. Connection Week usually includes a town hall with the CEO, a lot of in person meetings, and fun social events. It's always an exhausting yet energizing week!

Volunteer group at DMARC in Des Moines

Just as nice as it was being back, I was excited to hit the road again! On Friday, I left for Pittsburgh. I have a random list of cities I'm visiting in April but most revolve around where the Yankees are playing. I've been a Yankees fan my whole life but haven't done the best job following them in recent years. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to catch some games.

Why am I a Yankees fan? My great grandfather on my mom's side was a big Yankees fan and that was passed down to the rest of us in the family - uncles, cousins, etc. I got rid of a ton of memorabilia over the last handful of years, but I hung on to my great grandfather's Yankees hat and wore it to the game in Pittsburgh and will wear it to the other games I'm able to make it to. He was born in 1912 and passed in 1991 so I'm honored to wear the hat.

My uncle Steve passed away this past summer from pancreatic cancer. He was also a huge Yankees fan and there were a lot of Yankees shirts at his celebration of life. I wasn't able to make it to the celebration, but I'll be thinking of him each game I attend. 

I love going to ballparks and PNC is probably my favorite I've been to before (besides old Yankees Stadium). The view of the city is unlike any other park.

PNC Park

It was fun to get back to Pittsburgh. I have been back a few times since, but I lived there back in 2008 for about 8 months while I was a development director during the 2008 campaign. We helped deliver the biggest margin of victory in a presidential election in Pennsylvania since 1972! Liz recruited me for the job after we worked together in Iowa during the Caucuses. We were outsiders in Pittsburgh and didn't have the institutional knowledge to get respect, but we had a good time!

Dylan and Liz at Shadow Lounge - 2008   

I met some amazing friends while I lived in Pittsburgh and was able to see my friend Alex at the Pirates game for a quick second before I had to bounce to new seats! I haven't seen Alex since the 2016 Rose Bowl in Pasadena and need to do a better job of planning ahead to connect!

Dylan and Alex at the Rose Bowl - 2016

The weather was rainy and cold so I didn't get excited to get out and about too much. I stayed at an Airbnb in the neighborhood (Shadyside) where I used to live and also very close to where I worked. 

When I lived in Pittsburgh, I worked in East Liberty and it was just starting to be gentrified. It was a big discussion point with those in the city and neighborhood at the time. 

It's different, but some things were the same. When I got to my old office building, the block to the east was different and included a Target at the end of the block. Looking to the west, not much had changed and I loved it. I was just happy to walk around and reminisce!

My old office building in Pittsburgh

I don't know how, but I totally forgot about the french fries in Pittsburgh so that was my quest vs. lasagna on this trip once I finally went out for dinner. Every place serves hand cut fries and they are amazing! The fries remind me of Raccoon River Brewing Company in Des Moines which closed 10 years ago in March and is now Bubba. The yinzers don't mess around with their fries or their ketchup - it's Heinz-only in Pittsburgh!

I also saw a Pittsburgh Left which is iconic!

When going into a different city, I have a list of things I'd like to do. I feel like I was able to get through a couple of the top things on my Pittsburgh list but there certainly wasn't enough time.

I'm currently writing from Detroit as I planned to catch another Yankees game here. The games were during the day on Monday - Wednesday. I got in about 2:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday so I didn’t have a ton of wiggle room and my work schedule ended up not allowing me to make a game...so here I am in Detroit!

Sunny Detroit

My friend David is from Detroit originally and will be in town for the weekend so I'm looking forward to checking out this new city with an experienced tour guide!

After being in Des Moines, I had a lot of questions asked of me so I'm working on a Q&A that I'll share soon. Next stop is back to some warmth and heading to St. Pete to try and catch the Yankees down there