I had the great pleasure of judging the Addys in Pittsburgh over the weekend. It was my first trip to the big city, so I thought I’d quickly share 10 things I learned while there!

1. The first three people I talked to had a connection to SC. One was to the City of Columbia, one to Clemson University and one to the University of South Carolina. And so many people talked about our beaches – Pawley’s Island was a hot topic.

2. The city explodes out of a tunnel. This was very cool and should be experienced at night.

3. It is cold.

4. Pittsburgh is a haven for sports enthusiasts. And it’s sports of all kinds. I even learned about the Canadian board game Crokinole from a young woman at dinner who curls. As in curling. And I’m not talking about her hair.

5. At night, it is really cold.

6. I didn’t find an accent here. This was a surprise.

7. The downtown area was described to me as the same shape as a piece of pie. This goes right along with all the food I ate. Sheesh. I might have gained five pounds in three days.

8. The people are so nice. You kind of think the South owns warm and hospitable. Wrong.

9. Did you know the Steelers have more super bowl wins than any other NFL team? I heard this more than once.

10. Brand new snow shovels were everywhere. Each one stood beside a bucket inside every place of business. It was like a number of flags had been planted to announce that winter has finally commenced.

Hope to go back again sometime… when it’s warmer!