Hello Tater Nation! It’s felt so long since I’ve written a blog but Tater Twin #1 is officially back (Jess and I have an inside joke and she calls herself Tater Twin 1.0)! I was pretty busy on the off season and spent three weeks in South America, one week in Hawaii, and one week in Arizona with my grandparents. The rest of the time was spent in Boise with friends, family, and my four dogs. It was nice getting to settle back into normal life for a while (if that’s what you want to call it), but I was itching to get back on the road again a few months before the start of the tour! It’s been so great being back, and we couldn’t have started the tour off better than with our visit to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina.
After an early St. Patrick’s Day Parade in HHI, we headed to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for their St. Patrick’s Day Parade! We made stops in High Point, NC and Charleston, WV before getting into Pittsburgh a few days before the parade. We also had some visitors! Idaho Potato Commissioners, Dan Nakamura and Richey Noevs who were accompanied by their wives Collette and Joanne, came to participate in the parade with us! The day before the parade, we explored the city which included visiting the ship district, holy whalers market, market square, point state park, and taking a trip up the monongahela incline! We ended the day with dinner at an old roman church turned restaurant and were joined by Sue Kennedy and boyfriend Ted. It was a wonderful day and evening getting to know everyone more.
The next day, the parade started at 10 a.m. and went through the middle of downtown Pittsburgh! We were one of over 200 parade participants in the country’s second largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade! Our spud was a HUGE hit and we handed out free Idahoan® mashed potatoes along the route. The whole parade lasted 3.5 hours and had tens of thousands of spectators. Fans were ecstatic and the parade coordinator told us the Big Idaho Potato was the best thing to come to Pittsburgh in a long time. We were the talk of the town and were mentioned on the local news stations, online, and all over social media. It was a great turnout and provided a lot of exposure for the tour and Idaho Potatoes!
Once the parade was over, we met up with our potato peeps and enjoyed dinner in downtown to celebrate a great weekend! The Tater Team wants to thank the Pittsburgh St. Patrick’s Parade Committee for inviting us, the citizens of Pittsburgh for being so welcoming, and everyone who came out to help pull off another great event! We are looking forward to more amazing adventures and events to come and are headed down south to Georgia for the International Cherry Blossom Festival! Until next time!
-Kaylee
