Perfect in Pittsburgh

We got back from our weekend getaway to Pittsburgh with the kids, and I'm happy to say that it is a fantastic road trip with little ones.

Thursday: Piper and Fletch had a 2-hour early release from kinder, so we picked up all the kids around 2pm and hit the road by 2:30pm. The trip was supposed to take about 4 hours but it ended up taking about 6 hours. We got stuck in an hour's worth of traffic on 270 and then stopped for about an hour between two stops (bathroom break and dinner). We got to Pittsburgh around 8:30pm, checked into our suite at the Embassy Suites Downtown Pittsburgh (more about the hotel below), unpacked, let the kids watch a show, and then they went to bed.

Friday: The kids were up at 6:10am sharp like always, even after going to bed almost 2.5 hours after normal bedtime. We started the day with hotel breakfast, and then walked around the neighborhood a bit. At 10am, we drove to the children's museum. It is a really good museum, although I think that I like Port Discovery better, but still awesome. (The best part was that we got in free through a reciprocal membership with the Maryland Science Center, so that saved about $65.). The kids really enjoyed it, particularly the water play area on the top floor--kids were there in full bathing suits b/c it a small indoor spray park. 

We had lunch at the museum and then walked a few blocks to the National Aviary, which was awesome (and we got in half price through reciprocal membership with the National Zoo). They had lots of cool bird exhibits and walk through areas, and a small play area at the penguin exhibit. We all loved it. After the aviary, we drove the 1-mile back to the hotel. Deke took a 2-hour nap, and the big kids watched TV. After nap/quiet time, we went to dinner at Primantis (the famous restaurant in Pittsburgh, which was decent but I didn't think it was all that great). After dinner, we went back to the hotel and went swimming, which was so fun for all of us. After swimming, kids changed into jammies and went to bed around 7:30pm, and Eric and I just relaxed.

Saturday: Kids were up early again. We ate breakfast at the hotel and then went to the science museum. We got in free again with our Maryland Science Center membership, which saved about $80 plus got a big discount on lunch, which was awesome. The museum was REALLY, REALLY nice...probably the nicest science museum that I've been to. It was much more modern that the science museums in Baltimore or Boston. They also had a submarine from WWII in the river that you could walk through, which we all loved. 

We were there from about 10am-2pm and then went back to the hotel for naps. After naps, we walked around the city a bit and got dinner at a pizza place. After dinner, we went swimming again. We basically got Piper and Fletch swimming all by themselves including in the deep end and able to go the full length of the pool without help. I was going to sign them up for private swim lessons this summer to get over the hump of learning to swim in the deep end, but since it really seemed to click on this trip, it probably saved us hundreds in the private lessons. After swimming, kids went to bed, while Eric and I ate cheesecake and watched Catastrophe.

Sunday: Today, we ate breakfast and then checked out. We drove to the Duquesne Incline, about a mile away, and rode the funicular (I love that word). The kids thought it was so cool. We were done with that by 9:30am, so drove to the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium and arrived by 9:45am. Again, tickets were half price with our National Zoo membership. The zoo was really nice, with animals we don't have here (polar bears, giraffes) and the ability to get up closer to some animals like tigers. It was also more compact, so easier to manage. But, I'd say it wasn't as well kept as our zoo. We were at the zoo until about 1pm, and then hit the road back home. We stopped twice (once for drive-thru lunch and once for a bathroom break and were back by 5:30pm).

Overall, Pittsburgh is an awesome city to visit with young kids. There were even several things we didn't get to do like the Heinz History Center, Natural Science Museum, boat ride along the river, etc. But, we packed a lot in and had a fantastic time. When we pulled into the driveway, Fletch said, "That was such an awesome trip, mommy," and then told me that he liked it as much as Disney World--you can't ask for better than that.