We just returned from 5 days in Pittsburgh as part of our family vacation this summer. I am giving the whole city a round of applause – you did a great job! There is so much to do whether you are traveling with younger kids, tweens, teens or just having a grown ups getaway.

We stayed at the Doubletree downtown and were immediately greeted at the door with chocolate chip cookies and the girls were given back packs full of goodies. SCORE! We booked a one bedroom suite which was huge – especially since we paid $130 a night. We had a separate bedroom with a very comfy king size bed, then there was an office area with a large desk and plenty of elbow room. The living area had a pull out queen size sofa, its own TV and lots of room for energy-filled kids. The indoor pool was beautiful and room service was so fast!

Station Square is one of the neatest places to eat in Pittsburgh. It is full of restaurants right on the river with a great view of the city, access to the Gateway Clipper tours (highly recommend) and a fun dancing water fountain show.

The first night we ate at Hard Rock Cafe and watched the water fountain show while we ate. The last afternoon we were there we had lunch next door at Crab Shack Joe’s before taking our one hour sightseeing tour of Pittsburgh.

Thursday was a bit of a wild weather day in Pittsburgh, but we still managed to sneak in a quick trip to our favorite zoo of all times. The new Water’s Edge exhibit was open and I got some great footage of the new polar bears in action (see my video of one very playful polar bear).

Fortunately we chose to go to the zoo instead of the Carnegie Science Center. About 30 minutes after we left the zoo a huge thunderstorm rolled through the city and the Science Center was damaged – windows blew out on the fourth floor, pieces of the walls blew off – it was scary and I am thanking our lucky stars we were not there.

If you have any sports fans, Pittsburgh is one sports city! The Steelers had a home preseason game on Saturday and the whole city was dressed in black and gold. You could literally see and feel the energy in the air. Too bad they lost.

We made it home safely and have lots of pictures and memories of our trip. Now to enjoy the last two weeks of summer break before it is time to get back to the structure of school again.

Post from: Blisstree

Pittsburgh – Fun For Kids of All Ages

We have decided to go to Pittsburgh. Why? Some of the family lives there so the kids like visiting their cousins, but also because Pittsburgh has some really great family activities. We certainly won’t get to all of these in this trip, but here are three of our favorites from over the years:

• Pittsburgh Zoo – We most likely will go this week. We haven’t been since my youngest daughter was a baby and it a fabulous zoo. There are activities for kids of all ages and it is very affordable – $10 for adults, $8 for kids. I can’t wait to see the Sea Otters at the new Water’s Edge exhibition.
• Carnegie Science Center – The science center is wonderful for older kids. They have an amazing miniature train display, planetarium, OmniMAX theater, submarine exhibit and tons of hands on activities for scientists of all ages. Admission is $14 for adults, $10 for kids.
• Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh – This is more for the younger kids, but still worth a mention, especially since there is a whole section of the museum just for Mister Roger’s Neighborhood. Plenty of hands on activities in the art center and my favorite is the safety street in the courtyard. Admission is $9 for adults, $8 for kids.

I’ll keep you updated as the week goes on! I’d love to hear about some of your favorite cities for family friendly fun!

Post from: Blisstree

Three Fun Family Activities in Pittsburgh