Thursday, June 5, 2008

Pittsburgh

We decided to visit my mom for her birthday this year. We hadn't been to Pittsburgh since last August and I felt it was time to go. Although it cost us $100 in gasoline (a reality that occurred to me at the end of the trip), it was well worth it. On the day we arrived, we celebrated her birthday with food from the grill and a chocolate peanut butter cake the kids and I made.



The next day, we took the "T" downtown and walked around the city for a bit and met my mom for lunch. The city is getting ready for the Three Rivers Arts Festival (that we attended last year).
Here is a picture taken at One Gateway Center.


Then we headed over to the Gateway Clipper for a sightseeing tour. The weather couldn't have been better. It was in the mid 70's with little humidity. Perfect!
Oh, and when visiting Pittsburgh, you cannot get away from the Black and Gold. It's just everywhere!


While eating lunch with my mom at Macy's, my kids and I couldn't help but notice the bookstore right there. After we ate and my mom had to go back to work, we went to check it out. To my amazement, all the books were bargain priced. The books were all new and most were priced between $1 and $3. Since we will be studying Ancient Rome and Astronomy next, I scooped up a bunch of books on those topics. They also had nature field guides with list prices of $5 to $7 all for $1 each. I purchased one of each. I love finding a good bargain. The only problem was that we were on foot and I had to carry these books for the rest of our day. Dd (10) and dd(9) actually offered to help me carry them.


It was a good day in Pittsburgh!


Our trek back home was via I-68 that goes through West Virginia and Maryland. I wanted the kids to see Sideling Hill in Maryland (south of Breezewood, Pa - I think). There are picnic tables there and a little museum (free admission) displaying the various types of rock in the layers that can be seen in the cut. On a clear day, you can see for miles from this spot. It is absolutely beautiful.

To my amazement, the kids actually seemed interested in this. I think it's because I didn't tell them it was "school".


"Little Man" really liked the bears inside the museum.

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