Pittsburgh Part II

We're on to the second part of our trip to Pittsburgh to visit Grace.  

You can see Part I here if you missed it.

The area of Pittsburgh where we were staying is called Oakland.  Cool mural photo op.

Our first stop on Saturday was the Science Center.  They had a big exhibit all about guitars.  

A lot of this museum was geared for kids, but we still had a good time.

Our favorite area of the science center was the huge room of trains showing the Pittsburgh area.  It was just amazing, and the pictures don't do it justice.  It had hundreds of moving parts, day and night lighting, seasons, and many historical features.  You can read about the details here.

Forbes Field

Mr. Rogers TV house

Falling Water

An incline

View of the river from the Science Center

After leaving the Science Center, we walked along the river.

Grace is an honorary Pitt Panther this summer.

Heinz Field, home of the Steelers

A (kind of creepy) statue of Mr. Rogers along the river.

I think he is best viewed from a distance!

I absolutely LOVED Mr. Rogers when I was growing up so I had to get this picture.  The statue area had Mr. Rogers songs playing on speakers.

Next we went to Point State Park, home of the famous fountain where the Ohio, Allegheny, and Monongahela Rivers come together.  It is also the location of the historical Fort Pitt.

Time for lunch - we went to the original Primanti Brothers in the Strip District.  Their famous sandwiches include french fries and cole slaw...on the sandwich.  It was delicious!

After lunch, we went in search of dessert.  I found an authentic Belgian waffle shop called Treat in the Shadyside neighborhood.  I say authentic because the place was owned by a Belgian man.  This is one of Michael's favorites!

I had to make a collage showing the kids in Brussels (2013 I think) and today.

Back at the hotel, the housekeeper forgot to give us new towels.  We called the front desk and this is what they sent!  We had plenty of towels!

On Sunday, I had originally planned a day trip to Falling Water.  But the tickets were sold out!  So we went to the Heinz History Center.  This last minute addition turned out to be a great stop.

There was a really interesting exhibit about a Pittsburgh artist named John Kane.  

His paintings showed some of the landmarks we had just seen in the city from an early 20th century viewpoint.  

Lots of fun exhibits

And my favorite neighborhood...of make believe

Did you know that Mr. Rogers' mother knit his cardigan sweaters for him?

Some Steelers football

After the Science Center, we went to the Frick Center for lunch.  I thought there would be a little more to do at this site, but the house tickets were sold out.  So we just enjoyed the park like setting.

The car and carriage museum was open so we strolled through.

And then we just relaxed laying in the grass for awhile.  Again, it was so nice to be outside without melting with sweat.

On Monday, we said goodbye to Pittsburgh and Grace with breakfast at the hotel.  

We had an incredible view from the rooftop restaurant.