Pittsburgh 4th of July

Pittsburgh was slated for the 4th of July weekend completely based on the Pirates home schedule.  I'd seen pictures of Pittsburgh and I thought it looked like a neat city, but every time we told someone we were headed to Pittsburgh, we were met with confused looks.  "You're going to to Pittsburgh just to go to Pittsburgh?"  We heard that a few times.  Why's everyone hating on Pittsburgh?  As it turned out, Pittsburgh was our favorite city of any that we've visited this summer.  We loved it.  The city is gorgeous nestled right at the point of three rivers with a mountain jutting up from the water on the west side.  It was cool to drive through the tunnel in the mountain and pop out on a bridge with the city suddenly RIGHT THERE.   The architecture is old and beautiful and the city has so much history. I love the yellow bridges.  As it turns out, PNC Park was also the coolest ballpark either of us have been to.  So yeah, if you have the chance to go to Pittsburgh, go for it.  This city has a lot of charm. (Just imagine how amazing this place would look if the Wonka chocolate river was blue.)  

We drove out the morning of the 4th and went straight to the game.  From the park we were able to watch some speed boat races on the river.  Pretty cool.  
It was so hot that day.  We were fortunate to get seats high enough in the corner to be in the shade the whole time.  Thank goodness, I don't know how we would have done it.  As it was, I had to take Jane to the bathroom twice to cool her arms and legs in the water.  We finally decided to splurge and get an ice cream cone which we decided to share with Jane.  She, of course, loved it and we thought she was pretty cute. 

 

We cooled off at our hotel, ate some dinner and then headed back to Mount Washington to watch the fireworks in Pittsburgh.  We chose Mount Washington because it was on the same side of the river as our hotel and out of the way of the horrendous traffic that Pittsburgh is know for even on a good day.   We found a spot along the railing and waited for it to get dark.  As the evening wore on, we heard from a few people that we might not be able to see the fireworks that well, because the barge was around the bend a little.  Chris was sure that this many people wouldn't show up for a bad view of the fireworks, so we waited, but when the rain started and the fireworks still hadn't, we abandoned our post and started walking along the road toward the car hoping see some of the fireworks along the way.  Sure enough, they started while we walked and we realized we would have had a pretty awesome view.  We managed to scoot back in pretty well and got to see most of the show.  Jane was completely disinterested in fireworks, though.  Maybe next year she'll think they're cool.  

Our exit from the event was nearly seamless, but just as we were about to get on the freeway, we missed our turn and ended up heading straight over a bridge and into the worst of downtown Pittsburgh's traffic.  We realized it only a split second too late, but there was no stopping it.  We moved about a 1/4 of a mile in almost an hour and a half down there.  At least Jane was asleep the whole time.  Well, now we can testify with everyone else who's been to Pittsburgh, just how bad the traffic can be. 

Jane's favorite toy these days: a coin in an iBuprofen bottle.  Redneck rattle.  Too bad she dropped it over the lookout deck.  A toy like that just can't be replaced.

 We visited the Frick mansion and estate.  Their children had a playhouse on the estate that's the size of a normal house.  The neighborhoods in this area are gorgeous.  We had fun just driving around and enjoying the area.

Welcome aboard the USS Requin.  We took a little tour of this WWII submarine.  It would hold up to 80 men and be out for two months at a time.  I don't think submarine life is for me, though.  I like my space.

Jane liked being able to grab all the buttons and levers she wanted.

 We drove home through Amish country in Ohio and stopped for a little sight seeing and some good Amish cookin'.  I didn't take very many photos though except for this cute girl with a little bonnet.