Road Trip part two

5 weeks later, here it is!

We stayed in Erie, PA with my grandparents through the fourth of July. We hit up the Erie Zoo (which we got in free thanks to our zoo pass) with my grandma my aunt and some of my cousins and their kids. It was really fun, and my kids got along well with their other 2nd cousins. It was cute to watch them. That night we went down to the peninsula and got orange sherbet cones at Sara’s, one of my most favorite places on earth. Their orange-vanilla swirl cones are to die for. The girls devoured theirs, as did we. After our treat we drove around the peninsula and walked on the beach for a few minutes. There was a gorgeous sunset and the girls loved running in the lake up to their knees.

Tuesday the four of us headed to Pittsburg to check out the sights. Our first stop was PNC Park, where the Pirates play. We took a 90 minute tour of the park. Our kids lasted 1 of those minutes before going completely spastic. Thanks to iPhones and the endless videos and apps we have they lasted a couple more minutes. Unfortunately, we would make the mistake of taking our kids on TWO more guided tours before the end of our trip. Don’t worry, the lesson has definitely been learned by now. But the ballpark tour was pretty cool, and Derrick liked it a lot.

Next we hit up the Children’s Museum. Two words: Awe. Some. They have a bunch of props and artifacts from Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, including the tree, the trolley, the castle, the puppets, his sweater, and his shoes. And to top it off, they were doing a special program that day hosted by none other than MR. MCFEELY!!!! And I got to take a picture with him!!!! It was amazing. I watched that show all the time when I was a kid. The museum also had a Wizard of Oz exhibit which Summer loved, since she is kind of obsessed with the movie right now. It was a really fun and interesting museum, and the kids absolutely loved it. Especially the entire floor dedicated to water play. A definite highlight of the trip.

Afterwards we went to dinner at Primanti Brothers, which we were told was a must. They have sandwiches with french fries and cole slaw ON them, and they were pretty good. Then we went on the Mt. Washington Incline—a steep little gondola type ride up the bluffs along the river. The view was amazing from the top, and the kids liked the ride. It was a really long day and the kids were totally wiped out. Unfortunately, Hannah’s pacifier broke as we were getting in the car to go home so she didn’t sleep a wink on the 2 hour drive home, and cried instead. Which meant Summer didn’t sleep either. And then we drove home in a torrential downpour. I laugh about it now but I wanted to kill myself then.

Wednesday was the Fourth of July which means parades! My grandpa restores antique cars and we got to drive his ‘66 Mustang convertible in a little parade in a neighboring town. It was hotter than blazes that day and with the top down we were a hot sweaty mess. The girls loved riding with the top down and put their hands in the air like on a roller coaster. And then they passed out. But they loved throwing candy to the crowd and had the time of their lives. We ended the day with a barbecue with family and some sparklers and called it a night.

    We left the next day for Cleveland, which will be in the next post!