The Lefler family had two major vacations in 2015, so we didn't take any trips following Whistler for a full year. Fortunately, we had a mild winter - though winter in Western New York is always very long. When Memorial Day 2016 rolled around, we decided to take a long weekend trip to Pittsburgh.
We decided to try a "pirate" cruise on the Good Ship Lollipop, which departs out of Station Square. The last time we were in Pittsburgh for sightseeing was when the boys were 2 and 4 years old, so they didn't remember the city at all. Station Square is a fun place to get lunch and the boys enjoyed the big fountain in the square.
After a quick lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, it was time to head to our cruise at the dock for the Gateway Clipper Fleet.
It was really hot outside, and we put sunscreen on everyone. We were grateful to find out the ship had air conditioning on the inside!
This was a fun excursion, and the kids all received balloon swords from the pirate crew.
We headed up to the top deck, where a narrated tour of the city was given. The tour guide was fantastic.
It was cool to be in the spot where all three rivers merged, and to see the city skyline.
It was well over 90F outside and the sun was beating down, so we headed inside to the air-conditioned cabin. A pirate show soon started, and the boys rushed down to be part of it.
A few magic tricks later, the kids were all dubbed honorary pirates. Matt enjoyed his eye patch.
Nolan enjoyed pretending he was being impaled by his own sword.
Once the boat ride was over, we had dinner at a great Mexican food restaurant in Cranberry. We stayed at a Hyatt House in Cranberry, which was a little bit of a drive from downtown Pittsburgh. The drive was well worth it, though, because the hotel rate was fantastic.
Dinner at Emiliano's in Cranberry - we are always happy to have Mexican food!
The Hyatt House had a great indoor pool, and we were the only ones there to enjoy it. We really enjoyed the water and the ability to swim for a few hours!
We headed to the zoo the following day. It was extremely hot again. The animals were fantastic! Rain started to pour down in the afternoon and showed no sign of stopping, so we headed back to the hotel at around 2:00 pm.
The entrance to the Pittsburgh Zoo requires a long escalator ride!
Red pandas are always a favorite.
Matt was impressed by the Komodo Dragon.
Up close and personal with a tiger!
Nolan holds a tiger's claw.
Flamingos!
I can't believe how fast this one is growing.
This one also grows!
Elephants!
I have a similar photo of Matt by this sign when he was four years old.
The Pittsburgh Zoo has a new area called "The Islands." It was rather cool.
The Pittsburgh Zoo includes an aquarium area, which was appreciated as rain had started to fall!
We stopped by the Polar Bear area of the zoo and explored. This area includes a polar bear swim area (the polar bear was sleeping) and a shark tunnel.
It was raining very hard while we were in the shark tunnel, so we stayed for a while until it slowed to a sprinkle. We then attempted the "otter slide" area, but the rain returned and we abandoned the attempt at sliding.
We returned to the hotel for a rest, then went to the Church Brew Works, one of our favorite Pittsburgh restaurants. The restaurant is a converted church, and is beautiful for the architecture.
We spent one more night in the hotel. The following morning we headed to the Pittsburgh Science Center. We went to the SportsWorks area first, which was a huge hit for the boys.
The trampoline and the "you-yo" were huge hits.
Nolan really liked the giant hockey table.
The biggest hit was the virtual roller coaster. The boys selected the roller coaster simulation they wanted and boarded the simulator.
I lost count of the number of flips and barrel rolls they did. Suffice it to say, I would have lost my lunch.
They practiced pitching and tried to get higher speeds in the baseball area.
Both climbed the rock wall as far as they could manage, which was pretty high.
We finished our tour of the sports area and moved into the main science museum area. The new Space exploration area is really cool. Nolan was disappointed to find he was too small for the anti-gravity simulator. Matthew was big enough to try it and loved it!
Matt had to perform tasks without gravity. This simulator was very cool.
Nolan was too small for the anti-gravity simulator, so he tried the area for smaller kids nearby.
We explored the other areas of the main science museum, including the robotics area. The boys really enjoyed it and it was the first vacation we had taken in over a year, so it felt good to get out and see scenery different from Jamestown!
We left for home in the late afternoon and were refreshed from our long weekend trip. We had very busy plans for the summer, and couldn't wait until school ended and our summer-of-fun began!
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