When Nic has his yearly conference, sometimes the kids and I like to tag along. This year he was headed to Pittsburgh and since the kids had never been there and it was only three hours away, I booked an Airbnb for us to stay near his hotel. We left a day later than he did since we had some responsibilities at church and decided to spend the following two nights there, picking up my parents on the way through their town.
Our dog-friendly Airbnb was a wonderful location on Butler Street in Lawrenceville (https://www.visitpittsburgh.com/blog/a-day-in-lawrenceville/). There was construction in the building and in the area but the unit was affordable for being pet friendly with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a full kitchen, and a walkable distance to lots of little shops and restaurants. We had a minor issue when our unit wasn’t cleaned when we arrived, but they set us up in another unit which ended up being ok aside from some small complaints.
Our first evening Nic and I explored downtown while the others hung out at the rental and we ended up at Condado Tacos, which we always enjoy and has some nice gluten free options. We had missed our reservation for our 18th anniversary dinner due to the confusion with the unit, but we stayed positive and had a nice dinner anyway. Downtown Pittsburgh is very interesting. I enjoyed looking at the buildings and bridges. Driving in Pittsburgh was chaotic with lots of traffic, turns, one way streets, bridges, and unusual intersections…it’s much different than driving in Columbus due to the hilly terrain and rivers going through the city.
The next day while Nic worked my parents and I took the dogs for a walk down Butler and stumbled upon a dog-friendly open air cafe called Field Day (https://www.fieldday.life/). We sat indoors with the pups and enjoyed some tasty, spicy breakfast burritos and good coffee while the kids slept in. There were a number of people working there and with the temperature in the high 60’s it was the most perfect morning. Samson got lots of attention there, which of course he loved.
Once the dogs were tired from their walks we collected everyone around noon and headed to the Museum of Natural History (https://carnegiemnh.org/), which was the highlight of the trip. Tickets are not cheap, but my dad found a hack – K-12 teachers are free when you sign up on their site in advance and show ID, and then teachers can bring four additional guests at half price. What we thought would cost nearly $100 in tickets ended up being $35! Nice surprise!
The museum is worth full price though, especially since tickets include the Art Museum as well although we didn’t make it there this trip. The Hillman Hall of Minerals and Gems exhibit (https://carnegiemnh.org/explore/hillman-hall-of-minerals-and-gems/) is fascinating and expansive, but we spent the majority of our time there strolling through the Dinosaurs in Their Time exhibit. The collection is impressive and we were in awe of the size and number of dinosaur skeletons that were on display, and fascinated to read about the locations in which the fossils were found.
After spending the afternoon there we headed back to let the dogs out and pick up some things from the store for dinner. Parking in a garage to go to the grocery was a new experience for me but we made it and enjoyed our rotisserie chicken, pasta, and salad at the rental. We had a quiet evening and Nic stopped by to visit after his work obligations were done for the day.
We only had a few hours in Pittsburgh on Tuesday morning before heading home, and we decided to spend it riding the Duquesne Incline (https://www.duquesneincline.org/). The Mount Washington area near the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers is just beautiful, and we were blessed again with perfect, cool and sunny mid June weather. I had ridden the Incline on my 7th grade class trip to Pittsburgh and I was glad the boys got to experience the historical site as well. I felt the same anxiety that I recalled from 27 years ago as I tried not to imagine the 2 minute 20 second trip becoming an unexpected thrill ride. Thankfully it was a slow trip as expected and we enjoyed some incredible views at the top. My parents were generous enough to walk the pups down below while we made the trip. We didn’t spend much time at the top but the boys enjoyed looking through the coin operated binoculars at the sights of the city and reading about the history and mechanics of the funicular incline. After soaking in the view, we made our way back to the cable car to ride back down.
Some important things to know if you visit – parking is $8.00 for standard cars. There are three machines in the lot that take credit cards or coins only. The first two machines I tried would not work, but the third one did. The incline itself is exact cash only, so be prepared. There is a coin machine in the building but they do not accept credit cards for the incline itself. It cost $12.50 for the boys and I to ride, which is not what is on the website and I’m not quite sure how much it was per person. The Incline is wheelchair accessible at the Upper Station, but I am not sure what that means for the Lower Station and if you would be able to exit there or would need to ride back up. From the Incline it was an easy trip out of the city and we enjoyed a pleasant drive west to get home. Traffic was light and construction was limited for a summer weekday.
I’d highly recommend Pittsburgh for a quick family trip. We could have spent much more time there, but this was just what we needed and the kids had some unique experiences which is what I hoped for. Please comment with your favorite Pittsburgh activities for us to consider next time!
Happy travels!
-Emily