Now on with the first of the day and what a fun-filled day it was.
We woke up bright and early on Wednesday morning to walk down to the market district. We had breakfast around 8 a.m. and then started on our trek. The market area is where all the fresh produce and meats are brought into the city. The area opens before dawn and closes by lunchtime. We went in and out of local shops enjoying and wishing we had the cheap prices at home.
After a couple hours in the market area, we went back to the hotel to take a mid-morning swim. Erik and Rigby dipped into the hot tub and Lucy latched onto Stacy in the pool.
After the swim we packed up and went across the street to the Heinz Pittsburgh History Center, a massive seven-story museum. We could have stayed there all day, but Lucy and Rigby were ready to go after two hours. Inside was a chronological history of the city, complete with a lifesize cabin, city street, and house. It was awesome.
Also housed in the center was the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum. Housed on two floors, the area featured the history of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Steelers and Penguins pro teams as well as high school sports and Olympic sports.
Rigby even through a football to Steelers football players!
The interaction throughout the museum was great for young and old. We were as impressed with this museum as we have been with any other we have ever been in. Definitely worth the trip and for a revisit. Rigby, Lucy and Erik had their picture taken around the Three Rivers Stadium goal posts which stood from 1970-2000 and saw many championship Steelers teams.
After picking up some goods from the history store, we traveled across town to experience the Carnegie Science Center, a five level feast for the senses on the banks of the Ohio River and next to Heinz Field, home of the Steelers.
In the Science Center, Rigby and Lucy experienced their first planetarium show in a digital theater dome. We watched a 30-minute presentation on the Pittsburgh night sky. Lucy did great and Rigby really enjoyed peering at the 360 degree view of all the stars and constellations.
After a quick bite to eat in the cafe, Rigby and Erik went to the waterfront to hop aboard the USS Requiem, a cold-war era submarine. What a tight fit!
We finished up our visit seeing the other three floors of the museum, entering a wind tunnel, experiencing an earthquake, playing in water games and seeing the largest model train set display we have ever seen.
The center closed quicker than we wanted so we left and jumped into the car to go get some University of Pittsburgh Panthers gear on campus. Erik got a sweatshirt and Rigby got a Panthers cap. We then walked among the thousands of college students and had sushi at a small streetside shop.
Finally, to end the day, we loaded up the car and drove 126 miles to Erie, Pennsylvania, where we arrived around 9:30 p.m. We checked in at the Clarion Hotel, located just a half mile from Lake Erie. We plan to stay a day or so here and then go to where the road takes us.
See you tomorrow! Time for sleep - note below, this was right after midnight as Lucy FINALLY fell asleep. She was an evil hornet and having a good time staying up late.
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