After we checked into our hotel our first order of business was to get a Primanti Brothers sandwich. For anyone who doesn't know what Primanti's is...it is a famous sandwich restaurant that originated in Pittsburgh in 1933. There are many variations of the sandwich but it consists of meat, an Italian dressing-based cole slaw, tomato slices, and French fries between two pieces of Italian bread...YUM!
After our sandwich we did a bit of driving around through the Pittsburgh neighborhoods. One of the reasons for our trip to the Burgh was to look through neighborhoods and at houses to see if Pittsburgh is someplace we could live when we grow-up. As we were driving around we ran into Jim's cousin Missy. It is always great to see her smiling face!
After our drive we headed back to the hotel for the evening. Unfortunately, we didn't have a restful evening. The 4 of us in one room does not equal restful conditions. It takes a long time to get the girls settled down to bed.
The next day, Saturday, we checked out a few more neighborhoods and spent some time at a local park.
After we finished looking at houses for the day we drove into the city to...
Kera had fallen asleep in the car so just Jim and Abby got to check out the field.
After the Heinz Field we went over to Pittsburgh's National Aviary. The girls loved seeing all the great birds. Jim used to work across the street from the aviary and said that it was recently renovated, they did a great job! Most of the birds were free to roam around their environments and we could walk amongst them.
After the aviary it was time for a late lunch at Penn Brewery.
Last time Jim and I were in Pittsburgh the brewery was closed down. We were very happy to discover that it had been reopened.
After lunch we drove through a few more neighborhoods and then headed back to the hotel. On our way back Jim noticed that this really loud car was following us a bit too closely. He told me that a hillbilly was following us. It was funny when we discovered that is was actually Jim's cousin Damien. He joined us in our hotel for a nice visit and a few beers.
After another unrestful evening, the girls didn't go to sleep until after midnight, we were heading out to check out a few more homes and we discovered the car battery was dead. Good thing we have family near by, Jim's cousin Rick came to our rescue.
After our drive through the neighborhoods we headed the zoo. The Pittsburgh zoo is fantastic. It is the perfect size for kids with short attention spans. They even had a brand new baby gorilla there, SO CUTE! The only problem was that it was an extremely warm day and of course, Kera wanted to be carried.
Thank goodness for sprinklers...Abby got SOAKED!
So soaked that we had to change her before heading out to eat.
We ate a Church Brew Works, one of our Pittsburgh favorites. We were looking forward to their pierogi pizza but unfortunately their pizza oven was out of order. It was still a good lunch regardless.
On Monday morning we did our last neighborhood drive through before heading over to Jim's family's house. It is always so much fun being with the Rogers! they are always so warm and welcoming.
After one last unrestful night in the hotel we met Lizzie and Missy for breakfast before driving home.
Our visit to Pittsburgh definitely had it's fun moments but as a whole it was very stressfull. It is really hard when the girls are not on their regular nap and eating schedule. Jim and I have decided that from now on we, when we stay in hotels, we will be staying at am Embassy Suite hotel so that we are able to put the girls down to bed in a separate bedroom.
It was also very informative. There are some fantastic homes in Pittsburgh! I don't know of any other housing market in the United States that you can buy a unique old home at these prices. One negative, the taxes there are crazy high, It gives Jim and I a lot to think about!
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