Pittsburgh by day.

We headed back downtown in the morning and spent some time walking around Point State Park, the point where the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River meet and form the Ohio River.

The football and baseball stadiums were on the other side of the river, where we had been walking the previous night.

It would have been fun to ride the incline. Next time.

The kids needed to get some energy out before we started the drive to Cincinnati. We found this great playground in Frick Park, one of the largest parks in Pittsburgh. I had read online that there was slide there known as the "blue side" and everyone brings cardboard to ride down on. So we made sure to bring along some cardboard. Everyone loved the slide and went down countless times.

Oliver got tired of waiting in line so he started hitching rides with whoever was at the front of the line.

A snake slithered over my foot and startled me (understatement). Ben picked it up and all of the playground kids came running and screaming. It was quite the excitement. Amelia and Elsa have no fear of snakes and Amelia grabbed the snake and ran it to the top of the hill and sent it down the blue side!

Pittsburgh by night.

A few days after we returned from Oregon we left again for a short road trip to Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Pittsburgh is just over four hours from us and we arrived just as the sun was going down. We headed straight for the river walk downtown. We immediately fell in love with the city. People who have never been think it's a rundown industrial town. And people who have lived there know it's a hidden gem. (It was home to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood so it has to be fantastic.) The cityscape was beautiful and there were bridges as far as the eye could see. It's hilly and incredibly green. The people are nice (more Midwest vibe than East) and the neighborhoods were unique and beautiful.

I had read about some "water steps" on the river walk that people can play in and knew the kids would love it. It didn't take us long to find them and the kids had so much fun soaking themselves and climbing the steps. Nothing like arriving at a hotel late at night, soaked from head to toe.

Fred Rogers statue.

Oregon Day 8: waffles and waterfalls

We had an extra day to spend in Portland before our early morning flight the following day. We started with the most amazing waffles from the Waffle Window. Everyone was in love with the waffles and the delicious toppings.

We drove outside of town to the Columbia River Gorge to hike around and check out a few waterfalls. We saw Multnomah Falls and Wahkeena Falls and both were spectacular. I regret not bringing my real camera on the hike.

And finally, we ended our trip with  some doughnuts from the famed Voodoo Doughnut in Portland. Yum.