Chapter 4. Trip to the 'Burgh

A couple of weeks after getting home from our shut-down week tour, we embarked on another trip. We took an extra day of vacation and spent a long weekend in Pittsburgh. We drove down Thursday night and arrived at Aunt Jess' house late in the evening.

The next day, our plan was to meet up with Uncle James, Aunt Jaclyn, JJ, and Gracie at Kennywood. It has been a couple of years since the last time we were there and Marie was very excited about going back. Joey was likewise excited, though not because he remembered it (he was only 9 months old at the time). Marie, Jon, and the rest of the family had really talked it up, so we were hoping that he wouldn't be disappointed.

On Friday, the kids took early naps and we headed out, meeting the others in the middle of the afternoon. It was a pretty hot and sticky day, but that didn't slow them down. We went straight to "Kiddie Land" and they spent all their time going from ride to ride, with brief pauses to hydrate. There were swings, motorcycles, flying elephants, roller coasters, cars to drive, and the much loved "Whippersnapper".











After a few hours, we decided it was time to get some supper, so we walked over to the cafeteria. While we were there, the sky grew dark and the wind picked up. Rather than heading back to the rides, we decided instead to go back to the car. It was a bit of a hike though and by the time we got there, the rain had really started to come down and we were drenched. Guess it wouldn't be a trip to Kennywood without a good rain shower!

On Saturday morning, we headed over to Uncle James and Aunt Jaclyn's house for lunch. Peg's dear friends from college, the Coffields, also joined us for a short visit. It had also been a couple of years since we'd seen them. My how the kids have grown!

Aunt Jess had brought some fun crafts for the kids to work on and then it was time for naps. After nap time, we got everyone in their respective baseball gear to get ready to go downtown for the Cardinal / Pirates game.







We were a little uncertain how long we would stay, but were completely prepared to call it a night whenever needed, no matter the inning or score. We were quite pleased with how the kids did. PNC Park is very kid/family friendly. Marie, Joey, JJ, and Gracie spent a good bit of time playing on the playground they have on site (with LOTS of other kids their age). On the walk there with Uncle James, they even got to give the Pirate Parrot a high five...or at least that's what Marie and Joey tell us.



We ended up staying until the middle of the 9th inning. They Cards were well ahead, so we felt okay not staying until the very end. Plus, we wanted to try to avoid having to deal with any potential crowds and traffic after the game. Needless to say, we were all pretty tired by the time we hit the sack.

On Sunday morning, we went to church, had lunch, and relaxed a bit before heading back home. Marie and Joey were so tired, they even took naps during the drive. It was a short visit, but packed full and well worth it.

Fun in Illinois

Sandwiched between the family weddings were a few fun days spent at Grandpa and Grandma Meinhart's house. There are always lots of fun and interesting things to do there and this trip was no exception.

We had driven from Dubuque on Sunday and so spent the first part of Monday exploring outside. Grandpa's blackberries were ripe, so Marie (and the rest of us) got to help pick them. Marie didn't eat too many, but Joey evidently really liked them. That would only be the first time he would surprise us this week. Joey was also able to find and pick a pretty good sized cucumber from the garden.



We had also hoped to make a visit to the farm while we were there and it turned out that Monday was the best day to do that. At around the end of milking time, we headed over there. We had also gone last year with Marie, but Joey wasn't old enough to know what was going on at that time and quite frankly Marie wasn't too sure of things either.

Cousin Ryan was again a great tour guide. Marie, Joey, and Jon got to watch as Ryan and Uncle Rick finished up the milking. After that, Marie was quite content to head in the house and talk with the ladies. Joey on the other hand was quite enthralled with cows. He walked right up to the fence with Ryan to check out the steers. He even put one foot up on a low rung like a true farmer. He didn't have to be coaxed to pet the calf or even the bigger cows and didn't even mind too much when he got licked. He especially liked feeding the steers hay. He would hold out a piece to them, but would often need someone with longer arms to help him because the steers were more afraid of him than he was of the steers. Once they finally took the hay, he would march right back over to the manger to get another piece. A farmer's work is never done!








Through the night on Tuesday, more than 3" of rain fell. This made things rather wet outside. Since we hadn't brought the kids boots, we had to make a run to the store just so that they wouldn't be cooped up inside all day long. Marie and Joey both thought they were pretty special to get new boots!


With the new boots, it was time to go fishing! This time they had poles just their size and they had a great time just practicing casting in the yard. Once we moved to the pond, it didn't take long before they started catching fish. I think Marie caught three fish in all, though she didn't really want anything to do with them. Joey on the other hand wanted to scoop them up in the net and pet them. Again...no fear. "Joey" also caught a fish. Grandpa was "helping" him and it turned out that Jon had to help Grandpa finally bring it in since the fish was almost as big as the pole!






On Wednesday afternoon, we loaded the kids in the car again and drove to St. Louis to see my grandpa. He has been a bit under the weather this year, but I really believe he perked up and was glad to see us and the kids. He got a kick out of just watching them run around his house. We took him out to eat for supper and made it back in time to watch the Cardinals on TV...a favorite pastime of his.


The following day, we donned our Cardinals gear and planned to meet Grandpa Meinhart, Aunt Sarah, Uncle Mark, and Uncle Matt at the ballpark for an afternoon game. The kids were very excited about the prospect of seeing Albert and just as much looking forward to riding the train to get there. The view from our seats was pretty good, though I could've asked for a little more cloud cover. It got up to 95 degrees...I don't even want to know what the heat index was. But, the kids did really well...I was probably more cranky than they were. Too bad we couldn't have cheered the Cards on to a win!





We drove back to Grandpa and Grandma's house that night to get some rest and wait for Uncle Dave and Itaxso to drive down from Chicago. It had been some time (almost a year?) since we were all in the same place. We all went to the wedding and otherwise spent the weekend just hanging out and visiting. Sunday came around all too quickly and we made the trek back to Michigan. Overall the kids did very well in the car. It is so nice to have good travelers. It was a tiring, but fun-filled trip...and we'd do it all over again if we had the chance!