"Pittsburgh?" My wife looked at me incredulously. "Pittsburgh over Spring Break?" I smiled. "Ah, it's the Phillies," she said. I had scanned the Phillies' 2012 schedule as soon as it came out last fall and made a mental note that the Phillies would open on the road there. "The season starts that weekend," I countered. Co-workers in Pittsburgh - the same ones that boasted how great the Penguins are, mind you - told me that the Pirates ballpark, PNC Park, is one of the nicest in the country, so I certainly didn't need much arm-twisting. With three sports-crazy males in the house, my wife was hardly in a position to put the kibosh on my suggestion.
I realized how expensive Phillies seats are when I went to buy tickets for the two Pirates games we planned to attend. While I paid $35 apiece for seats in the lower level for the Easter Sunday game, I picked up upper-level tickets for the Saturday night game for the kids for just $10 (the adult tickets were $16).
Beyond going to the games, though, we had no itinerary planned except that we wanted to visit architect Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece Fallingwater. As the weekend drew near, I realized that the Flyers would end the regular season in Pittsburgh against the Penguins. It looked for a bit like that game would decide seeding for the playoffs and would be an exciting game to attend. As it turned out, the seedings were decided earlier in the week so the game wasn't going to have any significance. To boot, the cheapest seat on StubHub was $115 for standing room.
We left early on Saturday morning and traversed much of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. We stopped for breakfast in King of Prussia at
Ruby's Diner, where my son savored an Awesome Egg Sandwich served on a Udi's gluten-free burger bun.
Our lunch was further west in Somerset.
Eat'n Park, a neighborhood restaurant chain with more than
75 locations in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia, has a surprisingly large
gluten-free menu. It was there that our son opted for a Black Angus hamburger, which came on a French Meadow sandwich roll.
By late afternoon, we rolled into the Steel City, crossed into the city's North Shore via the Andy Warhol Bridge, and arrived at our hotel, which was across the street from PNC Park. There were thousands of Phillies fans in town already, hanging out at the hotel and tailgating in nearby parking lots.
The ballpark, now in its 12th season, is indeed magnificent. It stands along the Allegheny River and provides a fantastic view of downtown Pittsburgh. The vista was even more impressive that night when the post-game fireworks show began. (Turns out there really isn't a bad seat in the house.) As for the games - well, let's just say the Phightins' continued their struggles at that ballpark. They failed to hit the ball consistently and dropped both weekend games.
PNC Park added a gluten-free concession stand called Just4U this season. On the menu are hot dogs, nachos, salads, grilled cheese and grilled veggie sandwiches (made with Schar bread), potato chips and Redbridge beer. Gluten-free fries from dedicated fryers are also available at the Chickie's & Pete's stand (nice to see a familiar Philly brand in enemy territory) and the Primanti Brothers stand.
Before the Sunday matinee, we drove over to the popular
Duquesne Incline, a century-old inclined plane railroad that scales Mount Washington. Once at the observation deck, we took in the gorgeous view of Pittsburgh's skyline.
There were a few gluten-free spots in the city that were closed for the holiday (including
Gluuteny bakery), so we ended up having dinner Sunday at the
BRAVO! Cucina Italiana in the Galleria Mall. The chain just added a
gluten-free menu that features pasta. Our son opted for the grilled salmon served with penne (cooked, intentionally or not,
al dente) and I ordered the gluten-free pasta pomodoro with chicken. Although the menu was new, the staff and kitchen were knowledgeable about proper prep. We also appreciated that, for a change, none of the places we ate upcharged us for ordering gluten-free bread or pasta.
Fallingwater, a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the 1930s for a well-to-do Pittsburgh family, is an architectural marvel located about 90 minutes southeast of the city in Mill Run. The house, a National Historic Landmark, looks like it's built right over a waterfall. We took an hour-long guided tour of the house's interior Monday morning and were able to snap some spectacular pictures of the iconic building.
Guided by our GPS, we tracked down the address for the
Flight 93 National Memorial and then drove to the Somerset County field where the heroic passengers and crew members on that plane lost their lives but saved countless others. The first phase of the Memorial was dedicated last year, and construction has begun on other features, including a larger visitor center and memorial groves. Our oldest was a toddler on 9/11 and our youngest wasn't even born. It was important for us - and for them - to fully appreciate what those 40 people did and to pay respects.
As I finished the drive home, my wife told me that she enjoyed the trip much more than she expected. When we travel with the kids, we're often trying to cram in so many activities and visit certain places that it's exhausting. Our long weekend in western Pennsylvania reminded us that it doesn't have to be that way.
