Pittsburgh Trip 2026

On our way out to visit colleges in Pittsburgh, we stopped off to find a geocache on the Old Bank Road in Hancock, Maryland. The road was originally a toll road and this house is one of the original buildings along the road. The toll collector lived there. The building has a list of the tolls that were in effect back in 1863.

Toll House

Apparently monster trucks got the best deal

Over in Pennsylvania, we stopped at Moo Echo Dairy, a creamery and bakery that provided some dessert for our trip. The sign below brags about their "A2 A2" milk, which made us a little nervous. Turns out, it is just a genetic situation where the cows only produce A2 beta-casein protein in their milk, which people find more digestible than milk with A1 protein. Most milks have both A1 and A2. It's not a solution for lactose intolerance but it more closely matches human breast milk and thus is thought to be more easily processed by the human digestive tract.

Moo Echo Dairy

We didn't ask about genetic markers for strawberry milk! The ice cream was yummy. I got a maple walnut shake that was very delicious. We also bought cinnamon rolls for the next morning's breakfast.

Taste the calories!

Fun bench outside the store

While in Pittsburgh, my daughter visited some colleges to see if she wanted to go. We parked under the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum which is in the heart of the university district.

Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall and Museum

My wife took my daughter on the tour of the University of Pittsburgh. I took my son around to see sights and find geocaches. Pitt's mascot is a panther. It has a statue on campus. If you rub the panther's nose, you are supposed to get good luck. My son picked the panther's nose, not sure what that brings.

Pitt Panther

Side view

We saw a wavy building that's part of the university's medical facilities. Just looking at it made me sea sick. Maybe they were trying to get more business?

Kamin Tower

A park bench has a statue of Doctor Thomas Starzl, the father of organ transplants. I sat with him for a fun photo.

Dr. Starzl statue

The city of Pittsburgh has a lot of dinosaur statues around. We spotted this one with letters all over it.

Spellasaurus?

Across the street from the dino is a complex with several museums donated by Andrew Carnegie, the famous millionaire steel baron who donated money to public institutions like the art museum and the natural history museum. 

Art museum

Natural History

Bach statue

Shakespeare statue

With the proximity of the natural history museum, there's another dinosaur on display outside.

Too big for the museum?

We also visited the Carnegie Free Library since a geocache was hidden inside.

The library

A park across the street has a carousel and a restaurant where we rejoined Mom and my daughter for lunch. 

Carousel

For lunch, I had a Penn Brewery Pilsner and a wagyu beef burger with potatoes. When the meal came, we thought the potatoes might be meatballs, they were so brown and glistening! I appreciated the lettuce and tomato being left on the side since I usually don't like those on a burger.

A local brew

Wagyu burger

We wandered over to Carnegie Mellon University where my daughter had a tour.

What the modern art?

My son and I found a weird math sculpture behind the university library. We only went there because of a geocache, of course. 

There was no interpretive sign

Across the road from the university is Schenley Park which has a memorial to George Westinghouse, another local industrialist celebrity. He invented, among other things, the air break for locomotives, revolutionizing the train industry in the mid-1800s. 

Main panel of the Westinghouse memorial

More accomplishments

Yet more accomplishments

A perpetual admirer

The memorial was funded by 50,000 Westinghouse employees who were grateful for his contributions, not only for their employment. 

Walking back toward campuses, we saw the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden.

A different kind of plant

The Mary Schenley Memorial Fountain features statues of the god Pan and the nymph Sweet Melody.

Schenley Fountain

Fountain with the Cathedral of Learning in the background

Back at Carnegie Mellon, we saw a statue of people walking up to the sky. Walking to the Sky is a sculpture that was first displayed in New York City in 2004, then moved to Dallas. This is a copy. Not all the figures at the base are part of the statue--some are curious onlookers!

Walking to the Sky

Cute Kid Pix December 2025

More photos that did not make their own post...

We had our first snow storm early in the month. The schools had a two-hour delay three days before for a non-event so they didn't panic this time and our kids went to school in the inch of snow. Everything went fine. The snow was gone in two days, alas. Even worse, there was not enough for sledding!

Actually, we did have snow ten months ago...

I won a contest months and months ago and the prize finally made it to me! The Holiday Hijinks series is a set of 18-card escape-room games, so that box has a dozen games in it. I am looking forward to trying them out!

Thanks, The Family Gamers!

My youngest went on a Scout outing to Urban Air, a fun indoor adventure land. I was a chaperone so I was able to take pictures.

The Leap of Faith

High ropes adventures

You're being followed

Spider-Man routine

Wall-crawling, also like Spider-Man

He made it to the top

They also had laser tag, a VR game, go-karts (indoors!), and a Ninja Warrior-style course. It was big fun.

We had a second snow storm in the middle of the month which was on a Sunday so only Sunday school was canceled.

We had our lights up by then!

The middle of December is also the time for the Winter Showcase at That's Dancing, our ballroom dance studio. We had a fun time with the theme, Country Christmas, and danced to two George Straight songs (videos to come later). The gift from the studio was a glass perfect for a pour of Guinness!

Commemorative glass (beer not included)

We did our traditional Christmas cookie decorating with an aunt.

Working hard

Making faces

Results

Getting plates ready for neighbors

My son spent some time hanging out by the computer.

Okay?!?

We went to Savage Mill for a "flash mob swing dance," which means that some dancers showed up and played music and danced while people shopped. We did not get pictures of ourselves or the dancers, but did get a shot of the long line for visiting with Santa (and the fabulous decorations).

View from the upper level

Christmas was a lot of fun if a bit melancholy. We miss our oldest son but had a good time celebrating with family at home and visiting in Phoenix. More on that in future posts!

Smithsonian Museum of American History

We made a Sunday trip into the District of Columbia (free parking!) and visited the National Museum of American History (again, see here). There are lots of exhibits, more than a half-day visit can take in. We viewed some new stuff.

Outside

We were naturally drawn to the Food exhibit, subtitled "Transforming the American Table."

Who can resist?

By the entrance is a recreation of Julia Child's kitchen. She was a celebrity chef in the mid-1900s, with many books and a TV show boosting her fame. She brought French cooking to America.

Julia Child's kitchen

She even won an Emmy award!

One display has a Krispy Kreme donut machine, which seems like a valuable item to put on display without maximum security.

Donut maker on right

Fast food is also represented, including this display of various to-go cup tops and a Jack-in-the-Box drive-thru display. The description said that the first drive-thrus had warnings that a "disembodied voice" would talk to them. I remember the two-sided burger containers that kept "the hot side hot and the cold side cold." 

Fast food history

The back of the exhibit has information on beer and wine, including little bits about Prohibition.

Beer as history...sign me up!

Home brew stuff

Wine industry

Tools of the vineyard

Post-Prohibition 

A sign explained that this Berkeley Food Pyramid was a joke made when food pyramids were very popular.  

Definitely a California thing

The display of Mexican food included the first frozen margarita machine!

I'd rather have Mexican than Berkeley

Another item that I wouldn't mind taking home

We found a more interactive exhibit in SparkLab. It's aimed at younger visitors and activities include making a pinball machine, choosing a uniform, and building a city block.

My first pinball

Picking out clothes

Making a city block

Unstable sky scraper

Across the way is the Gallery of Numismatics, an exhibit on money.

The sort of place they should keep the donut and margarita machines

Coins have a long history, going back to at least the seventh century BC. Some coins are more creative than others. Ancient Roman coins were made in a building next to the Temple of Juno Moneta (a combination of the more famous goddess Juno with a local goddess named Moneta). The temple probably stored coins and raw materials for making coins, and "moneta" became a root for "monetary" and "money" in English. 

Coins of various realms

Chinese coins included knives!

When American coins were redesigned in 1905, Augustus Saint-Gaudens was one of the artists who created images to be used.

Saint-Gaudens at work

Women in American money

Some coins are definitely not pocket change, like this piece of currency from the Island of Yap in the Pacific Ocean.

A coin from the island of Yap

We went for a snack in the museum's cafe (serving Starbucks) that has a fun Jazz theme.

Warm beverages

A lot of the poster were painted by LeRoy Neiman, an American artist. He painted a large compilation of Jazz artists at the entrance of the cafe.

Neiman's Big Band

The top floor has a pop culture area that had lots of things I was excited about.

The droids and me

Cap's shield

Indiana Jones gear

Sign from M*A*S*H

Julie Newmar's Catwoman ears, necklace, and gloves

Julie Newmar as Catwoman!

The museum has a lot of other displays, so I am sure we will go back some day.