Daddy - Daughter Date: A Day in Pittsburgh

We started our day by pulling out of the driveway at 7:20am. Enough said, huh? lol

After a 20 minute drive down 219, we jumped on the PA Turnpike in Somerset for our trip to Pittsburgh. This day was planned out, and RE-planned out many times. And we just 'went with it' and were flexible.

It took us about an hour to get to the PGH Zoo from Somerset .... if you live near me now (just S of Johnstown), it is SO MUCH QUICKER to just drive straight down 219 to Somerset & jump on the Turnpike, much faster than going north to 22, or taking Rt 30!

Liv & Kate had both been to the Zoo before (my FIRST visit to the PGH Zoo!), but this was Katie's idea, so that's where we went first. Arrived just after the gates opened at about 9:35am. THIS was well worth it!!!! $14 a piece to get in, but there are deals that folks can take advantage of if they want to make more than one trip a year to the Zoo. We started out seeing the big cats! Tigers are SO COOL! So many good moments at the Zoo .... the one-armed monkey was a highlight, along with the gorillas. I'm a big fan of giraffes (pronounced GI-raffs, for those of you who were Bugs Bunny fans growing up), and the girls had to drag me away from the 'Towers of the Serengeti!'

There is an aquarium as well, and it was very well put together! We also walked through the 'Kiddie Zoo', which, even though the girls are getting older, they both seemed to enjoy a lot! Wrapped things up right around noon, and it was the PERFECT amount of time for me! We saw everything, and left just as we were all getting hungry!

We next drove down to 'The Strip District' for lunch at Pamela's Diner. I know EVERYONE rants about Primanti's, but I'm not a big fan. If you LOVE breakfast foods, Pamela's is the only place to go!!! Olivia got Strawberry Hotcakes, which are made 'crepe style' (very thin) and are folded over the fruit like an omelet. She loved it! Katie had Corned Beef Hash with scrambled eggs and I got my usual 'Tex Mex Omelet!' Lunch was awesome and the girls loved the atmosphere on their first visit to Pamela's!

After lunch we walked the Strip a bit. Kate bought herself an Andrew McCutchen T-shirt and we stopped into a bunch of shops and soaked up the atmosphere. Used my coupons to pick up a couple of new items at Penzey's, and bought some fudge at Fudgie Wudgies too!

Next, at my insistence (lol), we drove over to PNC Park where we walked around the stadium and my girls indulged dad by posing for pictures at each of the four statues! At this point, we started wearing out a bit!! lol

This was when I realized that not having some place to sit down and relax for a bit, let alone no where for a 'potty break', should have been part of 'The Plan!'

We turned the A/C up full blast (it was close to 100 degrees and very humid), and slowly made our way to Southside, with a much needed stop for water and Gatorade!

Once we found Southside, the SHOPPING started! Any Dad will tell you that shopping, ESPECIALLY in clothing stores, with two teenaged girls is the ULTIMATE test of your patience as a father!!! But we got through it!!! Much thanks to the folks at American Eagle & Aerie for ALL of their patience!!!!

The girls each finally settled on new outfits which they changed into for the rest of the day! (NOTE: I DID suggest taking extra clothes BEFORE we left!!!)

It was at this point that the THUNDERSTORM started!

LOTS of wind, blowing dirt in my face as I waited outside while they tried on clothes, and then the RAIN started!!! Luckily we did not get drenched .....

There was also a fire somewhere up Carson St ..... we stayed where we were .....

It was now around 5pm, and I was really starting to feel like I had bitten off more than I could chew!!! I was ready to go home .....

But, then my phone rang and my friend from long ago, Kim, rode in to the rescue!!! We met up with Kim in front of The Cheesecake Factory, and after some deliberation, decided to go to The Waterfront (???? Hope I'm 'naming' the place right????) for more shopping.

Kim was kind enough to accompany Katie into 'Ulta' and I took Olivia to 'Barnes & Noble.' That killed some more time, as we were still fairly full from brunch. Liv & I went and checked out the menu at a restaurant there called 'Yokoso', a Japanese, Hibachi & Sushi place. We met back up with the 'K-girls' and decided to eat dinner there.

Only problem was that my time on the parking meter back at Southside was going to run out!!! Needless to say, Kim showed the patience of a saint and drove us all the way back to my car so I could feed the meter, and then back to Yokoso's! THANKS KIM!

I could give a complete review of Yokoso's, but I will sum things up quickly. It was a nice place, the food was good, but the prices were a little high. Katie ordered Octopus Salad and hated it! lol

My girls had wanted some 'authentic noodles', so they each ordered some kind of soup-like dish that they both enjoyed, and Liv ordered Sushi which she shared with Katie after the Octo Salad debacle! Kim had Veggie Spring Rolls and fried rice, and I got Sushimi & rice.

My only TRUE complaint was that this place automatically ADDS in the gratuity. With my background in restaurants, I am one who usually tips very well, but the audacity of 'pre-adding' a tip for a party of 4 (!!!) is something that will ALWAYS bother me. So we added no extra gratuity to the 20%! I know that it's stubborn of me, but had they not done this, the server would have probably received 25% or so. Honestly .... the service could have been better, and she probably didn't deserve more than the old standard 15% anyway, so I guess it's a good thing for her that they have this policy.

To finish up our day, we returned to my car where I jumped out and followed Kim & the girls up to Mt Washington (where Kim has a BEAUTIFUL, quaint home!) to take pictures of the city at night. We took MANY MANY photos from this unbelievable vantage point! Pittsburgh truly IS beautiful city, and if you have never been up to Mt Washington at night to view the city ALL LIT UP, then you are really missing out!!!!

And the day did not end there! Kim treated us all to ice cream!!!

We said our good-byes and headed home, arriving just after midnight. WOW! What a LONG DAY!!! But SO WORTH IT!!!

When people say, "these are the times we will never get back with our children", this is the kind of day they are talking about!!! I will NEVER forget spending an entire day with my beautiful daughters in Pittsburgh!!!

I give thanks to God for being with us all day long, for safety and health throughout the day, and for bringing Kim to us, just as we were wearing out, to re-energize the day!!!!

And thanks to Diane, my wife, for being patient & understanding and blessing this day. With 6 kids between us, we cannot always do EVERYTHING together ... and I know she would have liked to have shared this day with us as well. Work schedules and the schedules of the other kids often preclude us doing everything as a family. Thank you Diane, for allowing this day to be a great experience for the girls and I!

SEVENTEEN HOURS!!!

MORE than worth it ......

{Please take a moment to scroll to the bottom of this page and leave a comment and/or rate this article. Check out my other articles and 'Original Recipes' here in HubPages! Thank You!}