9 June 2016: Puck drops at 1:30 AM
Since we are going to miss watching the end of the Stanley Cup, Cole decided he was going to wear his Penguins gear till they won. It was funny till the Pens dropped Game 5 and he started to stink. He continues to carry his Terrible Towel and Pens hat, but we had to retire the jersey till we hit a laundromat.
8 June 2016: London calling, a day early.
Today has not worked out like we planned. It is important to be flexible when travelling and today we are putting that to the test. A few months ago we had received several emails from the airline, Aer Lingus, about changes to our flights. I noticed the times were revised slightly and the terminal assignments changed but did not think too much of it.
So I dropped Elle off for her last day of school and went to work like we do most every morning. I logged on to the airlines website to verify the exact details for tomorrow and realized the plane leaves today! The airline was of no help, they wanted to charge us fee increases and penalties that were in excess of what we originally paid for the flights. We decided it was go time.
Luckily we had most of the packing complete and work was flexible. It became a mad dash to get to the airport and make some changes to hotels and the rental car for our early arrival. We got here out of breath and just in time… when we found the flight was delayed 2 hours. Let’s hope the rest of the trip across the pond goes a bit smoother.
7 June 2016
For our first trip to Europe, we chose the Mother Country, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Cara has always wanted to visit Ireland as that is where many of her relatives originated. It appealed to me as the least intimidating since none of us speak a second language.
Months of planning and we are almost there. One more day of work and school. Most of the packing is done, just a few last minute items remain. We made the flight, car rental, and hotel accommodations over 6 months ago. We planned this trip so far in advance, I need to refer back to the itinerary to remember the details.
TripAdvisor.com is my go-to research tool for general information and reviews for attractions, hotels and restaurants. Google Maps is a close second, bit of a street view junkie I’d say. Given the information available today, we rarely find ourselves in hotels we don’t like but we never know until we arrive. Cara and the kids are sometimes anxious to see where we will be staying. I’m usually a little nervous, just hoping it doesn’t suck. All-in-all we’ve had good luck.
The only part I am a little nervous about is the driving. Many of the rental cars in Europe are stick shifts, which I would enjoy, but my wife would not want to drive. I was a little freaked out by the idea of shifting with my left hand and not entirely sure which side the clutch would be. Best to avoid problems, I reserved an automatic.
With a few exceptions, I think we are ready for the U.K., although I’m not sure they are ready for us.
31 May 2016: North Park
In the morning before the long drive home, Cole and I took a walk around the North Park Lake. We travelled south through West Virginia but instead of taking the most direct route we got bored and took a left outside Summersville at WV39 through the mountains and popped out in Roanoke, Virginia.
30 May 2016: Downtown and Stanley Cup Game 1
Cole and I toured downtown. We started near the stadiums and talked for a while to the road crew setting up the Beyonce show the next night at Heinz Field. Next we drove across the river to the Console Center and took a walking tour of downtown.
Back at the Console Center, we enjoyed the Stanley Cup atmosphere. The Pens beat the Sharks 3-2 in a tense game. Cole was extremely excited, one of the happiest times I’ve ever seen him, maybe only outdone by Disney’s Cars Land.
30 May 2016: North of Pittsburgh
No trip to Pittsburgh is complete without taking a drive around and reminiscing in the towns I used to hang out. We drove by my childhood home, elementary, middle and high schools. From Ambridge we drove north through Baden and up the Ohio River Boulevard through Beaver, New Brighton, Beaver Falls, Ellwood City and Zelienople. In Beaver, we walked along the Ohio River and got ice cream. In Zelie, we stopped at the “new” Baldingers, no longer the ambience of the old Food of All Nations building but still fun. A brief stop back at the hotel before heading downtown.
Along the way, we stopped to find my grandparents graves. It had been awhile but I thought I knew exactly where it was. Cole and I walked around the cemetery for 30 minutes until I realized this Catholic cemetery had quite a few Jewish names. Oops, I guess it had been too long, the Catholic cemetery was next door! My grandparents are buried 20 feet from Art Rooney, the founder of the Pittsburgh Steelers. My grandfather might have never become rich or famous, but in the end he ended up in the same place as Pittsburgh royalty.
29 – 30 May 2016: North of Pittsburgh
After a long drive from North Carolina to Pittsburgh, we checked into a hotel in Warrendale, about 20 miles north of the city and nearby where I grew up. We had dinner at a local chain dinner, Eat-n-Park. The food was not as good as I remembered but the pie was still worth the stop. After dinner we went shopping and took a quick tour of the area including Mars.
Flying Saucer in Mars, PA
In the Spring of 2016, we traveled through the heart of Texas, including Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Austin. We blogged this trip (The Texan 2016) and plan to re-post here in the future.
In December 2015 we visited New York City during the Christmas Season. We will post more details in the future.
Following our family trip across the United States, I took a 2 week trip up the AlCan Highway from Calgary, Alberta to Fairbanks, Alaska. Another epic road trip that I blogged (Alaskan Highway 2013) and hope to re-post here.
American Family Travels 
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