Pennsylvania in June....what to do....

[AnnieW625]

Dh’s aunt and uncle are having a small family reunion with probably about 30ish people in mid June in the Pittsburgh, PA area and we are planning on attending (I will be fully vaccinated and Dh maybe depending on supply). We really want to go because we rarely see these family members and DDs haven’t met their second cousins from DH’s family and they are all about DDs age (range from age 14 to 2 iirc).

So our trip will start in Philadelphia (where my aunt and uncle live) and will end in the Pittsburgh area (the actual event is closer to Johnston). We will be staying with my aunt and uncle in Philly and then making our way west. We will probably spend 3 days in Philly and then a day or two making our way west and a day or two in the Pittsburgh area.

So what would you suggest as far as visiting? I spent time in the Philadelphia area in 2001 and have visited historic Philly, Valley Forge, Lancaster, and Gettysburg, but DH and the girls have never been there. Would Hershey Park be worth a visit? None of us have been to Pittsburgh.

We had also talked about potentially looking at colleges for DD1 (she is only a freshman though), but I am not sure we will have enough time for that but if there are suggestions that we could see on the way to Pittsburgh or in Philly suggestions are welcome.


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[JBaxter]

Hershey Park is a fun amusement park so yes if you like the six flags / disney type thing. Philly has a nice zoo.

[georgiegirl]

I lived in Philly for one year and Pittsburgh for 4 years.

Skip Hershey park. There is so much to see and do in PA, it would be sad to spend it at an amusement park. In Philly, I’d do the typical stuff like Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, run the to top of the stairs of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (Rocky stairs), and Reading terminal Market (I’m not sure how it is with covid). Longwood Gardens is another nice place to visit in the area.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater is about an hour outside of Pittsburgh, and it’s amazing! Pittsburgh also had a great zoo. You can take the incline to the top of the hill for a great view of the city. If you want to look at colleges, both Pitt and CMU are right next to each other.


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[LBW]

Another amusement park option is Knoebels. It's family-run and probably more old fashioned than Hershey, so depends on what type of amusement park you like. (I prefer Knoebels.) It could be a nice half day stop on your way to Pittsburgh.

Atlas Obscura has a list of quirky things to do in Philly:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-.../places?page=1

In Pittsburgh, maybe visit the University of Pittsburgh? Lots of kids at our local high school in NJ apply there.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I’d probably skip Hershey Park. Maybe pop in at Chocolate World instead? Most of the activities are for the under 10 set but it’s still fun. Lots and lots of candy and treats to buy!
Falling Water is great! It requires way advanced tickets and you’ll want to do the actual tour.



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[lizzywednesday]

... Reading terminal Market (I’m not sure how it is with covid).

Reading Terminal Market is currently open with limited hours and occupation capacity limits, but if Philly's case numbers continue to fall, they should be a bit better able to accommodate diners by June.

I'd pick a few places to get lunch and/or treats from - my favorites are Flying Monkey Bakery, Bassett's Ice Cream, Beiler's Doughnuts, and DiNic's; DD likes Hunger Burger and Molly Malloy's (not sure what its current status is) ... and we love drooling over the candy displays at Mueller Chocolates - and plan to eat outdoors; there are a few cafe tables along the street, but they wouldn't be my first choice - go to a park!

I can wholeheartedly recommend the Museum of the American Revolution, which is a couple of blocks away from Independence National Park. They are currently open on an extremely limited basis, but with it being the newest museum in the historic area, I feel more comfortable visiting due to its air circulation capacity. DD and I have just renewed our membership thanks to my mom.

On my list is the National Constitution Center, which is at the opposite end of Independence Mall from Independence Hall. I signed DD up for a great virtual Girl Scout Day program last spring and she refused to participate, so I sat in & used what I learned to design our troop's badge work for the Democracy for Juniors (civics) and Inside Government (citizenship) badges, which we worked on in November 2020.

I enjoy the Philly Zoo and one of my high school friends works for Smith Memorial Playground, which I have yet to visit.

[StantonHyde]

Longwood Gardens and Falling Water are both amazing!!

[ang79]

I was going to suggest Falling Water too. And Longwood Gardens is beautiful! Lancaster has lots of shopping (Amish furniture and food). If you have history lovers you could stop by Gettysburg on your way to Pittsburgh. My DH loves touring the battlefields and my kids like climbing around Devils Den.


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[lizzywednesday]

...

Atlas Obscura has a list of quirky things to do in Philly:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-.../places?page=1...

They've got a good list! If you visit the Museum of the American Revolution, you can literally cross the street and see the (outside of the) First Bank.

There's a renovation project underway; visit their Instagram page for progress reports. It's on the back end of the Independence Mall area.

And if you visit Reading Terminal Market, don't forget to feed Philbert the Pig. (We have several photos of DD with Philbert; Reading Terminal Market is usually our lunch place after her cardiology checkups at CHOP.)

The last time DD had a cardiology checkup, we could see the Penn Museum out the exam room window; it's on my (extremely long) list of places I want to visit when we're on the other side of the pandemic.

[Kindra178]

Philadelphia has a great art museum. So fun to run the steps. I love the zoo. So many great little neighborhoods. I would do Hershey because that would make better memories for my kids than the liberty bell!

Pittsburgh is totally in right now. The college campuses are cool (i love college campuses!). There’s a good amount of outdoorsy stuff to do which probably looks very different than where you from.


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