I’m baaaaaaack! That’s right, folks, I survived what had to be the Busiest. Vacation. Ever. The drive out to Pittsburgh was uneventful, but I wish I could say the same for the return trip. I’ll get back to that in a moment.

After settling into our room, Mr. Sweet and I took the kids to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2. I was quite pleased to see that the series was finished off as well as it had begun. MIL chose to go to the casino, but was already in her room when we returned. As the only non-smoking room available was a king room, that meant the kids stayed with her.

Unfortunately, Mr. Sweet and I were too tired to take advantage of it. (And of course, my period decided to make an early appearance the next morning, which put the kibosh on the rest of our evenings.)

The next day began bright and early, so we could get to Kennywood (amusement park) as they were opening. Poor Girl was just an inch shy of the tallest height restriction, and therefore had to miss out on the Thunderbolt, one of the best wooden roller coasters ever, and the Sky Rocket, their newest coaster. She did, however, get to ride the Racer, the Phantom’s Revenge, and the for the first time. As is our custom, we stayed until closing.

The following day we took the tour of Heinz Field, which not only took us through the team museum, but we got to see the press box, locker rooms, and the sidelines. GO STEELERS!!

Afterward, we enjoyed a tasty (and reasonably priced) lunch at Grille 36, Jerome Bettis’ restaurant. Then we walked back to the hotel and napped until it was time to go to the Pirates game.

The game was delayed for about forty minutes due to the rain, but since we had the “All you can eat” seats, the kids were kept entertained until the game resumed. Before the second inning, there were rumbles of thunder, and flashes of lightning, and the players left the field. It poured for another forty minutes or so before the game started again. The Pirates beat the Reds 2-0 and held on to their first place spot in the division. That made for a fun night, and a lovely walk home.

Our last full day was spent at the zoo and the Pittsburgh museum (a local branch of the Smithsonian, which happened to be across from our hotel). I got lots of cute pictures, but my favorite was one of the tigers, lying by a waterfall. I don’t usually have such good luck with photos, so this was especially impressive.

The museum was pretty cool too, they had a sports exhibit with displays from all the local professional and school teams.

The ride home was unpleasant at best, between my mother-in-law’s constant attempts to push my buttons, and the need to stop at the doctor’s office for Mr. Sweet. Turns out he has an umbilical hernia, which will require surgery to correct. And guess what activity is off limits for now? Le sigh.

Back to reality . . .

=p

P.S. It should go without saying that I am more concerned with Mr. Sweet’s health than my libido. Still, I figure I have the right to be frustrated.