Road Trip and some traveling knitting!

We're back! Back from our road trip to Niagara Falls, New York and Pittsburgh, PA. I didn't send any postcards, but I think I like this virtual one better, because I was the photographer :) It's a rather misty shot, but I love the effect of the colored lights on the falls.
We had a fun few days exploring Niagara Falls. We did all the touristy things....Maid of the Mist boat ride (magnificent views, but you do get really wet), Cave of the Winds(soaked again, but they gave us souvenir sandals to wear)...walkway view of the falls, Niagara Aquarium and we saw an incredible fireworks display over the falls. We also walked over to Canada over the Rainbow Bridge to see the view from the other side. Both views are different and beautiful in their own right. Which side is better? That's a difficult question. There were definitely more people on the Canadian side. The surrounding area is much more commercialized, but pretty with all the gardens as well as a great view of the falls. This was not my first visit to the Canadian Falls. We took our oldest many years ago when he was about four years old. It is much more built up now, but I still remember all the pretty gardens. Looks like Disney World if you get my drift. The American side is more natural looking given that it is one of the oldest National Parks. I recommend walking over the bridge and then you can see both sides, therefore you need not miss out on any of the views!

Before we left NY we also visited Lockport. We saw boats going through the locks on the Erie Canal and took a cave tour and boat ride. The cave is a man made one. Learned an interesting fact about where the term "hoagie"(as in sub or grinder sandwich) originated from. The boys (called Hoagies) who worked in the Lockport Caves back in the old days were given a box lunch that had a cold sandwich in it made from head cheese or liverwurst and that's how the sandwich got it's name. We had many "hoagies" on this trip. We also visited the University of Rochester to give my middle guy an idea what their campus looks like. He's just starting to look at colleges. Another place we toured was the Niagara Power Vista, which was very interesting. The Niagara River is a huge electric power source for the area.

Then off to Pittsburgh. We visited the Pittsburgh Zoo, Carnegie Science Center, PNC Park for two ballgames ( I only saw one game and enjoyed my time alone in the motel that night) and another fabulous, best ever fireworks display after the last game. The Pittsburgh zoo is a very nice zoo. Not a huge one, but they have lots to see. An elephant baby was born while we were there, but we didn't get to see it, which was disappointing. When we went on our last big family vacation to Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2001 we were very lucky to see the baby panda, which was very exciting. The Carnegie Science Center's exhibits (hands on) were a little bit young for my boys. It would have been heaven for the 6 - 10 age group. The best part of the visit was touring the USS Requin, a WWII submarine. The boys all enjoyed that :)

Of course food is always the high light of our trips...the boys were delighted to visit Primanti Bros. Ever since they saw a show on the Food Network that's all they would talk about. This is a very famous restaurant for there they serve sandwiches that they put the french fries and cole slaw right inside the sandwiches, very unusual! My husband and middle guy had to try one, but my youngest and I had their pizza which was outstanding! They loved the sandwiches. It's one of those things that you just have to try :)

Here is a mosaic of some ( just a sampling) of the photos from our trip:
Now for some knitting. With all those hours in the car I did manage to complete a ballband cover for my old Oster Kitchen Center.

This was fabulous traveling knitting, mindless enough so I didn't miss out on any of the sight while driving. This time I knit the entire piece in the round and then closed off the top with single crochet and crab stitch. I know I could have grafted it closed with kitchener's, but I thought it would be nice to have a matching set finished off with the crab stitch. I think it matches my toaster cover quite well and now I'm working on another cover for my kitchen aid mixer. I think this will take a while to complete. Am I getting sick of working with this yarn and pattern?...why yes, but I can't help but look forward to having all my appliances outfitted with matching covers. I think I can handle it :)

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I am so behind with my blog reading that it will take me a while to catch up on everyone's news. I know you all understand what it's like returning from a trip...the mountains of laundry and mail, paying bills, shopping and the general getting back into the swing of real life again. It's nice to go away, but it's nice to come home again. The 12 and a half hour drive home from Pittsburgh took a lot out of me and I did none of the actual driving...just sat and knit :)

Happy Knitting everyone :)

P.S. If you are interested in making your own postcard and mosaic check out Big Huge Labs.
Both of them were really easy to make. I highly recommend it :)

I'll leave you here with a couple videos of the Canadian Falls and the fireworks display at PNC Park, Pittsburgh. The display was even longer, but we ran out of batteries :)