Arsenal Bowl is an award-winning bowling alley in Pittsburgh, and is a staple attraction right in the heart of Lawrenceville.
While more or less your typical bowling alley, this one gets a few extra points for a higher-end ambiance, themed nights, and of course, its location!
I've driven by the RIDC industrial park off of Route 28 more times than I can count, and to be honest I never quite took a moment to stop and research all of the businesses that call that area home.
Had I looked into this further, I would've discovered Inventionland. Sadly, it wasn't until I was invited out for a tour by the company that I became aware of its existence. Naturally, with a name like Inventionland I went out to learn more immediately and I was blown away within moments of walking through the door.
We are big fans of caves, and in southwest Pennsylvania, our options to go underground are a bit limited.
Closer to the city it is much easier to find an old coal mine to go deep into (like at the Tour-Ed Mine and Museum) than it is to find a cave. But for those who want to make the drive in order to explore a gorgeous cave system (and the largest cave in Pennsylvania), the 90 minute trip to the Laurel Caverns in the southern Laurel Highlands is for you!
For the longest time, we never really saw the allure of escape rooms. We knew of their popularity and saw how many escape rooms in Pittsburgh were popping up, but it wasn't much of a priority for us.
It wasn't until we found out that friends of ours love escape rooms that we decided to check one out, and we made our way to Escape Room Pittsburgh at their Homestead location to try our hand at a challenging room.
The theme? An appropriate Pittsburgh connection aptly named Carnegie's Millions. Our goal? To save the world, of course!
If you drive by Playthings Etc. in Butler, PA, you'll know it.
That isn't because of the signage or an unusual display, but rather that the toy store itself is shaped like a stealth bomber!
If that isn't enough to make you want to stop, we don't know what would (but we're going to try to convince you all the same). Going inside this one is even better than the outside!
The Palace Theatre in Greensburg is a popular performing arts space that is known for its history as much as its world-class performers that take the stage each week.
While I am still looking for the perfect show to take in a performance at the theater, I was able to get in on a behind-the-scenes tour to check out more of the history of this iconic spot!
When it comes to Frank Lloyd Wright in the Laurel Highlands, you likely know of Fallingwater. You've probably also heard of Kentuck Knob just a few miles away. But did you know that there is a third site containing the acclaimed architect's work?
This location is Polymath Park- home to two Frank Lloyd Wright houses and two more built by his student, Peter Berndtson.
But the Wright houses here are rather unique- the two houses were completely relocated to the park in the last few decades!
PNC Park is home to the Pittsburgh Pirates and is also considered to be one of the most beautiful ballparks in the country.
While a great place to be during a game, the park is also home to a behind the scenes tour that goes to a number of interesting spots inside the stadium that you normally won't see in a regular game, including:
Taking this tour was high on my Pittsburgh bucket list, but I always had trouble scheduling a visit to coincide with a date I could get inside the Clubhouse. Now that I finally made that happen, it is time to share a few highlights from the tour!
Whenever we travel (especially abroad), we always love finding free city tours as a means to get our bearings in a new location and to also learn more about the city/country's history.
While Pittsburgh does have periodic, free city tours run by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, they are often limited in frequency and location. We, as a city, simply needed more.
It wasn't until late 2018 that Pittsburgh finally got its own free walking tour, put on by the appropriately named Free Pittsburgh Walking Tours. Naturally, I jumped on this one in early 2019 to give it a try and really enjoyed the tour overall!
We absolutely love going out to the movies, and sometimes events require us to see a show on the largest screen imaginable.
Enter the Carnegie Science Center IMAX Theater, also known as the Rangos Giant Cinema- a theater you really need to check out.