Soaking Up the Last of Summer

FunInTheSun

It is hard to believe that summer is almost over. It seems like it was just Fourth of July and now kids are going back to school and Halloween candy is making its appearance on store shelves.

We try our best to do everything on our “Summer Bucket List” but inevitability we realize that we can’t get everything done.

This year was especially difficult because our weather was more rainy and cooler on Saturdays, the days that we usually go and do our adventures.

After trying for about a month, we finally made it to the Soak Zone at Idlewild park last weekend.

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Included with a ticket to Idlewild park is Soak Zone, a small water park.

While we had been to the rest of the park through this year, we hadn’t been to the water park portion.

When I say it is a smallish water park, it is by no means tiny. There are about five different areas in the water park.

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Map courtesy of Idlewild

Soak Zone includes an awesome wave pool (which is where we spent most of our time), I think four water slides (it could be more), a lazy river type attraction, a little kids play area and a bigger kids play area that features a dump bucket with a bunch of kid sized water slides, plus a stand alone dump bucket.

When we first arrived last Saturday it seemed like it was going to be a little cool and very cloudy.

However, luck was on our side and it became pretty sunny and warm and we made it out before a storm hit.

Personally, my favorite place to spend time was at the Wowabunga Wavepool.

Lily could swim around and splash between wave sessions, and when the waves began, we sat on the “beach” and let the waves rush up on us.

Lily seemed to really enjoy the little kids splash area.

The pool is only about one foot deep and features tubes that spray water up and down. Kids even have the option of turning a valve that controls how much water sprays out.

We had such a wonderful day full of lots of family fun and memories.

We sure tired out Lily by spending almost four hours splashing around.

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We finished the day off by taking a ride on the carousel and grabbing a quick lunch before leaving. Lily was asleep before we hit the main road to home.

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Did you get to do a lot on your “Summer Bucket List?” Leave a comment below.

All Aboard

Living near Pittsburgh we have plenty of opportunities available to us for fun adventures on the weekends.

One of our favorite places to visit is the Carnegie Science Center.

Night shot of the Science Center
Photo courtesy of Carnegie Science Center

This huge facility has a bunch of different areas that explore everything from space travel, to robots to the human body.

One of our Mousekatot’s favorite places is the miniature railroad.

This railroad has been a staple of this facility for many years and offers an interesting perspective of our local area.

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The railroad covers all four seasons and offers a look at all the distinct places and areas that make southwestern Pennsylvania what it is including the steel mills, coal towns, farming areas and also key landmarks in the area.

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Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater

One area that is really fun for your little one is where a volunteer can invite them up to do the train whistle.

Lily had the most fun looking at the different scenes trying to see what the people were doing. She also loved that the scenes would go from day to night and all the lights would come on inside the houses and around the towns.

There is also a surprise train for those who are fans of “Thomas the Tank Engine.”

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The cost of the miniature railroad is included with admission to the science center and is a really nice place to visit and teach your kids about the Pittsburgh area and the history of the region.

What are your favorite places to visit for weekend adventures? Leave your comments below.

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