SibSab 2026 – More Pittsburgh Activities

Continued from:   SibSab 2026 – A Rocky Start in Pittsburgh

On Saturday morning, we first went to the National Aviary.  We arrived just in time to catch a showing of Remarkable Raptors, a most enjoyable experience where different birds of prey swooped down from their high perches soaring just inches above our heads while performing interesting feats (sorry, no photos allowed inside).  We then toured some of the vast open-air areas where we saw Penguins, one interestingly named for a famous Memphian, Elvis…

… flamingos…

… bald eagles…

… parrots…

… and numerous beautiful small birds.

After a quick lunch, we next went to the Heinz History Center.

I am, as most people are, certainly familiar with the Heinz brand of products, but I did not know the company was founded by Henry John Heinz just outside Pittsburgh in 1869.

Housed in what was originally a 1900 ice storage building, the seven-story museum prominently featured the history of the H. J. Heinz Company and many of its early products.

If you are like most people, you probably wonder where the Heinz 57 came from.

As I suspected, it started with the counting of products, but H. J. Heinz liked the sound of 57 so much and just stopped there.

Ironically, no where was Heinz 57 Sauce featured in the museum, the product where he stopped counting although the one, they are perhaps so famous for was prominently displayed.

But it is much more than just a ketchup museum.  Beyond the Heinz products, the museum displays many other well-known events and individuals that called Pittsburgh their home.  One of the best known is Fred Rogers…

… and included is one of his signature sweaters which for many years, his mother knitted for him.

Originally a buttoned cardigan, the buttons were replaced with zippers after a live episode where he mis-buttoned his sweater leaving an unsightly gap for all to see.

Also included in the exhibit where some of the sets from the PBS TV show.

Another quite famous individual, Andrew Carneige was present in a wax figure.  Behind him, is a ruler that highlights he was a short 5’ 3” tall.  Although short in stature, he had a huge impact on the industrialization of our country.

I was familiar with the original Ferris wheel built for the 1893 Columbia Exposition in Chicago but did not know that Ferris was also a resident of Pittsburgh.

But I was completely unfamiliar with the number of jazz musicians who hail from Pittsburgh.  There was a video of interviews of many of them, and with jazz being my favorite music genre, I stayed enthralled for quite some time watching it.  In 1969, they posed for a photo similar to the famous 1959 one made of jazz musicians in Harlem entitled, “A Great Day in Harlem.”

While I spent over two hours in the museum, I did not see it all and could have easily stayed longer.  My siblings gave up on me much earlier and found a comfortable spot to sit and wait on me.  I found them as I came down the stairs.

While we were inside the museum, a strong thunderstorm blew through Pittsburgh.  We were glad we were inside for it and when we left, the storm had moved east allowing us to walk back to our car without getting wet.  But little did we know what effect this storm would have on the rest of our trip.

With all the walking we had done over the past two days, we decided rather than finding a place to eat dinner out to which we might have to walk more from the parked car, we would pick up another one of those delicious pizzas we had a couple of nights before and take it back to our rental home.  This time we did get a picture before diving in.  It seemed even more yummy the second time!

On Sunday morning, we decided to eat one more time at that same diner with the scrumptious breakfast fare.  After breakfast, we were thwarted in our attempts to visit Fort Pitt (more on that later) and the Fred Rogers Memorial as all the streets leading to these were blocked off for a parade.  We then decided to get an early start on our drive to our next location.

When my brother was planning the three different Frank Lloyd Wright destinations of our trip, he had us leaving Pittsburgh around 6:30 on a Monday morning for the ninety-minute drive to Fallingwater to ensure we arrived on time for our 8:30 AM tour.  When my brother mentioned this early departure time to me, I suggested instead we find another rental closer to Fallingwater.  He searched and found one in Mill Run which was less than three miles from Fallingwater.  This then was our destination on Sunday afternoon.

Our brother graciously drove us there arriving early in the afternoon for what was a big surprise.

    To be continued…