Every time we begin plotting vacation ideas here in the US I am always amazed by the vast size of our country. How incredible it would be if we could just move into an RV and drive, coast to coast, north to south, exploring every state at our leisure.

This year we will visit a few places new to our family as well as places my husband and I visited before we had kids, which we can’t wait to explore with the girls. Also included is a small “wish list” of destinations we would like to make it to, if time and money allow.

The Desert Southwest

Apache Junction

February will find my eldest daughter and I enjoying a long weekend in Chandler/Tempe/Mesa/Apache Junction, Arizona. I have visited in the past, but this will be Brenna’s first time seeing large cactus, mountains, and a real desert. We won’t get to the Grand Canyon, but have it on our “when the girls a re a bit older” list. Read More »

“It’s a building,” my kids said.

“Yeah, I’ll pass,” my husband added.

None of my family members could understand why I was so excited to spend an afternoon touring a house in western Pennsylvania that no one had been vacant for forty years. Even I, a Frank Lloyd Wright fan, wasn’t sure what to expect beyond an initial moment of awe upon seeing a home teetering on the edge of a waterfall.

The waterfall, as it turns out, was only a smart part of what made the former home of Pittsburgh department-store tycoons, the Kaufmann family, such a marvelous spectacle to explore.

Fallingwater was built for the Kaufmanns in the 1930s as an escape from the dirt and noise of the Steel City. When they originally commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright for the project, the Kaufmanns assumed they were having a home built with a view of beautiful waterfalls. It wasn’t until they saw the first sketches that they learned their home was to be built on top of the falls and into the surrounding mountainside.

A home teetering above rushing water is a sight to behold and an auditory wonder, no doubt. But the architectural genius is most evident inside the home where Wright’s firm hand controlled precisely how his building would be enjoyed. He used tight corridors and narrow doorways to force relief and an outward facing perspective upon entering his rooms and built-in storage spaces to dictate a clutter-free living space. Wright envisioned a family living among nature, not just looking out at it through windows, and he created sweeping decks, wide angel windows, and a waterfall-level patio to accommodate this vision.

Self-guided ground tours of Fallingwater start at $8, although a $20 guided tour of the house and guest quarters offer much more information than what can be gathered with the naked eye. An in-depth tour is $65 per person and is the only tour option that permits photographs of the inside of the house. Reservations should be made several weeks in advance for any of the guided tours, especially during the fall months when the autumn leaves allow for breathtaking photographs of the area.

Photo Britt Reints

Looking for a lesson in liquid nitrogen? How about a chance to practice your cryogenic surgery skills? Head to the Carnegie Science Center on Pittsburgh’s North Shore to learn through hands-on exhibits and interactive classes.

As you would expect, the Carnegie Science Center teaches kids (and adults) about electricity and gravity and centripetal force through a series of exhibits that vaguely resemble the play centers in a preschool. Of course, you won’t find an explanation of gamma rays or cryogenic tumor removal in most pre-K classrooms. At the science center you (or your kids) can pretend to be surgeons and devise a treatment plan for removing a tumor using gamma rays without affecting the patient’s hearing or speech. Impressed? Your kids will be.

Nothing impresses a kid like the promise of things breaking or exploding, a fact the Carnegie educational staff obviously keeps in mind when planning their daily learning labs. On a recent visit my son and I attended a class about liquid nitrogen and got to see the power of the ridiculously cold compound firsthand. Rest assured, no one was ever in danger, but frozen marshmallows and popping lids got the point across just the same.

In a corner tucked away from the flashing lights and twirling parts, a massive model train set tells the story of Pittsburgh much more quietly, but no less impressively. The model train and miniature village has been mimicking life in western Pennsylvania for almost 90 years and is updated constantly with new mini-animations. An extreme case of art imitating life, the village has been expanded and changed over the years to reflect new buildings and historical events happening in the region, including opening day of PNC Park.

A visit to Carnegie Science Center can easily last several hours, with enough focus changing to keep your kids from having an early afternoon meltdown. You may, however, want to plan for a quiet evening in your hotel (or at home) to make up for all that stimulation during the day.

In days gone by, cities built on bluffs faced a dilemma as they grew:  how to efficiently move people from the top of the hill, where homes were being built, to the lower ground where many worked.  A roadway might go miles out of the way, so a more efficient system was devised, a funicular railway.  These cable-driven railways moved people from the top of the hill to the bottom (or vice versa) along a very steep incline.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has one such system.  The Duquesne Incline opened in 1877 and was restored in the 1960s.  Today it is still operational, affording a beautiful view of the city from the top observation deck.  A museum of the incline’s history is at the top station, and tours that show the workings of the system are also available.  With a maximum round-trip fare of $4.50 for a round trip (with reduced rates for many groups and ages), it’s a slow-speed thrill ride as you climb the steep hill and look out over the city from above.  It’s not just for fun, however, as it is still used by commuters to get from home to work or school.

The main station of the Duquesne Incline is located at 1197 West Carson Street in Pittsburgh, and operates from 5:30 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 12:45 a.m. on Sunday.

Another such cable car can be found in Dubuque, Iowa, where the Mississippi River bluffs rise high above the downtown area of the city.  The Fenelon Place Elevator is the world’s shortest, steepest scenic railway, and from the top visitors can see three states.  The Fenelon Place Elevator got its start in the early 1880s, but fires caused it to be rebuilt several times.  Today it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and visitors or commuters can enjoy the ride for $2 roundrip.  Children 5-12 are half-price, and kids under 5 are free, a bargain price for a moving history lesson.  The top of the Fenelon Place Elevator offers views of downtown Dubuque, the Mississippi River, and surrounding areas, and at the bottom there are several shops and restaurants.  The downtown business district is just a few blocks away.

The Fenelon Place Elevator is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., April 1 through November 30, and is located at 512 Fenelon Place in Dubuque.

Other cities around the world have built funicular systems to move people up and down steep inclines.  Have you had a ride on one of these cable cars?

Linda (minnemom) writes about family travel at Travels with Children.  She continues to ride on these funicular railroads despite a strong fear of heights.