Thursday Thirteen- Kennywood

Yesterday, we went to a local amusement park called Kennywood. It was a rainy day but we took a chance and went anyway. We were rewarded with an almost empty park, all to ourselves! Although Kennywood ended up closing early due to low attendence, we enjoyed the heck out of ourselves. Here are 13 highlights of the day:


This ride, called the Swing Shot, scares the crap out of me! There are two arms that swing people back and forth, pretty high in the air. As it swings, it makes a very loud grinding sound that sounds like one of those movie monsters roaring. Ugh, no thanks!

This is one of the newer coasters Kennywood put in. My oldest loves this ride.

Here is a look down the track of the Phantom's Revenge.

The Wave Swinger. A nice, traditional ride.

I have never understood the need to put oneself very high in the air and free fall drop out of the sky. That is what parachute jumping is for, not an amusement park ride called the Pit Fall! Not for the faint of heart for sure.

The Pittsburgh Plunge. I have to admit, this is a fun ride. Water rides are always my favorite. This one just has one very steep hill that lets off a big splash. The bonus is that you can soak most of the non-riders too if they stand in the right spot :)

Ahh, the train. As I get older, this ride becomes more appealing. Did I really just say that? Anyway, when your feet are killing you from walking, it's a nice break. As you go around looking at the sites, a narrator talks about the history of Pittsburgh and Kennywood.

It's hard to believe that mills like this one used to be all over Pittsburgh, causing the city to be thought of as the "Smoky City". I didn't live here during those times, and I'm sure glad of it. This was taken while on the train ride.

This is Kiddie Land. I took it just to show how empty the place really was.

Matter or fact, it was so slow this employee decided to take advantage and take a nap!

Even the ducks decided it was safe enough to come out for a walk!

One of three wooden coasters still in action at Kennywood. This one is the Racer. One red and one blue coaster have been racing each other for years now. I'm not sure anyone knows which one wins the most.

The Log Jammer. This ride was always a favorite of mine, and now it's my kids' favorite. This is my oldest and youngest getting in just one more ride before the park closed for the day.