One the Road Again Day 1

I hit the road on Labor Day driving two hours west to my friend Vicki’s house.  That way we could be up and out at the crack of dawn on Tuesday.  We were on the road before 7 on Tuesday and one would think we would be well into Ohio before dinner.   Well, I laugh in your general direction.   

We stopped at a turnpike rest-stop, buying lottery tickets wishfully thinking a win could fund our crafting lifestyle to infinity and beyond! 

We got off the turnpike and began taking a bunch of mountain side roads to a site-seeing destination.   We got involved in a construction debacle.  You know it’s bad when the flagger comes to your car window to tell you it would be at least a fifteen minute wait ‘cuz we got big machinery up dare’.   Then a ‘pilot’ truck finally comes to escort us through.   It was MILES long over hill and dale!   It was much ado about a milling machine that was working on bad narrow mountain roads.      Now if only the pilot truck said….”follow me to the next cross stitch store.

Next stop, Falling Water.    Unfortunately, yet another website that is not current.   Information was given for times of garden tours but nothing was said about timed admission to the house.   We arrived at 11 and the first available tour was 2 pm or 2:30.  

We found out there was a nearby town, 3 miles away, with restaurants, shops, etc.   Off we went to Ohiopyle.   On the way, I logged onto the website for Falling Water and got us tickets.    Yes, Ohiopyle  is a real place in Pennsylvania.  We were cracking up saying the name.   Ohiopyle is in the middle of Ohiopyle State Park.   It is a major hiking, biking and camping destination.   Quaint shops and eateries …..which were all closed because it is not the height of the biking, camping season and not yet time for skiing.    

   

     We walked the former railroad bridge which is part of the rails to trails biking system.   And no, those people on the rock were not naked.

Downtown Ohiopyle

Farm Market and eatery were open

Having walked all four or five streets in Ohiopyle, we decided to return to Falling Water and eat at the Cafe onsite.    When we checked in the reservation desk for our online tickets we found we were could take the 1:00 tour which started in five minutes!   Woot! Woot!   Maybe we could make up some time with the earlier detour.

Falling Water is the home of the Kaufman Family of Pittsburgh.  They owned a highly successful department store in Pittsburgh.   Their son was an acquaintance of Frank Lloyd Wright.  Wright was approached by Kaufman senior to design the home.   This was the location of the family’s summer cabin and they were looking for something more permanent that they would move into.  The cost in 1938 was $150,000 which was well over the $35,000 estimate or $10 million in todays dollars.

This place is pretty innovative as well as modern design for 1938.   This is the ‘boardwalk’ leading from the entrance down to the house.

First sighting of the home.

Everything red  is steel; everything cream colored is concrete and the rest is glass.  It really felt like a big tree house and I can only imagine how cool it must be in a rain storm or even in the snow.

Standing on the bridge over the river

This photo taken not for the Buddha (or whatever it is) statue but for the steps you can barely see over the statue’s shoulder.  These steps lead from the house to a spring fed pool.

View looking across the other side of the bridge to the house.

Water was everywhere.  

This is the canopy over the driveway/entrance into the house.    The section that is curved was done on purpose to fit around a large tree that was there.   There’s a tree in the way, go around said Wright.   The original tree has since died and a new maple has been planted in the same spot.

   

Canopy looking up the drive that lead to a four car carport/garage.

The house consists of 9,000 square feet but that does include the square footage of the outside terraces.  
Inside, Wright wanted the outside to be the main focus, so the furniture was designed to be low so at to not block the view of the outside.   

The large rocks on the floor in front of the fire place are actual boulders or rock structures that were existing on the site.   Again, there were not moved, they were built around.   Once the house was constructed, Wright wanted to ‘shave’ off the rock to be level with the floor.   The Kauffman’s preferred it as it was so it stayed.    The red ‘ball’ is a cast iron pot.   They would fill it with wine and hang it in the fireplace to warm before serving.

I think the section of the floor between the boulders gives the appearance of water flowing in a gorge.  

All the furniture was designed and made by Wright.    The accessories were the Kauffman’s.

Small desk tucked into the entry way.

Kitchen - again with beautiful views to the outside.

Much like the construction of the house, the furniture also reflected the cantilevered construction.

The slated area behind the  solar system are the forced air heating registers.

This is the stairs down to the spring fed pool.  The horizontal windows slide out of the way to allow you to descend the stairs.  

The Kauffman’s collected Tiffany items such as this piece.   There were several Tiffany lamps on the upper levels and in the guest house but not photographing was allowed on the upper floors.

This is called “The View”. 

Lunch at the Cafe after the tour and we enjoyed real Pennsylvania Birch Beer.   The lunch and the Birch Beer were both good.

 

And isn’t this just absolutely senseless…….all this for two women for one night at the Hampton Inn in Zanesville OH.  

Thanks for stopping by.   More in a couple of days.   Keep on stitching……someone has to be use I have accomplished very little so far this trip.