Tag Archives: Fallingwater

Adventures Revisited: Decorating A Travel Tree

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One of my favorite traditions is to collect Christmas ornaments from the amazing places I go in this world. Each ornament gets its own postcard or tag with a trip memory written on the back. Then both the ornament and memory are displayed on a tree devoted only to my travels.

Sometimes the ornaments are actual Christmas ornaments. More often than not, they’re things that I purpose into an ornament.

A stuffed buffalo from Antelope Island in the Great Salt Lake, a toy plane from the day my dad and I saw the Memphis Belle together (that was our first big adventure just the two of us), a glass sun catcher from a trip to Wytheville, Virginia with my mother and a Canadian flag from Toronto are part of this collection.

Most items are new but a few are vintage like a souvenir pennant from Hollywood. When I visited back in 2004 I wasn’t collecting ornaments and I recently found this vintage piece in an antique store.

I decorated that tree this week and had a fun time reminiscing about my adventures. It was especially rewarding reliving this year’s fun with friends – Utah with Johnna, Fallingwater with Meria, Pittsburgh with Nichola and Virginia with my mother as well as the solo adventures I had this fall made me smile.

There are a few ornaments that I was careful not to read the tags or think about too much when I pulled them from the tote. Some memories are bittersweet enough they’re best left undisturbed. Maybe next year I’ll be ready.

But this is an overwhelmingly happy tree to decorate and enjoy throughout the season. Seeing the Biltmore decorated for Christmas was a bucket list item that I checked off a few years ago. Memphis is where I paid my respects to Elvis and where I saw BB King play in his club on Beale Street. A vintage toy train reminds me of my solo road trip through rural Indiana while a toy soldier reminds me of the morning I watched the sun rise over the George Rogers Clark Memorial and the tour I had inside the memorial – just me and a National Park Service Ranger. That Hollywood pennant reminds me of one warm Easter Sunday spent at Venice Beach. That was the only Easter I’ve spent away from home. A decorative Santa Claus tells the story of road tripping through Canada and finding the unexpected in Toronto last year.

I’ve never regretted taking a trip or the occasional sacrifice necessary so I can afford to do so. This tree is a testament to why.

Travel enlightens. It reminds us of our place in this world and how small we are. It teaches us about other people, their traditions and values. It gives us a release, an opportunity to escape reality and have fun.

It’s good for us.

I’m already dreaming of the next adventure and wondering what memories I’ll add to the tree next year.

 

Fallingwater

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IMG_5650Fallingwater has been on my travel bucket list since my college days when an art history professor brought it to my consciousness. I finally got to go this fall, along with my best friend of many, many years. It was a nice but quick trip and we did some other things along the way including the Flight 93 Memorial.

Fallingwater is incredible and worth every penny if you’re an architecture nerd or if you just like unusual places.

Tours are taken in small groups. They begin with a short walk from the visitor pavilion to a bridge outside the home. No pictures are permitted inside and you must be careful to touch nothing. They are extremely particular. We witnessed a guy being shamed for allowing his jacket to touch a wall while someone was called in with a cloth to clean the spot. Don’t be that guy.

The guides offer a nice overview of the family that commissioned the home, the activities that went on here over the years, and the budget that Wright blew with spending that soared to insane heights. And, of course, you’re given insight into the hidden secrets of this amazing house.

This was a vacation home for the Kauffman family, a prominent Pittsburgh family known for their Kauffman’s Department Stores. The  Kauffmans called the property Bear Run and often hosted employees here.

Wright’s love of nature is evident in his work as structures like Fallingwater are designed to seem like they are part of the landscape and they are designed to bring nature indoors. Fallingwater looks like it grew naturally out of the hillside.

And he brings nature inside as well. In fact, the living room floor is a large slab of rock and a stream drips through the house. Narrow hallways and dark stairwells seem to push visitors into areas of the home with access to nature. And, of course, the house is built over a water fall!

He hated clutter and disapproved of anything that encouraged the accumulation of stuff. Homeowners often had to negotiate with him for things like closets, shelves and freezers.

But the results are truly phenomenal. It’s one of those places that you really have to see to believe and I would strongly recommend that you go see it.

If you go, the house is closed during winter months. Advance tickets are required and they are for a designated tour time so you’ll need to plan your day smartly. There are nice facilities in a modern pavilion including restrooms, a cafe, gift shop and gallery plus trails on the property that can provide a stretch of the legs as well as access to this beautiful property.

If you’re in the area anyway, be sure to visit Kentuck Knob, another Wright house that’s just down the road. There are also countless ways to get outside to hike, bike and boat in this region.

Have questions? Plan your trip to Fallingwater starting with their website!