Adios June

 

I will not be sad to put June in the rearview mirror - so on this final Friday of the month, I am happy to be saying adios to June! 

I also can't believe we are now done with the entire first HALF of this year! How does time move so quickly? 

Fallingwater

I confess - I thought it was spelled Falling Water - but I now know that it's actually spelled Fallingwater. You learn something new every day! I also don't think I realized that this incredible architectural masterpiece was so close to me! It's only about a 2 to 2.5 hour drive from Northern Virginia and the Laurel Highlands area of Pennsylvania is a really beautiful location! 

 

I loved the walk up and greeting area of Fallingwater - it is open air and really blends into the nature around it. The café, gift shop and art gallery are all made up of glass and allow for the light to flow around the space - it was lovely! We only waited about twenty minutes and then our tour group was called and away we went - down a boardwalk, alongside an open field and then - there was the house!

 

 

The house was designed in the late 30's for the Kaufmann family, who owned Kaufmann Department Store in nearby Pittsburgh. The family loved escaping the city and spending time in nature and they wanted a house that would "become" a part of the natural landscape of the Laurel Highlands - and their son recommended that Frank Lloyd Wright design a home for them - and so he did!

 

The process was not without issues - the family thought the house would be built with views of the waterfall but Wright build the house directly over the waterfall - a point of contention for a time. There was also a lot of disagreement about the cantilevered design of the house; Kaufmann thought the house would lack stability and had Wright's plans reviewed by another architect. When Wright found out, he threatened to quit, Kaufmann returned the plans and the engineer's report was buried in one of the stone walls of the house.

Kaufmann was correct - as the house's cantilever design would need reinforcements in the years to come!

 

The design of the house allows for the inside and the natural world outside to be joined together - the living room has boulders around the hearth that the house was built around and where the windows join to the rock walls, there is no metal - only caulking within the stone to allow for uninterrupted views! Of course, there is also the famous set of steps that extend down from the living room right to the stream running below and the sound of falling water (hehehe) is heard throughout the house!

 

 

The home is filled with stone and wood and there are even special windows made at the corners of the home that open to allow for air flow and the sounds of the stream to fill the house. Almost every room has a large balcony and the ceilings are low and the rooms small to encourage people to congregate outside, in the more natural areas! The one thing I was surprised to learn is that because the house is so integrated into nature - it is almost constantly being restored due to water damage! The stones that make up portions of the home hold moisture and the home itself even has a rather damp smell...

Out tour guide let us know that the home wasn't actually built to last - the Kaufmann's wanted the home to serve as their get-away for their lifetime and then, they weren't too worried about what happened to it! They had one son and he used the house for a time before turning it over to the state of Pennsylvania and then it was up to the state to conserver the home - which sounds like it's been quite an undertaking! While we were visiting, they were in the process of restoring the swimming pool at the guest house and it sounds like they are continually at work just to keep the house in good standing! Amazing!

Fallingwater is a beautiful house (although not really "my style") and is certainly an architectural marvel - I'm so glad we had a chance to visit! I also think I discovered that I am a big fan of the Laurel Highlands area of Pennsylvania - it's truly beautiful countryside and I'd love to return and visit more of the area! We stopped at an overlook that was part of Ohiopyle State Park as we headed back to Northern Virginia and the views were stunning! 

Have you been to Fallingwater? What did you think?

It Has Been a Minute!

Let me just say - June was not my favorite month this year. My husband and I have discussed that a lot in the last few weeks and I think we will both agree that June of 2023 will go down in our history as not the best month. As such - I've been missing in action somewhat, but I'm back today and essentially have a gigantic photo dump from the last few weeks... 

I wanted to share a couple of the "professional" pictures from Ryan's time spent being a Guardian for Honor Flight Virginia - I think I shared his snapshots earlier in the month, but these pictures came from the professional photographer that went to DC with the Honor Flight Group - and they're great!

 

The past few weekends seem like a lifetime ago - Ryan and I had no plans and no agenda the second weekend of the month and so we spent a slow Saturday driving over to Harrisonburg and then slowly making our way back home via Route 11. We stopped at Meems Bottom Bridge - one of the few covered bridges in the area... and I couldn't resist sticking my toes into the waters of the Shenandoah River slowly trickling by!

 

 

 

We took advantage of the proximity to downtown - Main Street is one street over from our house - to walk to Sugar Creek Snowy & Sweet, the ice cream parlor in our small town. They have some of the best ice cream I've ever tasted and we figured it we walked to the ice cream parlor - then we'd walk off the ice cream we ate, right? I absolutely love their Lemon Bliss ice cream and so I was happy to walk over to get it! Yum!

 

 

The week of June 12th was a whirlwind - all the days kind of ran together and are just a jumble in my mind... but my sweet husband did get me flowers and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of the beautiful blooms! He is such a thoughtful and caring guy and I am so blessed that the Lord saw fit to make him my husband.  

We had long had plans to be in Pennsylvania for Father's Day Weekend - we had made plans to head to the Laurel Highlands area of the state (about 2.5 hours for us) to attend an Air Show at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe and also tour Falling Water! We stayed at a really great AirBnB in the Latrobe area - although once we arrived we realized that the home was without a TV or any lamps/lighting in the bedrooms! You had to cut off the main light and hop into the bed, ha-ha! 

 

The Airshow at Arnold Palmer was Ryan's first experience - and I think we've absolutely converted him to a fan! I was raised on the sound of a jet engine roaring overhead and the smell of jet fuel, and now we are drawing Ryan into the cult of the airshow! The weather was incredibly nice - highs in the low 70's with a nice breeze; I ended up wearing a cardigan half the day because I was actually chilly! Granted - that meant I forgot my sunscreen on my back and ended up a little crispy! Whoops!

 

The Thunderbirds were the star of the show - as always - and they did a really great show! It's been several years since I've seen the Thunderbirds perform and while I think I prefer their former show music to the new music - the performance itself was still just as breathtaking! I think my husband is definitely a fan of air shows now... he and my Dad are already plotting our next air show adventure!

After the air show, we headed to have an early dinner and get ice cream in the lovely little town of Ligonier before making our way back to the AirBnB! The house was on a lovely piece of land and so we checked out the swing (only Ryan actually swung... swang...) and enjoyed the beautiful weather and views of the lovely Laurel Highlands area of Pennsylvania! 

Our final adventure of the weekend deserves it's own post - because we toured Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water and let's be honest - this post has plenty of pictures already, and I took plenty of pictures of Falling Water! Sunday after having breakfast at the Yogi Bear Campground and checking out a wee waterfall - we toured Falling Water and then headed back to Northern Virginia to open Father's Day gifts and get ready for a new week! 

I was off work on Monday the 19th for Juneteenth and the work week itself passed fairly quickly, if the week itself was not quite uneventful. Even more gorgeous flowers arrived at our house and I have to say that I very much love having fresh flowers gracing our kitchen table; they really brighten up a room! Friday evening we volunteered at a Dessert Night event at our church - honoring volunteers - and the desserts were absolutely stunning (and tasty). 

My Mother in Law stopped in on Friday night en route to her annual Girls' Trip and we stayed up until almost midnight talking! We had a divine breakfast at Flour and Water on Saturday morning before sending her on her way toward her friends and spending time perusing the Arts Festival in town, changing our wireless plan (always an adventure) and just trying to relax some! 

I was actually off work yesterday as well - and here we are, with June almost done! I can't say that I'll miss the month of June too much though! Certainly there were some bright spots in the month and we will mark those down in an effort to find the good - but my husband and I both agreed that we will not be sad to put June in the rearview mirror! 

And if you stuck with me through all these pictures and ramblings - well done you! You rock!