Fallingwater Trip June 2012

Left last Friday for two days in Pittsburgh to see Tigers play Pirates at PNC Park, a beautiful new stadium on the Allegheny River--they lost both games by same scores of 4-1, lousy hitting and some poor fielding.  But we had a ball--even got free shirts and hats!

Saturday morning we walked to the Monongahela Incline for the tram ride up to Mount Washington--free to old folks.  Had brunch at a small family diner, sharing a Pittsburgh-style hamburger that included cole slaw and French fries as well as lettuce and tomato.  Quite good.  Then a stroll along Grandview Avenue toward the other incline for our trip back down.  Tried for a geocache but could not locate it.  Some very nice views of Pittsburgh and the three rivers on our walk especially at the Duquesne Incline.  Visited Fort Pitt where outline of the fort is marked by marble slab walkways.  Walked again to the game over the Roberto Clemente Bridge. Left after the game for overnight stay at Connellsville B & B.  Interestingly a magazine in the room had an article on local athlete John Woodruff (graduated one year after my dad) who won the 800 meters at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin that Jesse Owens made famous.

After breakfast on Sunday we drove by my dad's boyhood home that looks pretty much the same as I remember from 50 years ago.  Off to Fallingwater along winding mountain roads for our wonderful brunch tour.  Amazing how parts of the house stick out over the stream with a small falls.  And similarities to Emerald Lake.

Just down the road we visited Kentuck Knob, another FLW house more similar to EL than Fallingwater; we speculate Uncle Eldon visited and took ideas from it:  no right angles, piano hinges on doors, built-in closets, fieldstone walls to name some.  Outside was a sculpture meadow that we walked; it included a piece of the Berlin Wall.  Hagen, the original owner, had an ice cream factory in Uniontown so we had a Hagen ice cream cone at the end of our tour.

Earlier, on our drive to Pittsburgh, Kathy asked if the Flight 93 Memorial would be nearby.  We did some research and sure enough it is less than two hours from Kentuck Knob so we went even though it added some time to our day. Very emotional experience, tearful at times. Main walkway is along the fatal flight path to the crash site.  Victims ames are engraved on a long wall. Especially moving was a woman's name that had a faint addition, "and her unborn child."

Then the PA Turnpike driving experience, finally checking in at hotel near Sandusky.

Monday morning began two days in Amish Indiana on a Quilt Gardens Tour of 19 gardens in 7 communities along with 16 quilt murals.  Saw them all and they each impressed us.  In addition there were a few quilt shops to be examined and a shave ice treat to eat in Shipshewana.  We found a cache in Wellfield Botanic Gardens in Elkhart and this spectacular view of their quilt garden.

Our last stop on Tuesday before dinner at Nachos was a huge quilting store in E. Lansing--Kathy was in seventh heaven!  Great trip, exhausting but fun, fun, fun!

For the first time in ten years we will be watching the Lions in a postseason playoff game. If they play without the many mistakes they made earlier in the season at New Orleans they will have a chance to advance. If not, it could be an embarrassing blowout, as embarrassing as was last week's loss to GB using their second string quarterback. FORWARD DOWN THE FIELD...

Lions on a roll

Two games does not a season make but the Detroit Lions have played two impressive games showing great improvement on both offense and defense compared to the prior 10 seasons.

Offensive weapons include a talented quarterback in Stafford, wide receivers Johnson, Burleson (thanks Seattle) and rookie Young. Stafford is finding the single covered receiver and the open receiver in a zone defense.

On defense the linebackers are now as fast as our old safeties and the safeties are as fast as our old corner backs. The new corners are doing well. It all starts with a talented front four deep enough to change personnel depending on the situation (just like the back 7 does).

Could be a very fun year, a loud Ford Field, and a spot in the playoffs.

Prediction: 10-6

Morels

Exploritas (aka Elderhostel) hosted a morel mushroom program in Tustin, Michigan for four days beginning the day after we returned to Romeo from our visit to Snoqualmie.

On our first full day we had talk about wildflowers on the 160 acre grounds of Kettunen Center, then went on a walk looking for them. Incidentally, Kathy found the first morel on this walk. After lunch a prof from MSU gave introduction to mushrooms, including the elusive morel. Then off to a couple sites looking for them. The group of 15 of us found some but certainly not as many as we would have liked. That evening we tasted our morels used in a cooking demonstration.

Tuesday and Wednesday we began the day birdwatching, listening and then trying to locate the birds . After breakfast Tuesday a northern Michigan farmer explained how he cultivates mushrooms to supplement his truck farming income. Kathy won the log that he demonstrated his shitake mushroom spores inoculation--we should have our first harvest next summer. That afternoon Kathy and I took a long walk through the woods while others worked on canoeing and kayaking.

Wild turkeys was Wednesday morning talk with demonstrations of various calls, habitat, and display of stuffed birds.

That afternoon, after the program close, Kathy's friends who were in the group followed us down to Emerald Lake for a visit on their way home.

We had great fun, enjoyed meeting others, and learned much on our first Exploritas program.

Northwest Adventure

Our ten-day trip to Snoqualmie focused around a couple events at Spencer's school--an open-house and Grandparents' Day where the grades performed before all visitors followed by Spencer hosting us (including his other set of grandparents) in his classroom. Great fun at Spencer's school.

We arrived a week earlier than the school functions. We joined Spencer and Garrett with their outside activities:

• Tai Kwon Do (Spencer is working on his next belt)
• t-ball (Little League jamboree with parade of teams, practice, game for Garrett)
• ice hockey (both boys are on skates practicing and getting instruction)
• flag football.

In the meantime we worked with Amy cutting some junk trees from behind their house (Garrett thought we were in a rain forest), got our morning Starbucks (rainy weather kept us to only a couple walks), played with boys, allowed the women to beat the men at Euchre, played with the boys, saw IMAX 3D with boys How to Train Your Dragon, and played with the boys! All the while Amy fixed us great meals, found us unique restaurants, and took us shopping with the boys.

This was our longest stay in Snoqualmie but we had so much fun it seemed very short.

Snoqualmie Ridge in November

A week at James and Amy's (Spencer and Garrett, too) in Washington at the beginning of the rainy season. Beautiful weather for our flight out Wednesday (11/4) where we met Brenda at Sea-Tac Airport and picked up her rental car. We couldn't seem to find a place for a late lunch so we went directly to Reagan's house on the Ridge. Late lunch with Amy and Garrett, then on to pick up Spencer at his bus stop. Later to see Spencer at Tae-Kwon-Do class.

Thursday we got the boys off to third grade for Spencer who gets a ride to school with James on his way to work and preschool for Garrett who shares rides with another boy. After we picked up the boys from preschool and dropped off Kyle we were off to do some shopping--the girls to a craft barn and the boys (Garrett and I) off to Home Depot. Then late lunch at a great steak house. We picked up Spencer at his bus stop and were off to home to get Garrett ready for soccer.

Breakfast Friday was in North Bend at George's Bakery for some of their fabulous baked goods, especially their BIG doughnut. Spencer's school had teacher workday so he and G-man (preschool M, T, Th only) had a great time at Imagine Children's Museum in Everett--water discovery; train, plane, and bus exploration; art center; construction arena; rooftop play and climbing; and self-directed theater kept the boys (and adults) busy for hours. Met James at home, the off to Kent for dinner at Spiro's followed by WHL hockey game; Seattle Thunderbirds lost to Spokane Chiefs.

We are now in the midst of some serious rain and on Saturday morning Spencer plays soccer in the water and mud of a nearby park. I am proud he tolerated the cold rain, playing very hard in difficult conditions. We boys watched some college football (which starts 9 am there) including Purdue's win at U of Michigan for the first time in our children's lifetimes! and a nostalgia rush playing vibrating football (called electric football when I was a kid), the game where plastic football players move on a vibrating field until the ball carrier is touched by an opponent. Meanwhile, the women were off to a scrapbook and craft convention and fabulous lunch.

After a lazy Sunday morning we dressed for threatening weather we expected in Seattle for the Seahawks-Lions football game (luckily it was dry, though cool and overcast). Lunch at a Chinese restaurant in the International District, the off to the game where we watched the Lions end the first quarter ahead 17-0 but finally lost 32-20.

Monday found us easily fixing some doors and laundering clothes between transporting the boys. Amy fixed dinner for us and we watched Monday Night Football which begins at 5:30!

Kathy and Amy help at Spencer's school on Tuesday while Brenda works on business and I read my book at a nearby Panera Bread. We pick up Garrett from school along with a friend and his brother who we watch so their dad can work from home. All of us go to a McD with a play area for the boys. Later Mexican cuisine for our last dinner.

Brenda, Kathy, and I go to the airport together early Wednesday, drop off the rental car, and grab a quick bite for breakfast. Brenda got on her flight and we ours a couple hours later--since she had a stopover our planes landed about the same time. A wonderful visit, the first time we'd all been together in well over a year.

Tillson Street Halloween Decorations

Now is a special time for residents on Tillson Street in Romeo who decorate their homes and front yards for Halloween. Kathy and I took our walk up and down Tillson Street which stretches from Van Dyke to Sisson. It is amazing. Each house (there are about 30 in all) has there own theme: a graveyard with headstones of prominent historical Romeo figures who are recognized by street names in the village, a castle home to tens of skeletons, one dedicated to cartoon character Charlie Brown and his search for The Great Pumpkin, and an extremely large collection of jack-o-lanterns carved to represent cats, dogs, happy folks, and sad sacks. The list goes on. As does the fun.

Kids love it, as do their parents and grandparents. If Spencer and Garrett were here, we'd certainly take them on the yearly fun visit to Tillson Street.