Two Cities, One Weekend

A few weeks ago when Mom and I were scheduling a last minute 3 day weekend trip, we turned to the hole in our SWA route maps - that is, those states from Michigan down to Alabama - a long corridor of SWA cities to which we had not yet flown. After consulting a few road trip books and "must see" lists (See post below), we had our destinations. Yes, not one but two cities - Cleveland, OH and Pittsburgh, PA.

FIRST CITY The first stop was Cleveland, where we took the train into downtown (there was a train stop across the parking lot from our hotel -how handy) and went to...the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame! The inspiration for my blog title (see original post) is probably where I first learned this museum was in Ohio but I couldn't comprehend why it was in Cleveland. And though our favorite styles of the rock genre differ (I know, my taste in music baffles everyone), I knew this would be a place Mom and I would both enjoy a lot.

Let me start by saying you could spend days in this place. There is a main exhibit hall on the first level, an area dedicated solely to the inductees and the induction events, and then four other levels of rotating special exhibits. We spent the better part of four hours just in the main exhibit hall, which also included a couple of short films. My favorite exhibit was "Rockin' All Over the World" - one which broke out Rock and Roll History not only by decades but also how specific time periods were influenced by geographical areas (think British Invasion and Seattle Grunge). And of course, every exhibit had tons of photos, album covers, artists' clothing, and TV clips.

The inductee area was pretty interesting, too. Located in a circular tower connected to the main building, the outer wall is lined with signatures of the inductees. In the center section, they play videos and songs of each inductee, but since it runs over 4 hours long, we just listened while we looked at the names.

No photography was allowed other than in the lobby area, so no pics of the fun memorabilia. We did learn why Cleveland is the site for the museum. Evidently the DJ who coined the term "rock and roll" worked at a Cleveland radio station, thus its status as "The Birthplace of Rock and Roll Music." We got a picture of the "birthplace" sign, but it is locked in Mom's cellphone and won't come out! Here are a couple of the funky lobby items:


Life size guitars

Cars from a U2 tour

SECOND CITY A couple of short flights and we were in Pittsburgh. A bit of geographical research will tell you it is only about a 2 hour drive between the two cities and Southwest does not operate a direct flight between the two. So yes, we flew from Cleveland to Baltimore and then took another flight from Baltimore to Pittsburgh, probably taking 30-40 minutes longer than driving. But one-way car rentals can be expensive and the flights are free, enough reason for me.

Our destination in the Pittsburgh area (we didn't really do anything in the city) was one of the most famous houses in America - Fallingwater. If you aren't a fellow architecture geek, this is the house for which architect Frank Lloyd Wright is most well-known. It is also a place to which Mom and I have both always wanted to go.

After about an hour and half drive out from Pittsburgh - filled with detours, U-turns, and yelling at Stella, our appropriately named Garmin GPS ("Hey, Stella!") - we finally arrived at Mill's Run, PA, and the entrance to Fallingwater. Though the drive was a bit of trouble, it was through some beautiful country and so not altogether unenjoyable.

The first news we received upon arriving at the house gates wasn't good - all tours were sold out for the day. So we paid for a ground pass and trying to be optimistic, decided we would at least get to see the outside of the house. Mom's better at this than I; not only did she respond with her newest travel phrase "We'll just come back," but once we got to the Information Center, she mentioned how disappointed we were to not get on a tour. When the lady put us on a waiting list, I was just hopeful in the five hours until they closed there would be room for two more people on a tour. Turned out we didn't need to be that patient - not 30 minutes later, our buzzer alerted us and we were on the very next tour. I was ecstatic to say the least!

The tour groups were small and we had a great tour guide. Mom's point of view was the outside of the house is the most impressive part and it is hard to disagree, but I thought from the inside you could best appreciate the design. Wright designed with the philosophy of "organic architecture" and you couldn't ask for a better example of what this means than Fallingwater - complete harmony between habitation and its surroundings.

Most of the building materials were native to the area, the stone walls replicating the creek banks half a mile from the house site. Lots of terraces and seamless windows invite the landscape into the building. The house was built around several boulders - one of which also serves as the fireplace hearth. Not to mention of course, the famous waterfall.

We each had our favorite parts of the house. Mom loved the bathrooms - very industrial showerheads and sinks. I really appreciated the brilliance of the design - how your focus was drawn to exactly where Wright wanted it, without you realizing it. But my favorite area was definitely the built-in bookshelves which lined the staircase.

I found it interesting to find the owners were actually able to have some input into the building of Fallingwater. Wright was notorious for being somewhat of a design "god," no "the customer is always right" philosophy for him. But the Kaufmanns were able to make a few decisions themselves, albeit small ones, such as window coverings, different dining room chairs, and a wider desk in the study.

Again, no interior pictures were allowed here, but if anyone's interested in seeing more of the exterior pictures, they can be found on my Picasa Fallingwater gallery.