Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Use your inside voice? 07/16

I woke up about 10 30 and started making my way towards Fallingwater. It should have only taken me an hour to get there, but I got stuck behind a super slow minivan that decided to go 20 miles under the speed limit. I arrived at noon, well before my 12 30 appointment. I went to the desk to tell them I had arrived, and to see if maybe something sooner was available. They said, yes, actually, we can fit you in on the next tour that leaves in 3 minutes. I said that would be fantastic.

I walked down the pathway from the visitor center to the house, which was about a 5 minute walk. I chit chatted with the tour guide for a few minutes waiting for everyone else on the tour to make their way to the house. Once everyone was there, we got underway.

Overall I am very glad I waited the extra day to tour the house. It fits right in with its surroundings of woods and water, with intermittent plots of stone here and there. The first part of the house we viewed was the dining room/living room area. It was constructed in such a way as to make you feel like you were outside, even though you were definitely inside the house. Glass made up most of the walls, with stone quarried on site for the floor and wooden accents to match the color of the bark outside. Steps led down to a nice grotto area via a retractable horizontal glass doorway. It was all very impressive.

The rest of the house wasn’t quite as impressive as that first area, but was in no way boring. Tiny hallways burst into large rooms which burst into even larger verandas. Some of the furniture was built right into the wall and cantilevered out, so things like couches didn’t require legs. A very nice stop along my trip, to be sure.

After the tour I started heading towards Mt. Rushmore. I stopped at a state park in Ohio to sleep, shower, and charge my battery. I took a gamble and didn’t pay for my spot, thinking I would just leave early in the morning before the ranger came around and noticed I was there. I hooked up my battery, but not before noticing this particular park didn’t have showers. I let it go, feeling getting my battery at least part of the way charged for free was good enough.

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