In complete contrast from the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame we set off on Sunday and drove south west, over the border from Ohio into Pennsylvania to visit Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpiece – Fallingwater. One of the themes for us this year has been seeing his work in whatever state we have been in, mainly because we joined his fan club and get a discount when we turn up!! We needed to justify the membership fee and Fallingwater is nowhere near anywhere that you might reasonably go on a trip to the US from Europe – so we always planned that this would be a specific destination for us as we would be the closest we are ever likely to be to it. That said it was still about a four-hour drive!

It is a very popular property to see and is quite rightly regarded as his best house. Smaller than you expect but the setting is superb. Frank being Frank he decided not to put the house beside a waterfall and look at it – but instead he built it into the bedrock of the waterfall.

By now we feel that we could possible identity ‘Frankisms’ within his work – so we were treated to the usual things like very low ceilings and narrow entrances into rooms because he was a tiny man and he wanted a dramatic impression when the whole room is revealed. A house in a waterfall might like insect screens on the amazing windows that open completely on one corner of the building – but no, not Frank as they are ugly, so they were installed afterwards by the owners – the Kaufman family – much to Frank’s annoyance. Of course, the windows leak and there was an almighty row about the structural stability of the house whilst being constructed, not to mention a huge overspend – but who said the genius of Frank came easily? We know for sure that it doesn’t having seen his various projects all over the country.

Fallingwater was the most perfect example of his belief that nature should come inside the building and that his building should not jar with its setting. It is quite superb and if we can recreate any of his ideas in the Cotswolds we would be very happy!

Later that day we stayed in Connellsville, Pennsylvania and went to probably the weirdest café yet on our trip. Run by some rather exuberant men – it was called Wavy and Jane after their grandmothers. These chaps were in complete chaos – they sold everything and nothing if you can imagine that, and we waited about half an hour to get the tea and cake we had selected. In the meantime, we admired the window display of a camouflage t-shirt on a hanger, some scary dolls that were dressed for Christmas and some old carboard boxes. We thought that they had opened that day such was the chaos – but no that is how it was meant to be. Extraordinary and I am not sure that Pret or Starbucks will take any tips from them!

We realised on Monday that we were very close to the Flight 93 memorial. This was of course the fourth plane on 9/11, the one that the passengers fought back on. The Park Service has built the most tasteful and appropriate memorial to the people that lost their lives that terrible day in a very rural part of the state.

The exhibits tell the story again and even though we can all remember that day – it was still surprising to learn some of the details. This was the plane for instance that only had four hijackers instead of five as one of them had been detained at the airport when entering the US. It also was delayed by half an hour which is again why the passengers already knew about the Twin Towers. Little details like this helped explain why this attack did not go to plan.

The stories of the victims and their courage was overwhelming. Unlike the other planes this one had its technical data retrieved from the black box and the cockpit recorder, so the full horror of the events can be heard. It sounds ghoulish to listen to this sort of thing, but it is done to honour their memory and make sure none of us forget. It is a measure of the exhibition that they have a box of tissues on the side for the public and by golly they were needed as it was very upsetting.

The scene has been landscaped beautifully and sensitively. It was quite something to see and spend some time there.

Tuesday was a very wet day, but undeterred we set off from our new location – Clarion, PA to explore the Cook Forest which has an area of old forest called the Cathedral. Mr Cook was a lumber baron and probably should be arrested with our sensibilities today as he managed to deforest thousands of acres of the most beautiful trees. But just at the very end he managed to save some, and this state park has preserved some 3-500-year-old pines that although not like the redwoods in the west were nonetheless very beautiful. For the last time we donned our walking gear and explored the terrain very happily in between the showers with a car picnic thrown in.

On Wednesday we set off bright and early for Niagara. As we drove north east and into New York state the weather started getting very snowy, however there is a band over the lakes that manages to keep the temperatures just a little bit higher, so the snow was not settling.

We arrived at the falls in the town of Niagara Falls having driven through Buffalo very quickly on the freeway. We were both surprised how completely built up it is along this lakeshore and it is in complete contrast to the waterfalls we have climbed and hiked to within the national parks. Rather like the pyramids in Cairo no one prepares you for this natural wonder of the world being very close to casinos, hydro electric plants and industrial estates.

The falls are incredible but oh my word it was absolutely freezing. The wind was howling around – the type that gets into your ears and you think will pickle your brain. We had to go back to the car and get even more layers on and silly hats to survive.
Going in winter is an odd choice, but it added to the spectacle as the spray was blowing wildly around. No boat trips as it is too cold, but we did walk all around Goat Island and over Rainbow Bridge into Canada to see the view from there. The power of the water is mesmerising and the new observation tower on the American side gives a very good view from up high of the water plunging down.

On the Canadian side we had a hot drink in the restaurant at the top of the falls to warm up. Whilst there we witnessed some excitement – a man went over the railing, no one knew if he was a suicide and the police sent a car and someone on foot was trying to locate him. Second thing was a marriage proposal complete with ring which happened right in front of us. The good news is the lady accepted and seemed very happy and the man over the railings had just taken a photo and despite a telling off from the cops was free to go and safe! All that drama for free!

We stayed in Niagara Falls that night and had a very pleasant dinner in a wine bar. The town was pretty deserted as the temperature was really falling now. It was like a ski holiday where you spend five minutes putting on clothes to go out and about and every entrance must have a curtain to stop the draught.

By the next morning when we were to drive to Hudson, just up from New York City, the weather had really deteriorated and it had started to snow. We had a long old drive, but the preparations for the weather in NY were something we could all learn from in the UK. There were ploughs all along the freeway, parked on the central reservation waiting for things to get much worse and the salt on the road despite making the car completely filthy ensured that the snow never got to settle. All the municipal vans in the towns seemed to have mini ploughs attached to them too – so that it seems everyone lends a hand to keep things moving.

We stopped outside of Albany to send some stuff home via DHL, courtesy of Nick’s account. Very grateful to have this opportunity but it took a while to pack up the contents and as it was dark so quickly – 4.30 we sadly did not make it to the capitol building. Another thing to do next time.

We got to our hotel in Hudson and headed over the road for a Mexican meal. Hudson is a very trendy place where NYC people weekend. Slightly too far to commute – two hours on the Amtrak, but ideal for a holiday home. Perhaps the nicest main street we have seen – it had all types of buildings – houses, hotels, shops going down towards the Hudson river for about a mile. Lots of cafes and designer shops which of course are very attractively decorated for Christmas.

We dropped the car back to Enterprise whilst in Hudson and completed more chores to whittle down our possessions. By now we have done the last wash of the trip and lost the laundry baskets, left our picnic gear and repacked the cases so that we can leave Hudson with all that we can carry.

On Friday night we went to see some live music at the Helsinki venue. We had a great time and the band were called Band of Thieves. Another CD purchased so that we can relive that night when we are back in England.

Saturday, we awoke to snow in Hudson. We got the Amtrak into New York City and the journey was very pretty due to the snow. Railways sidings and graffiti covered bridges were transformed by the white stuff into an Arctic wonderland – well something like that!

New York as ever was magical despite the snow. We got to Penn Station and found a taxi, had some food to ease our hangovers and started over. Sadly, I heard that my Dad was in hospital, so we were very preoccupied throughout our time in the city, but Saturday night once we heard he was safely on a ward and on antibiotics we did manage to get out and about. The snow was so bad that we needed our walking boots, so we staggered to the Italian nearby and had a great meal watching all the various characters coming and going.

New York seemed like a sweet shop full of fashion and nationalities after some of the places that we have been. So lively and so cosmopolitan – it was quite amazing to see all the looks, hear the conversations and enjoy the amazing food.

That night we went to the club room in our very trendy hotel and managed to throw a few shapes. Not bad for a couple of old timers!

Our adventures continue for our last week in the US which Matt will post very shortly.
A x