Traveling Tote #31

Welcome to the spring edition of the Tales of the Traveling Tote. Where have I been? I appreciate you visiting my blog and for your interest. 

Our first trip in April was to Pennsylvania to experience Frank Lloyd Wright's  Fallingwater. Since it was an eight hour drive, we broke the trip up into two mini trips. Our first stop was Corning Glass where I took this photo of two favorite artists, MacKenzie-Childs and Dale Chihuly. Joe pre-registered for a glassblowing class and made a beautiful sphere that we now have on display.  

Corning Glass is definitely worth a visit. We've been there twice and will try to go again in December. 

After leaving Corning Glass, we drove a couple hours to Williamsport, PA to spend the  night. From what we experienced in a short time, we would like to return to see more of this area. In the morning, we headed to the Laurel Highlands in PA.  

We stayed at Baneberry Meadows in the Laurel Highlands, one of the most beautiful and diverse destinations in the tri-state area. Thousands of acres of park land near one of a kind destinations such as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater and the Flight 93 Memorial. 

Here we are at Kentuck Knob. Frank Loyd Wright, Father of American architecture, was 86 years old when he took on the project of designing Kentuck Knob which is a private home that allows tours (the owner is from London). During this time he was also working on the plans for the Guggenheim Museum in New York City and several others. Kentuck Knob was one of the last homes Wright ever designed.

View of the mountains at Kentuck Knob

Next stop on the trip was Fallingwater where we attended a private Forest to Table dinner for 12 people. 

Known as the most famous house in America, Fallingwater is a house built between 1936 and 1939 over a waterfall in southwest Pennsylvania. Frank Lloyd Wright, America’s most famous architect, designed the house for his clients, the Kaufmann family. It instantly became famous, and today it is a National Historic Landmark.

This is where they set up the champagne and appetizers for us. 

During our dinner, we quickly grabbed this photo of the falls at night. 

If the skyscraper is America's most iconic building, a small personal residence in southwest Pennsylvania might be its most ingenious. Frank Lloyd Wright completed Fallingwater in 1937.

“Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.”
- Frank Lloyd Wright

Enjoying appetizers in the living room area. 

We said goodbye to Fallingwater and would like to visit more of Frank Lloyd Wright's houses, including the ones in New York. 

On our return trip from PA, we stayed overnight in Watkins Glen where we hiked and visited a winery. 

The first trip we took once I retired was a trip to Palm Springs, Palm Desert, Joshua Tree National Park and Los Angeles. Joe's sister and and her hubby joined us as they live in CA and we hadn't seen them in three years. With nearly 800,000 acres, JTNP is one of the world's most incredible natural desert treasures. 

I was very impressed with the Cholla cactus, and wish I could have been there at sunrise or sunset but time did not permit. This photo was taken in the Colorado Desert where there are no Joshua Trees. You can hardly tell you are going from one desert to another. The Joshua trees are in the Mojave desert. 

President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “There is nothing so American as our national parks…The fundamental idea behind the parks…is that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us.”

Doesn't everyone bring their tote to Ventura Beach?  :-) 

   We're finally at the best part 😊 DON'T MISS OUT ON THE GIVEAWAY!! 🎁

Just leave a comment on Pandora's Box blog, and you will be entered in the drawing.

See what the other "travelers" have been up to.  

Debbie with Miss Aurora @ Mountain Breaths (you are here)

Emily with Miss Courtney Childs@ The French Hutch

Jenna with Miss Coquille @The Painted Apron

Linda P with Miss Lola @ Life and Linda

 Patti with Miss Kenzie @ Pandora's Box

Rita with Miss Luna C @ Panoply 

Sarah with Miss Merri Mac @ Hyacinths for the Soul

Cherry Kay with Miss Carrie Ann Haul at Entertaining Women

Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you a great summer!

xo

Deb