As we continued to travel north, rain met us at the border of Pennsylvania and drizzled persistently along with us for our first week in the state -- and apparently we'd already missed the worst of it! We started our PA tour near Somerset and were happy to find our campground wasn't under water. Since the things we wanted to see in the area were almost exclusively outdoors and it was raining, we spent our first day checking out the live entertainment at a local winery. Funny, the music got better the more wine I drank!
The next day was just heavy "mist", so we broke out umbrellas and ponchos and found our way to the United 93 National Memorial Site. It was a very somber experience but heartwarming to see the many other folks who ventured out on a crummy day to pay their respects to the passengers and crew who perished trying to keep the terrorists on that plane from carrying out their part of the 9/11 plan. From there we visited Fort Ligoniere, a re-construction of the mid-1700's fort used during the French and Indian War when Great Britain and France fought over ownership of the inner basin of North America. A young George Washington was a British officer back then -- an allegiance he clearly changed later during the American Revolutionary War. Apparently I (Maren) am an indirect descendant of George, so it is especially interesting to learn more about his life.
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| Fort Ligoniere's exterior walls |
The weather improved even more and gave us a sunny day for our visit to Falling Waters, a private home designed for the Kaufmann family by Frank Lloyd Wright in the late 1930s. It is now a National Historic Landmark and open to public tours. Part of it actually hangs over a waterfall and is a fascinating architectural feat. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get a good picture because it is so surrounded and integrated with nature. The first picture below is the real house from the best vantage point we could get and the second is actually a picture of a model displayed at the Carnegie Science Center (which at least gives you a view of the entire structure).
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| Real Falling Waters |
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| Model of Falling Waters |
Our next stop was Tarentum, PA -- just NE of Pittsburgh. We spent a week here and boy was it a busy one. In addition to the Carnegie Science Center (which also has the USS Requin SS-481 WWII-era deisel-electric submarine), we visited the Heintz History Center, Fort Pitt Museum, attended a Pirates Baseball game (our first "pro" game), and went downtown to watch the famous Pittsburgh fireworks show on July 4th. Our campground was on a hilltop over a closed mine and we got a great firefly show over the valley every night, too! We were really lucky to have relatives nearby as they shared the amazing history of their city as well as their wonderful hospitality with us. Thank you, Wean family!
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| Us at the Baseball Park |
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| July 4th Fireworks |
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| Us on Mount Washington overlooking downtown Pittsburgh |
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| View from our campsite on top of the mine |
Our next big destination was Indiana, but we spotted a chance to catch two more Presidential museums in Ohio on the way over. Canton, OH is the home of William McKinley's National Memorial plus a museum next door which includes a small display about his life. We also made a quick stop at the nearby NFL Football Hall of Fame (WOW, talk about a gift shop!). We had one full day to spare and decided to make the drive in the car up to Cleveland to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. This ended up being a full-day activity and they almost had to sweep us out at closing time. So much to enjoy and so much good music to listen to!
Our final stop in Ohio was Sandusky. It is on Lake Erie and not too far from the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center in Fremont, OH. The site, called Spiegel Grove, includes his actual home as well as a large museum about his life.
We finally rolled into Indiana with the first target city being Elkhart. Our two goals here were to see some of the many "RV" related attractions in this area -- where apparently over 80% of RVs are manufactured -- and have some sealant on the roof inspected/repaired (always something to watch on an RV). We also had one of our roof air conditioners making some odd noises and figured we better get that addressed before we head back to Texas and its heat. Unfortunately, the A/C decided to work perfectly as soon as we pulled into the service center. It is like finally going to a doctor when you are sick only to feel better as soon as the doctor examines you. Just to be safe, we had them check it out anyhow and blow out a little dust debris, so hopefully that takes care of it. For our RV friends, this place was called Duncan RV and they get great reviews if you need a little work (or even BIG work) done in the area. Apparently they are known for their extensive RV wreck repairs.
Within a short drive of Elkhart were the Thor and Newmar factories which both offered public tours of their RV assembly floors. I personally love to see how things are built, so these stops were real treats (and maybe a little scary too). We also checked out the Shipshewana Flea Market/Auction -- advertised as the biggest flea market in the "west". Other than a breakfast sandwich, we managed to escape with only buying a few gifts as we really can't accumulate a bunch of extra stuff for ourselves in this lifestyle! We also stopped by a few "RV Surplus" stores (no purchases there either) and the RV Hall of Fame. Amazing to us how long RVs have been around.
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| 1931 Ford Model AA Housecar (one of the first motorhomes) |
We also drove a little west in the car to South Bend, Indiana to see the History Center. This place was a tri-fecta of sights -- the Studabaker museum, a History Museum, and the Copshaholm (Oliver Mansion). We figured the Studabakers would be a fast walk-by and instead they took up most of our time. We also took a fantastic tour of the Copshaholm, the home of the Oliver family who made their riches in town building a better plow. Sounds like a small thing, but at their height they were selling 800,000 of them worldwide annually!
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| Jeffrey in a classic Studabaker |
Just to top off the RV manufacturing tour circuit, we stopped by the Allied Recreation Group plant in Decatur, IN on our way south to Indianapolis. For our RV friends, this is where Fleetwood, Monaco, Holiday Rambler, Trek, and American Coach RVs are manufactured. They invited us to stay overnight in their service lot and we looked a little odd parking our Winnebago amongst the natives, but the other RV owners were very nice (and curious as to why we were there). We even had dinner with several other couples that night. The tour the next morning was one of the best we'd seen and we even got to go into the paint shop (something no other manufacturer has allowed).
Now we head south to Indianapolis for the final leg of travel before we get back to Texas. More soon!
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