Fallingwater

 Frank Lloyd Wright has been heralded as one of the greatest architects of all time. He was a pioneer in the Prairie School of architecture and designed over 1000 structures over a period of 70 years. Wright not only designed buildings, he designed the furniture to go in these structures. While I admire his talent and I find his work interesting, it really doesn't ring my bell. The furniture always seems rather uncomfortable and the houses that I've visited, with few exceptions, don't seem to be very livable. That said, for some reason, I never seem to pass on visiting a FLW building. Fallingwater, located in Mill Run Pennsylvania checks all of my reasons that I don't care for the architecture, but boy – this place is stunning.

Decorative Arts

 

Henry Francis Du Pont (1880-1969) was born at Winterthur (an estate in northwestern Delaware) with a silver spoon in his mouth. The Du Ponts had made their fortune in the manufacture of gunpowder. H.F. was a sensitive boy who clashed with his authoritarian father who was a mover and shaker. All H.F. wanted to do was raise his prize Holstein-Frisian cattle and garden. When he was 43, he discovered a passion for antique furniture and went nuts (my words).

Blood, Guts And Cheese Steak

 

Most tourists go to Philadelphia for the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall. Not me – I needed to go to Philadelphia for the Mutter Museum. It is a medical museum that contains anatomical and pathological specimens, wax models and antique medical equipment. The museum is part of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia. Ok, that doesn't sound all that exciting until you look a little farther and see what some of their exhibits are about. How can you not go when you see exhibitions titled “Spit Spreads Death” or “Dracula and the Incorruptible Body”?

Fear The Goat

 

Located about a half hour drive southeast of Washington DC is the quaint little town of Annapolis, Maryland. Tiny little narrow streets and colonial architecture belies the fact that Annapolis is the capitol of Maryland. The one-way streets are so narrow that if you open your car door to get out, you will be stopping traffic. They will all have to wait until you are out and about. Annapolis is also the home of the United States Naval Academy, the second oldest service academy in the U.S. I have a special place in my heart for the Academy as both my father ('49 Marines) and my brother ('75 Navy) attended this institution.-

We arranged for a tour in an electric car that they call Gem. It is a cute, weird little car but the Naval Academy (called the Yard) is huge and we were able to see so much more than if we had taken a walking tour.

Picture from the USNA website

I was so impressed as I learned all that these Midshipmen have to go through to graduate and become officers. High academic, physical and moral standards are expected.

The Chapel

John Paul Jones is thought to be one of the greatest naval commanders in the history of the United States. He is also credited as being "the father of the American Navy". The quote "I have not begun to fight" is probably what is remembered most by civilians. Interesting fact:  John Paul was his name at birth in Scotland.  After killing a couple of sailors(he claimed self-defence) he fled to America and assumed the last name Jones.  

Jones died in France and his body was doused in copious amounts of alcohol, surrounded by straw and placed in a lead coffin.  He was buried outside of Paris and for 113 years, there he remained.  In 1905, his coffin was found and the mummified remains were compared to the bust shown below.  It was determined that it was Jones and he was brought back and interred in the crypt under the chapel.  

John Paul Jones crypt

John Paul Jones himself
Our guide showed us a picture of the mummified body of Jones. 
He pretty much looked like this bust(except 115 years older).

Herndon Monument
Site of the Plebes-No-More ceremony.  A  plebe's (first-year student) hat is placed on top of the monument.  The monument is greased with lard.  The plebes then have to work together to climb the monument removing the plebes hat.  When this is accomplished they are Plebes-No-More.  

The only reason this picture is here is because I was impressed that this building is so large that they have a regulation size football field which can be rolled up when not in use.

Bancroft Hall: Housing the entire brigade of over 4,000 Midshipmen, it is considered to be one of the largest dormitories in the world (it even has it's own zipcode).There are a total of 1,873 dorm rooms, 4.8 miles of corridors, and 33 acres of floor space.  From a plaque on a wall inside

 

The entry into Bancroft Hall
Not too shabby.

A sample Midshipmen's room

Bill the Goat - mascot of the USNA

Words, Words, Words

 

There are so many world-class museums in Washington DC that it is hard to pick where to go next. There are also so many people who want to visit these museums that some of them have resorted to reservation systems. Gone are the days of being able to walk into the front door and wander around. A lot of the museums even have security check points now. I really dislike visiting places where the crowds are so thick that you have to wait in line to view some type of exhibit.

Cherry Blossoms - A Time of Renewal

 

No matter how many times you go to Washington D.C., you can never see it all. You could hang out there for weeks and weeks and just scratch the surface. It is really a problem for a completist like myself. This time, I spent almost a week here and the time whizzed by. I will say, though, this time my timing was really spot on.

Whirligigs!!!!

 

About an hour east of Raleigh, North Carolina is the small town of Wilson. At first look, it didn't look like there was much going on in Wilson – but oh no, don't be fooled. Wilson has it going on! They have an entire city block with giant whirligigs. Can you even imagine? This has got to be one of the more feel-good spots that I have ever stopped at.

Classic Tourism

 Every child takes field trips with their school. They go to focus on an important subject, increase their awareness of the world around them and to get the day off of school. If you don't go and see these sights with your school, many times your family vacation trips will make sure you see these sights. Well, I guess many times in my travels I am playing catch up trying to see these very same sights.