Fallingwater – Mill Run, PA

We started the day off on the right foot by eating brunch at Pamela’s.  If you know me at all, you know how much I LOVE brunch!  Well, let’s just say this place didn’t disappoint.  Pamela’s makes these amazing crepe-like pancakes that are delicious.  We ordered the banana walnut pancakes, bacon and cheese omelet, and home fries.  We left very happy and extremely full.  You must eat here if you are ever in P-Town.  Trust me, you won’t regret it.  It’s super cheap and super tasty!

After brunch we headed out into the middle of nowhere Western Pennsylvania to visit one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most famous masterpieces, Fallingwater.  The drive up there was spectacular.  The leaves were changing and there was that special Fall crispness in the air.  Fall is my favorite time of year so it made the trip to Fallingwater even more special. 

Adam is obsessed with Frank Lloyd Wright so this was a very special day for him.  It was the first time he has been able to witness one of Mr. Wright’s architectural wonders in person.  It was so fun watching him take it all in.    He was giddy like a little boy on Christmas morning. 

We had reservations for the last tour of the day.  We arrived a little early so we could explore the grounds before our tour started.  Fallingwater is tucked away in the woods so you follow well-groomed paths down a hill and along a stream to get there.  The location couldn’t be more perfect.  We had a funny little tour guide who told us background information about the Kaufmann family (the family who had the house built) and explained Mr. Wright’s vision for Fallingwater.  Mr. Wright was an absolute genius!  You can’t visit this house without feeling one with nature.  Well done, Mr. Wright, well done!

On our way home we stopped by the brand new Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh.  Adam and Liesel really wanted to try out their all-you-can-eat buffet.  The food was ok but the desserts were just plain awful.  I’m not exaggerating either.  They couldn’t even get the basic dessert items like chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream right.  Work on the basics first and then try to tackle the complicated treats. 

Thanks for another success day in and around Pittsburgh!

Pittsburgh, surprisingly ok – Pittsburgh, PA

Adam and Liesel rolled out the red carpet for my visit to Pittsburgh.  When I walked into the guest room there were towels, US and People magazines, and a mint on my bed.  Hotel Sparhawk is the best!

Liesel had to work on Friday so Adam and I did a little exploring on our own.  Our first stop was to a little donut shop called Peace, Love, and Little Donuts.  The donuts were pretty tasty but Adam was even more impressed with the milk.  I know, weird, right?  Then we had lunch at Pirmanti’s, a restaurant famous for their sandwiches stuffed with french fries and coleslaw.  Adam and I were not impressed and will not be returning.

After lunch we headed over to the Mattress Factory, a modern art museum located in an old mattress factory.  Definitely one of the coolest modern art museums I have ever been to.   One of the exhibits starts out with you holding, no gripping, onto a railing and walking through a darkened hallway and up a ramp.  At the top of the ramp you walk into an even darker room and sit in a chair.  There you sit in complete darkness (so dark that you can feel it) and wait for about 15 minutes for the magic to happen.  It was kind of creepy but super cool.  I know some of you will be visiting this museum so I won’t ruin it for you.  This is a MUST SEE if you are in the area.  They also had a cool exhibit with lots of polka dots and mirrors.  Our last stop was to a room on the 4^th floor that you had to be escorted too.  We were a little worried about what we were going to see after the other wacky exhibits.  It turns out there is a big hole in the floor and there is a chute that goes through the 3^rd floor and has an opening/window at the bottom.  It was pretty cool.

Next we headed over to the Duquesne Incline (a cable car ride that offers an amazing view of the city).  When we got to the top a couple asked us if we would take their picture.  Of course we said yes and before we knew it the guy was getting down on one knee and proposing to this girl.  At first we thought he was joking around but as soon as he whipped out the ring and she started to cry we knew it was for real.  Kind of awkward but kind of funny.

Our last adventure before we picked up Liesel was driving up Canton Avenue.  Canton Avenue is tied with Prentiss Street in San Francisco as the steepest public street in the US.  Canton has a grade of 37%.  Unfortunately, the pictures don’t do the street justice.  We felt like we were lying down as we were driving up it. Oh, and don’t worry, we drove up it a couple of times. 

We picked up Liesel and headed straight to Vincent’s Pizza Park for dinner.  Adam and Liesel didn’t warn me about how insanely filling this pizza was going to be.  I think I should have fasted all day long in order to be able to eat one slice without filling sick.  I’ve never seen a pizza place pile on the toppings like this before.  Also, Vinnie passed away a few months ago, so RIP Uncle Vinnie.  After dinner we headed to the movies and then ate some Coldstone ice cream.  I think Coldstone has started making their ice cream with corn syrup because it was DISGUSTING!  All I wanted was to taste the yummy ice cream I remembered eating in college. So sad!

Well, that was day one.  Are you exhausted yet?  I am!

The Yankees Win! - New York City

What a night! I spent the evening with Scott and Erin Hadley and Kimber Crandall watching the Yankees kills the Rays.   Scott hooked us up with some amazing seats and yummy food.  The weather couldn't have been more spectacular and the Yankees even pulled out big win.  It's nights like these that make living in NYC seem like a dream.

PS - special thanks to Kimber for letting me copy the pic from her blog

Crazy about key lime pie – Florida Keys

Below are our reviews of the key lime places the New York Times suggested when visiting the Florida Keys:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/travel/escapes/31lime.html

Cheeca Lodge

Rating: A

Comments:  filling was the perfect consistency but could have had a tad for lime, delicious buttery graham cracker crust but was little too thick, unsweetened cream was perfect, and the ripe strawberries and raspberry sauce topped everything off very nicely.

Porky’s Bayside Restaurant

Rating: B-

Comments:  filling wasn’t “eggy” enough and needed more lime, unsure if they used real whipped cream  (Note, they also offer a fried version but we opted for the “healthier” option)

Pepe’s Café and Steak House

Rating: A-

Comments: fluffy filling, tartness of filling was perfect, whip cream tasted great but was a little thin, crumbly graham cracker crust was tasty

*We ate dinner here and the food was excellent.  The blackened fish sandwich and corn on the cob were amazing!

Blond Giraffe

Rating: C-

Comments:  Gross, chalky, bland

Blond Giraffe (frozen key lime pie on a stick covered in chocolate)

Rating: C-

Comments:  Gross

Kermit’s Key West Lime Shoppe

Rating: C-

Comments:  weird flavor, not a good graham cracker crust

Kermit’s Key West Lime Shoppe (frozen key lime pie on a stick covered in chocolate)

Rating: B+

Comments:  good quality chocolate, filling was the perfect tartness

Season’s 54

Rating: B

Comments:  unique presentation, good texture, needs a tad more lime, needs to be served colder

Key Largo, Montego, baby why don’t we go…. – Florida Keys

I hadn’t had my fill of Florida yet, so I headed down to the Florida Keys with Sara Collins (aka Lizzy) and Jenn Wheeler for an amazing weekend in the sun.   We rented a mustang convertible and lets just say it’s a MUST when visiting the Keys!!! Lizzy and I arrived a day earlier than Jenn, so we headed to Miami to check it out.  We spent most of the day in Miami Beach.  We ate some sub-par Cuban food for lunch, went shopping, checked out the beach, went to a movie, and had sub-par pizza for dinner.   After picking up Jenn at the airport, we headed straight down to Key Largo, our home base for the next two nights.

The next morning we woke up with a mission.  Jenn had found a New York Times article talking about all of the amazing key lime pie places in the Florida Keys and so we took it upon ourselves to eat at as many places as our stomachs would allow us to.  http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/03/31/travel/escapes/31lime.html.  The findings will come in a separate post.

We also took a tour of Ernest Hemmingway’s home and saw the famous six-toed cats that live there.  The cats have names like Howard Hughes and Elizabeth Taylor.   So crazy!  Then we went to the beach.  The water was delightful and so warm.  After the beach we headed over to the southern most point of the US.  It’s located about 90 miles from Cuba.  We were told we had to check out Mallory Square in the evening because it is packed with crazy people. Unfortunately, there was a biker convention in Key West that took all of the crazies in Mallory Square and spread them out all over the city.   Side note, one of our friends calls Key West “Key Weird”.  After visiting, we definitely agree.

The next day we spent the morning kayaking through the mangrove trees in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park.  We really wanted to snorkel but we didn’t have 2.5 hours to spare.  We promise to go next time! 

We had an amazing trip and would highly suggest visiting the Florida Keys.  Just remember to rent a convertible and eat lots of key lime pie!!! 

The sunshine state - Sun City, Florida

I took a trip down to Florida to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Sparhawk.  They live in a very lovely retirement community packed full of swimming pools and golf courses.  I decided that as soon as I meet the age requirements to join the community I’m moving there.  I could get used to going to the pool two times a day and driving a golf cart to the grocery store and post office!

My grandparents were great hosts.  They made me some yummy meals and showed me some of their travel videos of Thailand (to prep me for my trip there next month) and told me all about the world cruise they went on about 10 years ago (I must have their travel genes).  I slept in every day and then we went to the pool every morning and most afternoons.  One evening they invited over some of their friends to have key lime pie (I’m kind of addicted) and I showed them pictures of my travels from earlier in the year.  We had a great visit and I was sad to leave them.  Don’t worry G&G, I’ll be back to visit soon!  Thanks for a great, relaxing vacation.

The place where stressed out New Yorkers go to unwind - Rhode Island

Many of you know about my obsession with Rhode Island.  I believe it’s the most underrated state in the US.  I simply can’t get enough and would love to live there some day.  Since I haven’t struck it rich yet, I’ll have to live with my annual Rhode Island vacation to Boulder Cottages.  A couple friends and I organized a trip with 33 of our “closest” friends to spend a weekend at Boulder Cottages (http://www.bouldercottagesri.com/Home.html) in Charlestown, RI. 

The weekend was jammed packed with delicious food, tons of candy, trips to Walmart, trips to the beach, apple picking, campfires, Morp (dance party), kayaking, relaxing, and laughing.  It was a fun filled weekend that just flew by too fast.  On our way back into the city several cars stopped by Mystic, Connecticut.  Just our luck, there was a food festival going on.  Being the foodies that we all are, we couldn’t resist sampling a few of the local specialties. 

The ride back into the city was uneventful.  All we could talk about was how much fun we had and how we couldn’t wait to return.  Watch out Boulder Cottages, we’ll be back in 2011!

PS – Thanks to Eddie, the caretaker and my Uncle’s brother-in-law, for taking care of us and making our trip so enjoyable.