Author: mhomac

Despite our intent to journey east, an opportunity to see one of our favourite artists perform in Grand Rapids at one of our favourite venues lured us slightly west again….briefly….but that will be the next post…..

In previous (pre pandemic, and pre Airstream ..!!) years we have travelled down and stayed in hotels locally. Grand Rapids is a great place for gastro pubs and microbreweries. This time , with our new found love for Boondockers Welcome, I had found a very promising host in Cedar Springs, just a little north of the city, 25 minutes from the venue (and 4 miles from a promising sounding brewery..!!)

Bonus this time was the Meyer May House in Grand Rapids. It’s another Frank Lloyd Wright restored home. (click here for more information)

The house is owned and maintained by Steelcase, one of the largest office furniture manufacturers in the world which was founded in Grand Rapids. Last time we were here we missed the tour b/c they only run them two days a week…this time we were prepared……tickets booked…….we were ready.

What a beautiful house it is……most definitely in keeping with others we have seen. It has been beautifully restored by the Steelcase owners…..and surprisingly, photography was allowed inside the house (much to the delight of my photographer…😅)

This place has a very similar feel to Darwin Martin House Complex in Buffalo, maybe its the same type of loving restoration. The enthusiasm and real love from the volunteers is the same in all the Frank Lloyd Wright houses. The decorative frieze pictured below had been painted over more than 40 times……its return is discussed with pride and wonder by the volunteers.

There were only four of us with our docent….the other couple were FLW superfans like us…..and we chatted her up enough that we got a couple of extra rooms on our tour.

Mr Wrights attention to detail and fascination with light yields some extra delightful moments in this house.

We were very pleased with ourselves for fitting this one in, it is a treasure.

Our Boondockers welcome (BW) host had recommended a trip to Grand Haven. A 45 minute drive from Grand Rapids. Following the travel mantra (always follow the recommendations…..even though this was not the laundry room…LOL) off we went, to the west side of Michigan and the Eastern shore of Lake Michigan.

It was a beautiful day, and so it was a perfect day to hit the beach, and to complete the Great Lakes set….with a swim in our fifth Great Lake..!!

…and a walk on the pier …….

….a bit of added excitement as the coastguard were called out, lights and sirens blazing…..

An absolutely beautiful place……

The host farm was a lovely property, and our site for the trailer next to a barn with a few resident sheep. Our gracious host met with us to help us get set up and told us of his missing cat ‘Shadow’ the barn cat. Shadow had not been sighted for some time but was still disposing of her daily kibble ration. (or was she..!!)

Scott met this little chap whilst filling the water jugs in the morning. We kept a respectful distance……but just had to take some pictures of ‘Shadow’….the funny lookin’ barn cat…!!!

As ever, all pictures are clickable if you wish a clearer view…..and underlined text is clickable links for more information.

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Another one of the traditions we had formed pre pandemic was the food truck festival in Buffalo. Fortuitously it is held soon after the Allentown Arts fest, and since we had not started our trek to the East yet…we were able to attend.

Really its just an excuse to spend another weekend in Buffalo…..this town has been our home from home over the last few years…and it is really good to be back.

The festival itself was very busy again…which was great to see. We made the decision early to stop and have our favourite ‘Mike’ sandwich at Spot coffee……which kind of ruined us for the tasters….but the lines were long for the trucks…so we opted for a people watching tour this year.

City hall in Buffalo is such a lovely building, and that end of town has so many fabulous structures . From a conversation we had with one of our local friends some years ago….the greatest thing that happened to Buffalo was that, in the 50’s, when all the other major cities were tearing down their 1900’s to 1930’s architecture and replacing them with glass and steel, Buffalo was too poor……so all those beautiful old buildings are still standing…and are now being restored…..

There are always some great murals and unexpected artwork in this town. (Among the many things I love about this place..!!)

All pictures are clickable if you wish a clearer view, and clickable links for more information appear underlined.

On the continuing journey of Frank LLoyd Wright houses, the first one we ever visited was the Darwin Martin complex in Buffalo. This was a first time visit for the eldest daughter, and a great excuse to spend a day out and about with her.😁

This complex has been the subject of a mammoth restoration and reconstruction project guided by an incredible collection of volunteers who have taken this project from near ruin to its full former splendour.

It doesnt usually take much to persuade us to spend a day in Buffalo and this day was no exception. The weather was quite perfect, sunny but not too blisteringly hot.

Our last visit here pre pandemic was just as they were getting going with replacing the floriscape. Two years of pandemic restriction later and the garden is now well established and a magnificent compliment to this quite beautiful housing complex.

FLW built three housing complexes during his illustrious career, and this is the only one still standing. It consists of the main family house, the gardeners cottage, the carriage house and the Barton house which Darwin Martin had built for his sister on the same property.

At the Darwin Martin house, as with many of the FLW houses, there is no photography allowed inside the building. My resident photographer satisfied himself with scoping out the outside, and the pergola walkway down to the ‘greenhouse’.

We finished up the day at one of our very favourite haunts in Buffalo, the Allen St Hardware Cafe. A stop for dinner before heading home.

A great day out…!!!

For anyone in Southern Ontario, this house ( and the Martins summerhouse at Greycliff) are an easy day out, and, if you have even the slightest interest in architecture, or art in general, a must do trip.

Its a 2 hour tour around the house and gardens, and we have been here a few times before….but it never seems like that long. This place is just such a magnificent piece of design. That Frank guy really knew what he was doing…!!!

As always, the pictures are all clickable if you wish a clearer view, underlined text provides clickable links to further information.

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With the added ‘mom and dad’ bonus of two daughters visiting, a plan was hatched to take them up to Lionshead for the Saturday Farmers Market, followed by a hike along the Bruce Trail. We were proposing a little taster of the start of our trip last year and they were both up for it…so ……the cooler was verily packed with lunch morsels and lots of water……..and my purse with lots of bug spray….

Early morning start and on the road.

We made good time, and the weather was better than forecast….not that the forecast was poor….but it was a little warmer than we had expected.

It was quite comforting to be back at the market again seeing familiar faces….my favourite crepe lady was not there…(unfortunately..!!) and it was early in the season yet for the veggie people……

We took them up to our camp spot at Cape Chin…and set out for a fairly level hike on the Georgian Bluffs. It was warm….a bit of a cool breeze…..(cold on the ears..!!) but really pretty perfect for hiking.

Its such a lovely trail. I was a bit concerned it might seem tame after some of the mountain hikes and views…..but no…the Bruce Trail has its own beauty and challenges.

In particular, right at the point of the chin of Cape Chin, the trail opens out over Georgian Bay and the sapphire blue holds its own among any spectacular view in Canada…!! (Click here for a youtube video drone footage of the ‘Chin”)

The added bonus to my views of Huron would be the addition of daughters in the viewfinder…..beautiful on beautiful…!!! 😁

The last part of the hike back from the Bruce Conservancy house, where we stopped to look out from the big rock, had changed from the last time we were there…..The wander through the woods did not include the gnomes this time.(😂)…but a cool walk back through the woods and across the meadow without the pursuing cows…!!!

The stile from the last time we did this one has moved up the road.

The hike treated us to lots of seasonal wildflowers, orchids and a few of our favourite fun guys….!!!

….and WARNING…!!! a little slithery guy we found on the path…!!

We had planned to finish the day with a repeat of the dip in Dyers bay, but the evil old parents were voted down …!! It was as spectacular from the boat launch as we remembered it…..

A good day out with the girls.

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Much excitement in the room back in Penticton when it was announced that the Allentown Arts Fest would resume this year after two years of COVID shut down. We booked our hotel room immediately and made the plan to drive east to get there.

This arts festival had become a regular of ours in the last several years both as a weekend escape, and a huge high quality festival of some terrific innovative and unique artisans.

There is a huge variety of art and craft from oil painting to toe rings, woodworking to glass blowing and just about everything in between.

The festival is dotted with musicians busking who all have to apply and be approved, consequently they are all amazing. The first one we stood for a long time soaking in was a young violinist. Her name, Violena….click……for her website.

It was a real treat to see some of our favourites return and maybe add a couple of new ones.

I always have to find the Ear Divine people. Scott ‘needed’ a new measuring spoon form the Riverwood Trading Co. people. I had a long chat with Humberto at Humberto’s Designs..and have some ideas for a future project. and the American spoons guy…..oooo…I liked his woodworking stuff…….a lot….He is one to look out for if you frequent any of the craft fairs across the US. Scott Macklin, Fantasy Jewelry had some pretty cool stuff too…… ( all the underlined text has clickable links)

The trip also happily co-incided with a visit from the eldest daughter, who was travelling across the pond to attend a friends wedding in Brantford. So we got to steal her away , plus another great friend, for the sunday at the festival.

Even the weather was co-operating delivering us temps in the low 20’s C with the rain happening on Sunday while we were having breakfast.

There are so many sights to see here, between the beautiful architecture of Buffalo as a backdrop, and the variety of artisans who make this show such a compelling visit for us. (and there is the cathedral that always opens for this festival…)

Another gorgeous day with a mix of sun and cloud and a high of 20C…perfect for being out and about again.

This was our first visit to Kentuck knob because on our initial trip to Fallingwater we had not realized that it was even there until it was too late to include a visit This time we were ready for it. The visitor centre is about a 15 minute walk from the house itself with a shuttle bus that takes guests up there. On the return, the bus is optional. The grounds around the visitor centre and all the way up around the house there are multiple art objects and installations starting with the little birdhouse village.

Kentuck Knob is a much later FLW design…. He was in his 80s when undertaking this project. Apparently at the same time as the Guggenheim.

The Hagans (the ice cream people) were friends with the Kauffmans ( who commissioned Fallingwater. ) The advice they received was to quote Wright half of their maximum budget, in hopes that when finished the inevitable ballooning of the budget, for which Wright was famous, would end up near what they could afford. (We were told that the project actually finished under the figure they had in mind. Another unique occurrence for FLW….I doubt he ever knew that tho….!!)

The frieze around the windows is made up of all the shapes used in the construction of the house. It is a lovely detail from both the inside and the outside. (No pictures allowed inside.) The house contains only 2 right angles, in the bathroom, but even with that it does not feel gimmicky or forced and the entire building flows quite naturally.

It is distinctly FLW…. But also quite dramatically different….and totally worth the price of admission.

It is a place that if I lived here…. I might never leave….for any reason at all….!!! It is currently owned privately by Lord Peter Palumbo who is a huge fan of FLW and he also filled the grounds with many other large art pieces. Inside the house there is an extensive collection of pieces from various other FLW properties including the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.

The many varied sculptures include kinetic and sound sculptures (which are fascinating..!!) and a chunk of the Berlin Wall.

The view out over the Pennsylvania hillsides is serenely beautiful.

….and some incredible fungi friends along the path…..

I have to include some butterfly pictures…..we did not actually manage to take any decent ones…(so I used downloaded images of the ones we saw ) but as we walked down through this beautiful forest sculpture park…the butterflies were dancing around us.

The drive up to Kentuck Knob had taken us past the trails at Bear Run, (which warranted more investigation and resulted in the walk included in the last post.)…and past Cucumber Falls, a spot that had been recommended by a couple of people we met.)….So we stopped at Cucumber Falls on the way home.

Cucumber Falls

It was a stop that we would not have made without the recommendations as the walk is 1.8km……..

But it’s less of a hike and more of a spectacular viewing platform. Par for the course….the photographer monkey scrambled over the rocks to capture some more dramatic images….

Its a very impressive rock formation…that got itself protected back in the day…!!!

(_{All the pictures are clickable should you wish for a clearer view. Clickable links for more information are underlined.} )

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(_{All the pictures are clickable should you wish for a clearer view. Clickable links for more information are underlined.} )

From the Wooly Pig ( growlers freshly filled with some lovely beers..😄) the road east took us across the very top edge of West Virginia (🎵 Country road, Take me home…..🎵)…we chose to go a little further south to avoid driving the trailer through Pittsburgh…….and on into Pennsylvania….

It was a most interesting road across to the Laurel Highlands. The green of Pennsylvania almost fools you into not noticing the mountainous terrain…..up…up ..up…down.. down… down…….rinse and repeat..!! The road up into Mount Pleasant PA has a traffic light at the top of the infinite hill..(hilarious…😳)….and we did pass a transport truck with a steaming smoking blown engine on the way up. The lady at the campground aptly described it as ‘three mile hill’

Our first foray out for groceries ( there’s not much of anything in rural Pennsylvania…..!!) Took us to Sarnelli’s Italian market…closest place for milk. Another great discovery it turns out. Sarnelli’s is an emporium of wondrous Italian groceries, beer, wine, and liquor. (Liquor store part was local distilleries only)

The reason for stopping here was for our second visit to Fallingwater, one could never be enough. Frank Lloyd Wrights’ Fallingwater is arguably his crowning glory, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an incredible place to visit. Our last visit was 4 years ago in March when there was still snow on the ground and ice on the river.

We were not smart enough to get our tickets booked ahead….(yes I know..!!)

We emailed them to ask about cancellations…or the possibility thereof…the advice was to buy grounds tickets…and if someone showed up late…they might be able to upgrade us into their slot.

We scored..(Thanks again Megan at the information centre..!!)..and managed to get on one of the tours of the house too. It was a beautiful day…..last time we visited it was in March so the grounds were still in their winter slumber but this time with spring in full swing the grounds were green and fluffy… in and around the house was green and lush too… Another big change on this visit was that they allowed photography on the first floor……

The house is such a calm, peaceful place……With the sound of water over the falls below permeating the living space.

So…if you want to see the rest of the house……you have to go there….and I would highly recommend that visit….

The tour finishes with the guest house…..(but no pictures inside ..!!)

It is an incredible place. I know we will be back again for sure…!!!

The advantage of being camped in the area was we were able to plan a hike at Bear Run, which is part of the conservation area around Fallingwater. The Conservancy has extended their ownership to over 5000 acres in order to protect the headlands. The trails are very well laid out, it’s the perfect ‘forest bathing’ place.

We followed the ‘Red” loop.

It was not a challenging hike compared to some of the crazieness we have tackled……but it was very pleasant with that fresh spring green-ness.

Look Bill…I didn’t fall in this time…!!! 😂

There were some funky fungi like we had never seen before..!!

There were crazy trees trying their hardest to grip the rocks…..

……….and some alien looking plants……

…..some alien bugs……..

……and some just plain pretty pictures.

It was such a beautiful day, and a very lovely walk. The creek is the same water that runs down under Fallingwater which made it a bit more special to follow it a little of the way.

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The journey across to Ohio from Illinois took in another Boondockers Welcome site in Noblesville, Indiana. A very lovely property just North of Indianapolis. At the ranch we stayed on the host was an airstream owner. Again…very nice people, very friendly, lovely spot for a secure, private, quiet overnight. If I had researched a little better I would have found that the mothership (where they make the airstreams) is just north of Dayton, halfway between Indianapolis and Columbus (Its Jackson Centre…I had always thought it was in Florida…!!)..so we could have made a stop and stayed there…..but we didn’t….maybe next time.

Our next destination was our first multi night BW stay in Sunbury Ohio ( just north of Columbus ). We had spotted another Frank Lloyd Wright building on the west side of Columbus….Westcott House. So we booked the tour…and stopped on the way….pulled the trailer up in their parking area….!!

Westcott house barely survived as it had been slated for demolition but was saved when bought by an association of FLW lovers….and it has been restored. It has very little of its original contents…so it is one of the very few FLW houses that allow photography inside. They had all the original specs…so they have been able to reproduce a lot of the furniture as it was designed by Mr Wright.

I believe the glass in the skylights is original but almost everything else was reproduced.

It was a delightful stop.

The Boondockers Welcome stop in Sunbury was a quite extraordinary episode in this journey. We were hosted by the very lovely Din and her family. Their kindness, energy and just darn good human-ness was quite wonderful.

This stop just north of Columbus allowed us a couple of more relaxed days….and a great opportunity to visit with and get to know our host a little better. BW so far has been people who love to travel but for various reasons are travelling less so now bring travelers to them sharing experiences, stories and resources. It has been a terrific experience so far.

The town of Sunbury itself has an old, English style, village square..

We wandered the square, taking some pictures to try and capture the flavour of the town and we stumbled upon the Myers Inn….a building boasting 1820 as its birth date.

We noticed that it was a museum….and that it was open…so in we went….

..and what a treat was in store for us. Inside we met, one amazing lady, Polly Horn.

Polly proceeded to immerse us in her enthusiasm for the rich history of this small town, its stories and origins. The brothers William and Lawrence Myers who walked from Pennsylvania….taking two years to reach this point establish their livelihoods in this place. The sometimes questionable business in the acquisition of the land from the original indigenous owners…..and many other fascinating tales and factoids around the development of the town.

….from the racoon who apparently foiled a bank robbery…largely by being blown up..!!!…to the restoration of the building and the exposed structure showing how it was originally built.

I think the time with Polly may be one of my favourite moments of this journey. Much love Polly…😀

Back on the road headed for Pennsylvania and in need of another overnight spot, I luckily chanced upon the Wooly Pig Brewery in Fresno Ohio, a Harvest Host location. This was quite possibly the most beautiful site for a craft brewery that we have come across. Add to that …a level parking spot and a highly competent Bavarian brewmeister ministering very palatable beverages…..bonus points for the Burrito Bus.…….the purveyors of mobile deliciousness……and you have the perfect location for a pleasant evening.

This is a spot that would absolutely be worth a bit of an extra drive to get back here. We may have to throw it into another trip.

The last piece of curious Americana for this trip was one of the strangest American ‘big things’ we have seen so far….I’ll take that giant concrete prairie dog …and raise you a giant breadbasket building…!!!

All pictures are clickable for a clearer view. All links for extra information are underlined.

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“The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.”
― Abraham Lincoln

Springfield , IL was a trove of historical treasures where we had the thrill of crossing Historic route 66 as it passes right through this city. We travelled a little tiny bit of it and visited some iconic features with the intention of completing the Route end to end in the future.

The city has both Abraham Lincoln’s House and his Tomb, and beautiful example of Frank Lloyd Wrights’ work in the Dana Thomas house.

This was our first stay at a KOA....to be honest we had been avoiding them….we had heard that they are expensive, crowded and corporate ‘cookie cutter’. Springfield was a logical stop for a few days, and it was the best option……and one can’t truly be critical of something never tried….!!

It was the best option in Springfield……and it was waaaay out of the way. We drove down back country roads onto smaller and smaller roads before we got there.

The owner and his family had taken possession of the campground just three weeks prior. Super family….the campground itself had been a KOA since the 70’s and it was in need of some updating…(!!!) but the bones were great…..easy level …long pull through sites with beautiful big old shade trees. It was a good choice..and we were very happy there.!!!

Scott did the searching on the iconic things to see locally…so we hit Motorheads,

…….. and the Cozy Dog Diner….

A Cozy Dog was consumed, and a thumbs up verdict delivered…!!

Springfield has its very own Frank Lloyd Wright building…the Dana-Thomas house and because it’s owned by the state of Illinois the tour is no-fee. The whole story of they house involves most of its original furniture and fixtures being intact… it’s an amazing FLW house to visit. It was a 1903 build hence it has a lot of similar characteristics to the Darwin Martin house in Buffalo NY.

The website has a wonderful gallery of pictures of the inside which you can check out at the link since visitors are not allowed to photograph inside.

After our tour we took a wander…we could see Lincolns house on the map not far away so it seemed like a good idea to saunter in that direction….this included a fortuitous lunch stop at the Springfield Carriage Restaurant …another good choice and conveniently across the road from the National Historic site, which provided a very impressive view as we fueled up.

What a treat. The whole area around the house has been preserved as a National Historic site with the gravel streets and the boardwalk sidewalks all maintained as original. Some of the houses on the street are offices for the National Parks, but others have become a series of small museums that you can wander in and out of, which we did..!!!..

I have to say we were a bit taken aback by the firearm policy signs tho….!!

I really liked this quote from Mary Lincoln.

Wandering back up to the truck took us past some other historic buildings……

The day rounded out with a drive out to Oak Ridge Cemetery and a visit to The Lincoln Tomb. It’s a beautiful old cemetery.

We took a wander over to the Korean, Vietnam and World War monuments while we were there. It is a very serene setting. This cemetery also has some Revolutionary War graves.

They are always sobering places to visit and like our trip to Little Big Horn, a time for reflection.

Springfield is wrapped around a lake…..a man made lake. The reservoir was dammed in 1935 and it creates a multitude of very beautiful waterfront properties in the southern part of the city….and a longish, winding pretty drive to get anywhere. I think we were also seeing it at an ideal time as we have been following the spring season eastward across the country.

It was a fun packed stop……time to move on for a rest…!!!

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Time to pack up and move again. We are making our way back across, consciously headed back Ontario-wards but still smelling some roses along the way.

On our way out of the Badlands we made a stop at the Big Prairie dog.

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I did not know until after we left that for 50 cents you can actually buy peanuts at the store there and the Prairie dogs are tame enough to feed. I was a bit upset at that lost opportunity..!! 😞

The next big stop was going to be in Springfield, Illinois so we broke that almost 870 miles up with a couple of one night Harvest Host and Boondockers Welcome stops.

Our first destination this time was Pfannys Farm in Nebraska, a Harvest Host.

Driving in through that top corner of Nebraska we were seeing lots of stripped off metal barn roofs, silos collapsed in on themselves….. Wow……there were some messy farms. When we arrived at Pfannys’ Julie ( the host) explained that we had only just missed a massive windstorm phenomenon , a derecho . Much like the deadly storm that hit Ontario just a week later. It ripped barns apart and flipped over some rv’s apparently….Scary. (We totally missed it…we were behind it..!!)

Pfannys Farm a wonderful place with lovely people who run their farm based on sustainable agriculture.

They grow lemons and limes in greenhouses warmed by geothermal. There are many chickens running around. They have a storybook walk through the property, which is open to school children, and a most fantastic view. Very cool place…very lovely people

Harvest host sites are a one night stopover…so up the next morning and packed up for the next chunk of miles. Julie very kindly offered me fresh cut asparagus and rhubarb….which I gratefully received.

The next big drive was to Stewartsville, Missouri. This was our first experience of Boondockers welcome, and I have to say we were instant fans. The difference with BW is the possibility of more than one night and often the hosts have power hook-ups and water available. Most importantly…they are people who want to meet people…so the whole experience is quite different. Ken and Robin at ‘Home from Home’ in Missouri were a terrific introduction to the organisation. They have a lovely rural property, a level parking spot….a hook-up for power and best of all…they are seasoned travelers with lots of tales to share. We had a wonderful night sitting out in their outdoor room watching the lightening storm in the distance and just having a darn good visit..!!!

We really wished we could have stayed a little longer….but we will just have to plan traveling back through this way.

So…back on the road we go….this time to Springfield ,Illinois. The town where Abraham Lincoln lived before he was elected President. We are bound for our first KOA campground and looking for another adventure.