Dana - Thomas House and Springfield

Let me start by saying having repairs done on Opus while on the road is the biggest frustration we have with our fulltiming lifestyle. When you are in a stix and brix you can use the same repair people all the time, but on the road you are at the mercy of people who know you will be hundreds of miles away soon after the work is done. This has resulted in more bad than good experiences and often means having the same problem recur, requiring more than one repair stop.  The AC is the latest example.  In July of last year the fan stopped working in the back AC. We had it replaced in North Carolina. Then in August while in Eastern PA both ACs stopped working.  A repairman changed a board and they worked until this August.  A mobile repairman in WashPA had no idea what was wrong so we made an appointment at Duncan, a repair service in Elkhart. We have used them in the past with positive results. So we left WashPA with two RV service stops scheduled, one in Michigan at Spartan for annual engine maintenance and inspection of the chassis and the other in Elkhart at Duncan for the AC and several other RV issues.  The inspection at Spartan found the suspension air bags on our 12 year old rig were showing wear and needed changed.  That was something we did not plan on, but not totally unexpected because Opus is getting old. After the work was done in Michigan we headed to Duncan with a list of items that needed worked on including the AC-heat pumps, broken toilet spring, batteries, broken dead-bolt door lock and bathroom exhaust fan. Most repairs went as expected, but as always there was a couple surprises; the cost of the dead-bolt and the fact a whole new toilet would cost only $20.00 more than the cost to repair the spring. The biggest surprise was we needed new batteries.  We had new AGMs installed three years ago and they were cooked. I think this goes back to an inverter problem we had a couple years ago. Another example of something not corrected the first time.  The biggest issue for us was the AC-heat pumps, and Steve at Duncan was shocked when he took the cover off the roof top unit and found loose wires. Turned out, the fix was to reattach the wires and replace a bad connection.  While all the repairs have lightened our wallet, it was not nearly as expensive as we had planned, so life is good!

After all that it was time to get back to what we love about our lifestyle, traveling America's highways and experiencing new things along the way. Our first stop was in Springfield, Illinois to tour the capitol and  to visit Frank Lloyd Wright's Dana-Thomas House. Here is the link to our earlier visit to Springfield when we visited the Lincoln sites. On that visit the Dana-Thomas House was closed and we had not yet put capitol tours on our to do list. 

You never know what you will see along the road. On the way to Springfield we got behind this huge windmill blade. Believe it or not, this truck was making the turn. We sure have seen a big increase in the number of windmills and when you see them you need to be aware of high winds while driving a high profile RV.

We went to Obed & Isaacs brew pub in Springfield where the food was very good and they have cans of fresh brews to go.  You pick the beer you want, they fill a quart can and then seal the pop top with this spinning machine.

I opted for the Isaacs IPA which I had the next evening at home. This is the first time we have seen the use of what they call a crawler. For me it is better than a growler that does not fit well into the RV fridge.

While at dinner one evening we met  Pam, one of the locals, and she told us that her sister and brother-in-law's diner, Charles Parker's, was not to be missed while in Springfield. So, of course, the next day we went for breakfast.  I had the "pony," the small version of the "shoe," a dish with toast, eggs, meat and potatoes in a pile all covered with gravy, cheese or both. It was very yummy.

A panoramic shot of Charlie Parker's. This unique place has been featured on Diners, Drive Ins and Dives and in addition to having great food and very cool 50's style interior, it is located in an old Quonset hut and definitely worth a visit.

We search out Frank Lloyd Wright buildings in our travels and the Dana-Thomas house is one of the best we have toured. In 1902 Susan Lawrence Dana gave Wright, who had just started his own architectural firm, a blank check commission to remodel her 2,000 square foot Victorian home. 

The end result was this 12,000 square foot, 35 room Prairie Style home with 3 main levels and 16 varying levels that was designed to be used for entertaining, as well as Susan's home. While this house was the 72nd designed by Wright, at $50,000 it was by far the most expensive at that point in his long career.

The entrance through the arched door was unusual for a Wright home where doors are usually placed around corners or hidden behind walls. Susan wanted a welcoming door, as she had guests for parties at least twice a week. The arch theme is carried on inside with an arched fireplace and a couple arched ceiling rooms. 

The dining room has a table that expands to seat up to forty guests. Notice the chair backs with every other one having a low back to make it easier for the servers to serve and clear the table. No interior photos are allowed. I was able to find these interior pictures on line.

This room, designed exclusively for entertaining, includes one of three band boxes in the house, this one located on the balcony. The tables were used to display Susan's art collection because Wright did not want art hung on the walls, as he considered his buildings works of art.

The library is an exact replica of the one that Susan's father built in the Springfield High School. She often opened it to local children who came for games, readings and to borrow her books.

The living room, like much of the house, has many windows.  While it was wired for electric lights in 1902, they were very low power and dim.  After living here for 24 years Susan sold the house to Charles C. Thomas in 1924. He used it as the headquarters for his medical publication business, but made sure the original furnishings were preserved. In 1981 he sold the house and all the furnishings to the state of Illinois for $1,000,000. An example of what a great deal it was is the lamp on the desk which was originally in the home but was later bought at auction for $750,000.

One theme throughout the house is the butterfly pattern. This light projected a butterfly on the wall and ceiling, a great example of the detail in Wright's buildings.

The other theme, sumac trees, is found in the wood and stained glass windows.  

The courtyard of the house is near the railroad tracks and Susan often had guests arrive by special train. While the house was very large and Susan entertained a great deal, she did not have overnight guest bedrooms and there was only one very small bathroom for guests.  

With so much of the original furnishings still in the home, this has to be one of the most important Wright homes that is open to the public. We had a nice time in Springfield and still have a blog post to write about our tour of the state capitol.

Since we are moving cross country I'm a bit behind with the blog. We are presently in Dodge City, KS and have a reservation for four days at the Ojo Caliente Spa in New Mexico early next week. We will then be going to the Good Life RV Park in Mesa and staying until the beginning of the year.

Frankfort, Capitol and Bourbon

One of our goals as we moved north was to add four more capitol buildings to our list.  That plan changed when Opus needed a new alternator and I was attacked by some unknown bug.  We bypassed the capitols in Arkansas and Tennessee, but that just gives us something to look forward to in the future.  After leaving Lewisburg we headed to Frankfort, (no the capital of Kentucky is not Louisville), and in addition to the capitol we toured another distillery and found a very neat restaurant.

This is the fourth capitol in Kentucky.  It was built from 1904 to 1910 in the Beaux-Arts style that was so popular at that time.  Many of the interior rooms are classic French in style.  All three branches: governor, legislative and Supreme court, are in the building.

Some of the statues of famous Kentuckians.  The first three, Abe Lincoln, Henry Clay and Jefferson Davis, are in the rotunda.  The fourth is Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

This was a unique feature that we have not seen in any other dome.  There are lights that change color, very cool. 

The Supreme Court has seven judges.  The walls of this elegant chamber are Honduras mahogany.

The library was very different with the top floor having glass floors to allow light into the lower level.  

The State Reception Room was designed as a place for ceremonial events.  The walls are painted to look like tapestry, the mirrors on each end give the illusion that the room is much larger.  The furnishings were crafted to resemble French Baroque pieces of the 17th century.  

Looking down the main axis of the capitol from the Senate wing to the House of Representatives.  This 300 foot long space lined with 36 one piece columns and passing through the rotunda is very impressive.

The Senate has 38 members. The chamber has the classic look with the columns.  There are public galleries on both sides of the chamber.

The House has 99 members.  Each member here has a roll top desk.  Both chambers have scagliola, faux marble, decor. 

If you visit Frankfort make sure you stop at the overlook for a neat view of the capitol.  There are both guided and self guided tours available.  We opted for the self guided as there was a large school group on the guided tour.

Near the capitol is the governor's mansion that is built in the classic French style like Marie Antoinette's Villa.  The mansion is normally open for tours, but there was a special reception the day of our visit and we were not invited.  

The floral clock is on the grounds of the capitol complex.

As an added bonus for us we learned that the Frank Lloyd Wright - Ziegler House is near the capitol.  The prairie house style home is the only Wright structure built in Kentucky during his lifetime.  It is a private residence and not open to the public.

We never miss a chance to tour a distillery and Buffalo Trace in Frankfort gave us the opportunity to try a bourbon we have not tried before.  This is the oldest continually operating distillery in America as they distilled "medical" spirits during the Depression.

The tour featured the small building where they bottle their top shelf, single barrel bourbons, Eagle Rare and Blanton's.  The bottles on the left were being hand filled and double filtered to remove some residue that came out of the barrel.

These are bottles of Blanton's bourbon that get a cork with a racehorse attached and a collar as they go through this process.  The collar is removed after black wax, used for the final sealing, is put around the cork. 

The bottles are then put in cartons and boxed for shipping, all done by hand.  This whole operation involved at least a dozen people working in one small room.

The unique feature of Blanton's is the racehorse on the cork.  There are eight different horses that depict a horse's gait at various stages of the Kentucky Derby.  If you collect all eight they spell out Blanton's.

Right now the demand for bourbon is very high so they are distilling more and needing more barrel houses.  This is a new one being built.  The ricks are constructed first and then the outside walls will be built around them.  The picture is a bit blurry as we were in Opus and just happened to see it.

This is a typical barrel house.  We have seen them built with bricks, stone, metal and wooden walls.  The bourbon is aged for at least five years though some are left to age for many more.  They recently found a barrel at Buffalo Trace that was 17 years old.  That bourbon will bring top dollar.

This may be the smallest barrel house in Kentucky.  They only put every 1,000,000th barrel here.  This is the six millionth to come out of this distillery.  The bourbon will be bottled and sold as a fundraiser for scholarships.  We have been to several distilleries and each one offers something different.  Of course the tour always ends with a tasting, but not of the single barrel.

We wanted to try the Blanton's so we went to Bourbon on Main, a very neat local eatery.  Nanc had the Blanton's and I had the 1792 from Barton Distillery in Bardstown.  We shared and agreed they were both wonderful.  Bourbon on Main has over 100 bourbons available and the owner is very knowledgeable about them all.

The food was also great.  The menu is small because everything is homemade.  I had the Quit Yer Bitchin' Burger that had a four pepper topping that was fantastic.  We were only there for a couple days but we had a great visit and would recommend adding Frankfort to your travel list.

Food, Friends, Frank and Football

It was another very busy week in WashPA doing some new things and getting to visit with out of town friends.  We thought we might slow down a bit since all the doctor stuff was done, but we realized that we now had more time to do things we want to do rather than things we have to do.

Always at the top of our to do list every time we return is to go to John's for his wonderful wood fired pizza.  He is a master at making great pizza in his beautiful oven.

A few of the friends who joined us for a wonderful evening of food and friends.  Top Chris, Bill, Mike and Lena. Bottom John, Tom, Nanc, Sherri, Jackie and Georgie.  Sorry I missed getting pictures of everyone, but I was busy eating.

We became friends with Valerie and Richard at our first Escapees rally in 2007 and have gotten together with them many times during our travels.  They have since given up their RV and found a place in Charlottesville, VA.  They were coming to Pittsburgh so we invited them to stay with us for a couple of  days so we could get caught up on what we have all been up to and explore our area.

Like us. they love touring any building designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  So we decided to visit Kentuck Knob, one of two Wright structures in the area, the other being Fallingwater which they had toured previously.  This is the entrance to the house.

The one story Usonian house was built in 1953 for the Hagen family when Wright was 86 years old.  They lived in the home for almost 30 years.  Wright houses rarely have garages even in wintry Pennsylvania.  

Like most Wright houses many things are built in.  No pictures are allowed inside,but this is looking into the dining room from the veranda. 

The hexagon design of the house is even carried through to the pattern of the sun shining through the patio ceiling.  There are only two right angles in the entire house.  The red plaque is Wright's signature.

Looking into the living room from outside.  The house is built with cedar and local stone.  The chair at the desk is from the Price Tower in Bartlesville, OK another Wright building we have visited.

The veranda overlooking the woods. 

While the property has this beautiful view of the Allegheny Mountains, as is typical of many Wright houses, the residents don't have this view from the house.....   

..... as it is set on the other side of the knob.  The low profile natural setting is another typical Wright design.

The stone wall below the veranda and the roof with the hexagon patterns.

The home is now owned by Lord Palumbo of London, UK who added a sculpture meadow with 35 pieces including a slab of the Berlin Wall, right.

An old London mailbox and phone booth that gathered a crowd.   Bottom is the 1000 piece Red Army sculpture.  If you are interested in Wright designed buildings, Kentuck Knob and Fallingwater are two must see Western PA stops.

After Kentuck Knob we went to nearby Ohiopyle State Park.  The park is a great place for biking and white water rafting, but not over the waterfalls.

On Saturday we went with John and Patrice to Heinz Field to see a Pitt football game.  Here is a view of the Pirates PNC Park and downtown Pittsburgh from the stadium. 

Pitt does not bring the crowds that the Steelers do.

When Pitt enters the Red Zone the ketchup bottles pour on to the scoreboard.  Unfortunately, the first half success did not hold up in the second half and Pitt suffered their first loss. 

Heinz Field is also the home of the WPIAL football championship games each year.  Here is the wall with all the schools that have been crowned champs here since it opened in 2001.  Washington High School won there the first year.  Right is a mural of our alma mater Burgettstown.  Murals from sixty local schools are displayed around the stadium.

And of course Heinz Field is the Home of the Steelers.  The Great Hall is all about their great players and coaches through the years. 

There is a huge replica of each Lombardi Trophy they have won with the actual trophy displayed inside.  There are so many, SIX, that you can't get them all in one picture.  It was a great day for a game in the Burgh.  To bad it ended in a loss.