We left The Old Spaghetti Factory to go find the Arch, turned left, and there it was.
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St. Louis Old Spaghetti Factory
Thursday after Fallingwater was a light travel day and Friday was the long drive to Missouri. We arrived late in the afternoon and went pretty directly to The Old Spaghetti Factory, a favorite of Lawrence’s and Gail’s from when they lived in St. Louis.
The sign outside is unassuming
but the entrance is genteel
and the waiting room ornate.
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Fallingwater
Ever since seeing it in Childcraft probably around the age of five or six, I’ve been enchanted with Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater, an iconic house built in 1936-1937 for Pittsburgh department store owner Edgar Kaufman. When I learned that I’d have the opportunity to make this trip by ground transportation, Fallingwater was my highest request.
This CC-licensed image from Wikimedia is the only photograph I’ll display of the house itself because, as stated in the visitors guide,
Photography, painting, and sketching is not permitted at any point during regular guided house tours. Exterior photography, painting and sketching is permitted for personal use only and cannot be sold, published or posted on a website without permission of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.
If you know me personally, I’ll be happy to sit down with you and show you my pictures.
But I do have a few other things to share.
Posted in Pennsylvania
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Big Savage Tunnel on Allegheny Passage
Wednesday after the Four Locks area of the C&O Canals and the Paw Paw Tunnel, we went to the Allegheny Passage Big Savage Tunnel, a 3000′ former railroad tunnel that is lighted. We had considered visiting it on our outbound trip but it worked much better on the return trip.
As memory and satellite serve, the tunnel is the straight section in the middle of this map with the green arrow pointing to the center.
I believe we parked here and then embarked on a short walk to the tunnel that Lawrence and I later estimated at two to two and a half miles. You can check us.
Lawrence and Gail had lit out on the path as soon as we parked; Abby stayed napping in the van; and Katie, Lydia, and I were some ways behind. About the time we thought we maybe ought to be getting to the tunnel entrance, we saw a wall ahead with a hole in it and got excited … but it quickly became clear that this was no 3000′ tunnel.
Posted in Pennsylvania
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Paw Paw Tunnel on Allegheny Passage
Wednesday after the canals, we went to the Paw Paw Tunnel, also on the old C&O canal system. It’s an unlighted 3000′ tunnel with a walking path — presumably the old mule tow path, which couldn’t have had a guard rail when it was in use, which is fascinating to consider — beside and above the now unmaintained waterway.
Lydia missed the signs telling you not to climb the stairs at the tunnel entrances because they’re worn and dangerous.
I expected it to be darker than it actually was. If you think about it, you can easily see a bright light that’s large and less than a mile away, and both tunnel entrances were clearly visible all the way through. The path, however, was not visible without flashlights. And it was interestingly textured with concrete plus mud plus other water deposits plus dripping cold water plus puddles.
On the east end, I went a ways down the boardwalk and watched the watersnakes playing — definitely a disincentive for thinking about walking back through the tunnel in the cold canal in the dark like you’re not supposed to. Then walked back through on the path like I was supposed to.
Posted in Maryland
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Maryland Canals
Driving through Maryland, Lawrence spotted a sign for canals and locks and we exited to explore.
After crossing this one-lane bridge, I spied a side road going down under a bridge and we went back to investigate.
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Observation Towers of Gettysburg
Tuesday afternoon we attended the show at the Gettysburg visitor center and then drove the self-guided auto tour.
We climbed each of the three observation towers and the view was amazing.
Posted in Pennsylvania
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Day Trip in Philadelphia
Monday we got public-transportation day passes that included the regional rail from where we were staying into Philadelphia and subway/train, trolley, and bus in town.
We transferred from regional rail to subway at City Hall station and headed toward Independence Hall National Historic Park.
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Valley Forge
Last Sunday we drove and walked through Valley Forge, which I had visited two autumns ago with my cousins. For the record, this is Washington’s headquarters:
And something in the detached kitchen looks very familiar! Skinnier, though, and softwood. I do like the bevel on the end.
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Mississippi River Highwater in St. Louis
Last night we got to the Laclede’s Landing area of St. Louis before the storm passed through. The river was already high, up over the banks and Leonard K. Sullivan Boulevard. It’ll only get higher when the waters from last night’s storm arrive.
This should give some idea how far above normal the water level was.
Posted in Missouri
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