Pittsburgh Trip

Last week, Julie Jenney and I went on an exciting road trip together! We are working on getting some wonderful trips together for the fall Schedule of Events, including an overnight trip to Western Pennsylvania. On Monday, we set off bright and early for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I had never been to Pittsburgh before, so I was looking forward to seeing a new city. Driving through Pennsylvania was a delight, with several roadside patches of trilliums and all of the trees starting to leaf out.

While in Pittsburgh, Julie and I explored Phipps Conservatory which was completely amazing, with 13 different rooms with various themes, complete with a butterfly room and a sunken garden. They were just setting up a huge exhibit on the chocolate plant that will be in full swing when we head back for the Associates trip on September 15-16, 2008. We will also get a behind-the-scenes tour of the propagation houses on our September trip! We had lunch at Café Phipps which was delicious. One of the highlights was a trip up the Duquesne Incline on an old cable car. We had dinner atop Mt. Washington with absolutely incredible views of the entire city and the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers. It was really impressive.

The next morning we left the hustle and bustle of the city for the Laurel Highlands and Ohiopyle State Park. This area was once the richest county per capita in the country and is home to two of Frank Lloyd Wright’s most celebrated private residences: Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob.

We will be visiting both of these architectural gems on our trip in September, with guided tours of each and some time to explore the grounds, which include a Sculpture Meadow at Kentuck Knob. There are several interesting sculptures around the residence, and even more in the adjacent meadow. I think my favorite was a section of the Berlin Wall with graffiti on it that read “create.”

If you are interested in learning more about our upcoming trip, email me at ehaegel1@swarthmore.edu or call me at 610-328-7339! We are all really excited to be offering this trip and hope that you all will love Western Pennsylvania as much as we did.