29 Aug Falling Waters and Frank Lloyd Wright Houses
Staying on our focus of day trips or weekends away, we’re focusing this week on quick trips from DC and, specifically, Frank Lloyd Wright’s houses in Pennsylvania. From DC to the best of the houses, Fallingwater, is a three and a half hour drive – but a very pleasant one if you take the right route. We recommend leaving I-270/I-70 as soon as possible or.. not taking it at all. If you can get to Dulles Airport, then simply take beautiful route 9 all the way west and north until you hit 81N and then I-70 (briefly) until you finally get to 68 – a great scenic highway for the rest of the drive. For a weekend away, the drive really is half the point, so make it a good one.
We are not huge architecture buffs but we loved this weekend away – the house itself truly is a sight to see and enjoy and, the best part, its in a really beautiful area of Pennsylvania with a ton of other places to explore – the Laurel Highlands. You’ll want to spend at least 3 hours or more at the house, gift shop, and café. We drove to the area on Saturday and enjoyed the drive, stopping at a park for a picnic and exploring the small town we stayed in just 15 mins away (there a a lot of quaint, old mining towns in the area). We then woke up Sunday and toured the house Sunday around 11am before driving back to DC. That plan worked perfectly for us. If you’re really ambitious, you could visit Falling Water on Saturday and then his two nearby houses: Duncan House at Polymath Park and Kentuck Knob on Sunday. There’s also a tiny town called West Brownsville, PA with beautiful churches, a small castle, and 1950s diner (Fiddles) that makes a good but little out-of-the stop. A perfect weekend away.
We stayed in a great B&B and would recommend staying in such places – but, for a real treat, you could stay in a luxury resort. There are two nearby: Seven Springs and Nemacolin Woodlands. If you stay in the resort, simply see Fallingwater on your way there – since once you’re at the resort, you won’t want to leave. Next week – our last installment for Pennsylvania Day Trips from DC (we’re doing Lancaster and Longwood Gardens).
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