Pennsylvania Six-Five Thousand

OK, the title of this post is a stretch.  It has nothing to do with the jazz song that the Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded in 1940.  I do love the song, however.  But we did go on a short trip to Pennsylvania a couple of weeks ago, and here are the highlights.

This is the cottage we stayed at near Somerset.

We had it all to ourselves.

First we went to the Flight 93 Memorial.

It was a very solemn place.

Next up was the Johnstown Flood Memorial.

The flood occurred in 1889 after a

catastrophic failure of a dam upstream of the town.

Over 2,200 people were killed.

This was part of an exhibit inside the Visitors Center

depicting some of the carnage.

We visited the Allegheny Portage Railroad

National Historic Site.

This is the Skew Arch Bridge.

The railroad was the first to circumvent

the Allegheny Mountains in 1934 and included

the first railroad tunnel be to built

in America.

We also went to Fort Necessity National Battlefield.

The confrontation there in 1754 was the prelude

to the war fought by England and France

for control of the American continent.

This was the first major event in the

military career of George Washington,

and it was the only time he ever had to

surrender to an enemy.

As you can see, it's a pretty small fort.

There is a lot of history in Pennsylvania,

and we explored only the western part

of the state!

We spent a little time in Pittsburgh, too.
We took a tour on one of the ducks
(amphibious vehicles built for the Army in the 1940's).
It was entertaining, informative and a lot of fun.
We quacked at passersby
and they quacked right back at us.

We rode for free on the Duquesne Incline
(one of the perks of being old).

The view from the top of the hill was great.
Tall buildings and a river or two?
I felt right at home.

Pennsylvania is a really pretty state.
I love all the hills, having lived in
the flatlands of Illinois my entire life.

Meanwhile, back at home,
a friend and I went to a "Sip & Paint" class.
If you're not familiar with the concept,
they are usually held at a restaurant or bar
and you go there to paint a picture
under the guidance of an instructor
while sipping some wine purchased at the site.
Our class was held at Color Cocktail Factory
and it was a BYOB (and snacks if you wanted).
No painting experience is necessary.
Our instructor was great
and took us step-by-step through the process.
Both my friend and I had a blast.
And here is my post-impressionistic "masterpiece," 
Van Gogh Comes to Chicago:

And since this is a stitching blog,
I do have a small new piece to show you:

This is the May Flip-It Bit
from Lizzie-Kate, wonderfully finished
with French knots and a bee charm
by Averyclaire.

That's it for now.
Hope you had a great weekend.
Thanks for visiting!