Pages

I love it all: embroidery, canvaswork, quilting, crochet. So much to do, so little time.





Monday, May 9, 2016

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!

4 comments:

Julie said...

Loved seeing the photographs of your trip, such a lot of history to admire and think about. Your accommodation looks very inviting.
The inlcline looks fabulous, i love those journeys riding those. We have a few in the UK.
Nice flippit stitchy project.
Well done on the painting, sounds like a great way to learn a new craft.

Linda said...

Lovely pictures of your trip. Congrats on the cute finish.

Linda

Robin in Virginia said...

Thanks for sharing your PA trip photos! I enjoyed the journey through your lens. Your painting turned out very nice. I like your LK May finish. Is it a pin pillow/bowl filler or flat fold?

Carol said...

I so enjoyed your photos of PA, Pat! Isn't it funny--I live within two hours of Somerset and Johnstown and have never visited those sites.

Isn't the incline interesting? My father-in-law used to live on on Mt. Washington near the top of the incline and took it to work every day! My husband spent the first two years of his life living there before they moved to Ohio. I do love the city view--it is so pretty during any season :)

Your painting looks great. My son's girlfriend did one like that in a Sip and Paint class here and she gave it to him. He has it hanging above the mantle in his bedroom...

Darling May finish by you and Karen!