"All This Energy Is Callin' Me..."

Well, it wouldn't be an exciting blog if your intrepid traveling writers weren't altering the plans, now would it?

We spent the late evening last night in an outer suburb of Pittsburgh after a wonderful day in Cleveland and Ohio Amish Country. The Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame was awesome, overwhelming, loud, and so much fun. We had lunch at the Science Center next door, overlooking Lake Erie, and marveled at how much we enjoyed Cleveland. Clean, friendly, navigable, scenic, with easy parking and fun destinations. What's not to like?

Many of you have talked up Pittsburgh to us for years, and we eagerly arrived last night to find the entire town sold out of nonsmoking rooms. On a Tuesday night! We're ... I'm not even sure of the town we stayed in. It's off the PA Turnpike somewhere east of the city, a dingy little town with a host of available "bridal suites" that are semi-smoking rooms. Ugh. But at least we didn't have to drive through the night or hustle our way back through West Virginia...




Yes, we had a good, joyful time in WVA.
That was, of course, until we figured out that we had landed in the capital of weird male bonding, which should have dawned on us earlier given all of the evidence surrounding us. "What evidence?" you ask. Look no further:





We are definitely stopping today at Fallingwater, which, as former Architectural Digest subscribers we are bound (and excited) to do. But our plans to arrive in Plainsboro this evening have been altered. We're swinging southeast for an impromptu visit with Ben's parents in Charlottesville (C'ville, if you're cool).

Slightly worrisome news reached us around Colorado, and we hope you'll all pray, send good vibes, hold in the light, and otherwise wish luck and healing toward Susan, Ben's mom. Her recent routine scan showed that the screws in her spine, implanted there two years ago to support her, have broken. In a few weeks, her new team at UVA will, essentially, re-do the procedure, replacing the broken equipment and hopefully alleviating some of her discomfort. As Don says, this is a mechanical issue, and one that should be fairly routine. But, like with anything of this nature, Ben and his family could really use your best wishes.

All of this, obviously, confirms our feelings that we need to be closer to family and friends, not sequestered in the under-paying desert. We're planning to take plenty of VA-bound tours. And believe me when I say that I have never been more pleased to see weeds, dirty trickling streams, and toll highways. It's good to be back among our people. ;-) Lessons learned, Universe!

So, onward south, toward the kudzu, fried chicken (which we will continue to decline), and the beautiful sunsets. The worst part? We missed the Smashing Pumpkins, who played at the C'ville Pavillion a few weeks ago... How cool would that have been?!