American Travels, week 1
Day one, Friday 27th of July
arrival
After an eight hour flight that passed without any interesting occurrences, I finally arrived in the U.S.A, and was welcomed by the friendly staff of immigration and customs. Somehow the tulip bulbs I had brought for Billy’s parents weren’t a problem, even though I had to declare them, but the date that my passport was issued was, so I was kindly asked that I open my suitcase for inspection. Of course there were only clothes and some gifts in my suitcase, but still I had to answer questions about why I was visiting the states, if it was my first time and if I had traveled to any middle-eastern countries lately. Fortunately nothing much was said about the mechanical insect that I was bringing as a gift for Billy, as it posed no real threat to the security of the country.
View of Philadelphia from the airport
Then I was released into Philadelphia on my own. I had a few hours to kill, but somehow I wasn’t ready to just wander out into the city by myself, so I stayed at the airport lounge to wait for my connecting flight. Luckily there were no delays and after another somewhat bumpy flight I landed safely in State college where Billy was already waiting for me. I couldn’t believe I was finally here! He took me home to the apartment and after showing me around we went for a late dinner at the ‘Eat and Park’. There I had my first taste of American hospitality and American food. It was delicious.
Day two, Saturday 28th of July
rebersburg
Because Billy’s parents were away, it was up to us to take care of the dogs, so we drove the 25 minutes to the pleasant village of Rebersburg, where we took advantage of the local yard sale and picked up some food from the Amish charity picnic. After that we went for a bike ride around the countryside. The weather was wonderfully warm and sunny. Unfortunately most of the yard sale was already over so we just biked around and then ate the food we had gotten before returning to the apartment. Back in State College we visited Mike’s, a video rental and picked up a few movies to watch. We took out three and decided to watch Night watch, leaving Return to Oz and Bubba Hotep for the next day.
Billy's parents' house
Day three, Sunday 29th of July
home improvement
On the third day, the effects of the long flight and the time change finally caught up with me. I wasn’t feeling very well and my legs were hurting like crazy. Also, Billy’s soft matress and couch weren’t doing my back any favors. We spent most of the day at home sorting through Billy’s stuff in an attempt to get the house in order. Yes, you heard that correctly, I was actually organizing! In between our home improvement efforts we watched a wonderful movie called Return to Oz and made hamburgers for dinner. At night we watched Bubba Hotep.
Me organizing
Day four, Monday 30th of July
state college
After a good night’s sleep and a traditional breakfast of cereal we went into State college where Billy showed me his workplace, introduced me to his coworkers and showed me around campus. Then we walked all up and down the busy streets of downtown state college while Billy pointed out all the great shops and restaurants. Our goal was to have lunch at a nice Thai place, but when we finally got there the lunch hour was over and we were left to find a replacement for our noodle needs. We ended up at the Big Bowl Noodle restaurant, and they really lived up to their name. Two huge bowls of steaming noodles! (Fried noodles with chicken for Billy, noodle soup with wontons for me, and something weird called a ‘boba’ milk tea… if you want to find out what that is you can look it up on Wikipedia. Somehow it was kind of similar to scarab eggs.
In the evening we hooked up with Billy’s friend Steve and after watching weird cartoons on youtube he took us out to dinner at Otto’s, a brewery that also serves food. There I had my first cheese steak sandwich, a Pennsylvania specialty.
Day five, Tuesday 31st of July
movietime
On tuesday we drove around state college some more, and went shopping at Wegmans. that's a big supermarket filled with gourmet foods, fresh produce and international delicacies. It also has a toy train running through the store. We had dinner at Garfields, a nice family restaurant with paper tablecloths and crayons! After dinner we went to a local cinema and watched 1408. Or at least, that was the plan. After going through almost 30 minutes of commercials and previews, the film that started was... Die Hard 4! so we had to find a manager and have them put the right film in the projector, without commercials this time! The film was really good and scary.
John Cusack in '1408'
Day six, Wednesday August 1st
forest park
Today we drove to R.B. Winters State Park (a part of Bald Eagle state forest). There is a creek with a dam in it, that has been turned into a recreational area with a beach. Before we got there though, Billy and I switched seats in the car and I actually drove a car for the first time! It wasn't really hard and there was almost no traffic on the road, so a perfect place to try it. When we got to the park we first went for a hike through the forest, up a hillside to the lookout point and then back to the little lake. there we had a picnic and went for a refreshing swim in the brown water. It was a great feeling as it was a warm day. We stayed there untill five as we had agreed to have dinner at Billy's parents'. On the road we switched seats again and I drove all the way back to Rebersburg where Billy's parents live. Driving is so much fun.
R.B. Winters State Park
When we got there the parents were out, and as it turned out, Billy's dad was in the Hospital. Fortunately he was released again a few hours later and we were all able to have dinner together. A delicious meal of sweet corn, mashed potato, wonderful grilled steaks and a perfect ratatouille Jeanne (Billy's mom) made. While dinner was being prepared we did our laundry and afterwards drove back to State College.
Day seven, Thursday August 2nd
falling water
After a few short trips around the area, finally the time had come for a longer trip, driving two and a half hours to Falling Water. Falling water is a world famous house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufman family in the 1930's. It is the only one of his houses that is completely in it's original state and it is considered the most important architectural work in the US of the 2oth century. It is located in a woodland area in the southwest of Pennsylvania near the town of Mill Run.
View of the waterfall and staircase
We didn't have a reservation to visit the house, but fortunately we didn't have to wait long, just about twenty minutes and we were taken on a guided tour of the house by a very friendly and expert guide that lived in the area. I had always been fascinated by the ideas and works of Frank lloyd Wright, but to see the house up close and actually experience it from the inside was an amazing experience. The 45 minute tour lead us all through the main house and the adjacent guest house. The servants lodging are now offices for the museum. We weren't allowed to take any photographs of the inside due to the fragile nature of the artworks, but I was able to get some images of the outside and the famous waterfalls. In all it was a dream come true and well worth the long drive. On the way back I wanted to try and see another Frank lloyd Wright house (Kentuck Knob) but unfortunately it was already closed.
Falling Water
arrival
After an eight hour flight that passed without any interesting occurrences, I finally arrived in the U.S.A, and was welcomed by the friendly staff of immigration and customs. Somehow the tulip bulbs I had brought for Billy’s parents weren’t a problem, even though I had to declare them, but the date that my passport was issued was, so I was kindly asked that I open my suitcase for inspection. Of course there were only clothes and some gifts in my suitcase, but still I had to answer questions about why I was visiting the states, if it was my first time and if I had traveled to any middle-eastern countries lately. Fortunately nothing much was said about the mechanical insect that I was bringing as a gift for Billy, as it posed no real threat to the security of the country.
View of Philadelphia from the airport
Then I was released into Philadelphia on my own. I had a few hours to kill, but somehow I wasn’t ready to just wander out into the city by myself, so I stayed at the airport lounge to wait for my connecting flight. Luckily there were no delays and after another somewhat bumpy flight I landed safely in State college where Billy was already waiting for me. I couldn’t believe I was finally here! He took me home to the apartment and after showing me around we went for a late dinner at the ‘Eat and Park’. There I had my first taste of American hospitality and American food. It was delicious.
Day two, Saturday 28th of July
rebersburg
Because Billy’s parents were away, it was up to us to take care of the dogs, so we drove the 25 minutes to the pleasant village of Rebersburg, where we took advantage of the local yard sale and picked up some food from the Amish charity picnic. After that we went for a bike ride around the countryside. The weather was wonderfully warm and sunny. Unfortunately most of the yard sale was already over so we just biked around and then ate the food we had gotten before returning to the apartment. Back in State College we visited Mike’s, a video rental and picked up a few movies to watch. We took out three and decided to watch Night watch, leaving Return to Oz and Bubba Hotep for the next day.
Billy's parents' house
Day three, Sunday 29th of July
home improvement
On the third day, the effects of the long flight and the time change finally caught up with me. I wasn’t feeling very well and my legs were hurting like crazy. Also, Billy’s soft matress and couch weren’t doing my back any favors. We spent most of the day at home sorting through Billy’s stuff in an attempt to get the house in order. Yes, you heard that correctly, I was actually organizing! In between our home improvement efforts we watched a wonderful movie called Return to Oz and made hamburgers for dinner. At night we watched Bubba Hotep.
Me organizing
Day four, Monday 30th of July
state college
After a good night’s sleep and a traditional breakfast of cereal we went into State college where Billy showed me his workplace, introduced me to his coworkers and showed me around campus. Then we walked all up and down the busy streets of downtown state college while Billy pointed out all the great shops and restaurants. Our goal was to have lunch at a nice Thai place, but when we finally got there the lunch hour was over and we were left to find a replacement for our noodle needs. We ended up at the Big Bowl Noodle restaurant, and they really lived up to their name. Two huge bowls of steaming noodles! (Fried noodles with chicken for Billy, noodle soup with wontons for me, and something weird called a ‘boba’ milk tea… if you want to find out what that is you can look it up on Wikipedia. Somehow it was kind of similar to scarab eggs.
In the evening we hooked up with Billy’s friend Steve and after watching weird cartoons on youtube he took us out to dinner at Otto’s, a brewery that also serves food. There I had my first cheese steak sandwich, a Pennsylvania specialty.
Day five, Tuesday 31st of July
movietime
On tuesday we drove around state college some more, and went shopping at Wegmans. that's a big supermarket filled with gourmet foods, fresh produce and international delicacies. It also has a toy train running through the store. We had dinner at Garfields, a nice family restaurant with paper tablecloths and crayons! After dinner we went to a local cinema and watched 1408. Or at least, that was the plan. After going through almost 30 minutes of commercials and previews, the film that started was... Die Hard 4! so we had to find a manager and have them put the right film in the projector, without commercials this time! The film was really good and scary.
John Cusack in '1408'
Day six, Wednesday August 1st
forest park
Today we drove to R.B. Winters State Park (a part of Bald Eagle state forest). There is a creek with a dam in it, that has been turned into a recreational area with a beach. Before we got there though, Billy and I switched seats in the car and I actually drove a car for the first time! It wasn't really hard and there was almost no traffic on the road, so a perfect place to try it. When we got to the park we first went for a hike through the forest, up a hillside to the lookout point and then back to the little lake. there we had a picnic and went for a refreshing swim in the brown water. It was a great feeling as it was a warm day. We stayed there untill five as we had agreed to have dinner at Billy's parents'. On the road we switched seats again and I drove all the way back to Rebersburg where Billy's parents live. Driving is so much fun.
R.B. Winters State Park
When we got there the parents were out, and as it turned out, Billy's dad was in the Hospital. Fortunately he was released again a few hours later and we were all able to have dinner together. A delicious meal of sweet corn, mashed potato, wonderful grilled steaks and a perfect ratatouille Jeanne (Billy's mom) made. While dinner was being prepared we did our laundry and afterwards drove back to State College.
Day seven, Thursday August 2nd
falling water
After a few short trips around the area, finally the time had come for a longer trip, driving two and a half hours to Falling Water. Falling water is a world famous house designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright for the Kaufman family in the 1930's. It is the only one of his houses that is completely in it's original state and it is considered the most important architectural work in the US of the 2oth century. It is located in a woodland area in the southwest of Pennsylvania near the town of Mill Run.
View of the waterfall and staircase
We didn't have a reservation to visit the house, but fortunately we didn't have to wait long, just about twenty minutes and we were taken on a guided tour of the house by a very friendly and expert guide that lived in the area. I had always been fascinated by the ideas and works of Frank lloyd Wright, but to see the house up close and actually experience it from the inside was an amazing experience. The 45 minute tour lead us all through the main house and the adjacent guest house. The servants lodging are now offices for the museum. We weren't allowed to take any photographs of the inside due to the fragile nature of the artworks, but I was able to get some images of the outside and the famous waterfalls. In all it was a dream come true and well worth the long drive. On the way back I wanted to try and see another Frank lloyd Wright house (Kentuck Knob) but unfortunately it was already closed.
Falling Water
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