After visiting Falling Water, we realized we were only about 40 minutes away from the site where UAL Flight 93 went down on 9/11, so we decided to take a trip over there. Karen’s brother had already been to the memorial several times but it was a first for us.

It’s a very emotional and moving experience, to be on location in a place where people gave their lives in the name of freedom. Overall though, because I don’t actually know anyone who died that day, I think the personal items at the memorial put somewhat of a damper on the experience. I would assume, for individuals and families who are personally connected to people who died there, that the memorials help them with their grieving (especially at this time of year), but I guess they’re just too personal to mean anything to me. Also, the vast quantity and odd assortment of items left there by previous visitors didn’t help me connect to the people who died or their experience on that day. Again, I’m pretty sure that’s not the point, so I’ll just leave it at that. I will say though, just based on what they told us at the park, it sounds like the permanent National Park Service memorial will be a very fitting memorial when it opens in September 2011. Click the image to view the set on Flickr.

Karen and I are spending the Christmas/New Year break with her brother in Pennsylvania. Today we took a field trip to Falling Water, the Frank Lloyd Wright house out in the middle of nowhere (otherwise known as Mill Run, PA).

Words can’t even describe how cool this place is, which is the case with many of Wright’s designs. But this is especially cool. I mean, a house built over a waterfall. It doesn’t get any cooler than that. You gotta go see it for yourself ’cause these photos are pretty lame compared to the coolness of seeing it in person. Click the image to view the set on Flickr.

We weren’t allowed to get any photos inside the house because we did the cheap tour. The cheap tour costs $16 per person and includes a one-hour guided tour and all the photos you want to take from the outside. If we did the $55 (per person) tour, we would’ve been able to wander around the grounds a little more freely and we would’ve been able to snap photos of the inside. We’ll probably splurge next time, if we can make it back before the house falls into the falls.