Day 40--Pittsburgh, PA to Mendham, NJ

Today, Day 40, was the final day of my trip and I headed from Pittsburgh back to New Jersey, where I'll be for around ten days or so before heading back to Florida. After having breakfast with my aunt and uncle, I left Pittsburgh around 10:00am and headed towards Fallingwater, the landmark house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Since I had a little bit of extra time before my 12:30pm tour, I first stopped in Ohiopyle State Park and the town of Ohiopyle where I walked around and got a snack to keep me fed through my tour. It's a very pretty area, especially the falls at Ohiopyle, where some very adventurous whitewater rafters (I like water activities but I'm not sure I'd ever go this far as what these people did) kayaked off a relatively high waterfall. I believe I saw four people (all properly equipped and likely doing it with an outfitter) try it--two succeeded and two flipped over. Below are a few pictures from Ohiopyle:

I probably would have liked a little more time at Ohiopyle but I had to head back up the road to Fallingwater for my tour. Fallingwater is a spectacular house in a spectacular location which is what I expected. I was surprised how small the interior of the house was compared to other Frank Lloyd Wright houses. No pictures are allowed in the interior of the house or on the tour but I was able to take a few exterior shots, including at the famous viewpoint:

After Fallingwater, it was pretty much a straight shot along the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I-81, and I-78 to NJ only stopping at a PA Turnpike rest stop for Steak 'n Shake (for some fries and a shake) and at the large (I believe the largest in the country) Cabela's off I-78 in Hamburg, PA.

The trip is done. Some concluding thoughts soon, I think...

Day 39--Louisville, KY to Pittsburgh, PA

Today, I drove from Louisville to Pittsburgh. I got a decently early start (leaving my Airbnb around 8:30am) and headed to the Kentucky Derby Museum located at Churchill Downs, the site of the Kentucky Derby. The Kentucky Derby Museum consisted of a few exhibits that were pretty interesting, including one that featured Kentucky Derby hats, as well as a good 17 minute movie featuring the spectacle that is the Kentucky Derby. However, the most noteworthy part of was the brief (25 minute) tour that took us to the grandstand inside the Churchill Downs track. There were still some horses training (the horses train between 6-10am) so it was cool to see horses running around on the track (although at a much slower pace than on the big track). This visit made me think that it would be VERY cool to go to Louisville in the days/weeks surrounding the Derby to see the big race and the surrounding spectacles.

Here are some pictures:

After that, I headed on the road towards Pittsburgh. On the way, I stopped for lunch a little bit north of Cincinnati, for gas (wanted to top off in Ohio to avoid the high prices of WV and PA) in Cambridge, OH, and at an outlet mall in Washington, PA to pick up new Crocs and a present for my aunt & uncle.

I arrived to my aunt & uncle's apartment building in Pittsburgh around 6:15pm. I'm staying in a guestroom that is shared between tenants on the first floor of the building. For dinner, we went to Legume, a local restaurant that specializes in sustainably-sourced (correct term?) ingredients, where I had beef tartare, a leg of lamb steak, and a chocolate truffle cake. Overall, a terrific dinner.

After some more socializing, I'm back in the guest room watching TV. After breakfast tomorrow, I head back to New Jersey with a stop at Fallingwater on the way.

Final Stop: Mendham, NJ

Days 37 and 38--Benton, AR to Louisville, KY, with a stop at Mammouth Caves National Park

Yesterday, I had the long drive (~460 miles) between Benton, AR and Mammouth Caves National Park in Kentucky (which is about halfway between Nashville and Louisville not far off I-65). However, since I didn't need to arrive at Mammouth Caves until my scheduled tour at 6:15pm, I decided to get an early start and make a stop on the way. My decision for a stopping place was between the Bill Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock and the National Civil Rights Museum at the Loraine Motel (the site of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination) in Memphis. Due to my departure time (around 8:20am) and the opening time of the Clinton Center (9:00am and it was a 25 minute drive from my hotel), I decided to go to the National Civil Rights Museum, which was one of the many attractions I missed on my brief stop in Memphis in March 2013 (sort of regret not making time for a longer stop in Memphis/a stop at the Clinton Center on the way in my route). What I did not anticipate was the crowds that would be at the National Civil Rights Museum. When arriving there at around 10:40am, there was about a 30 minute line for security and tickets. Due to that wait and my tight timeframe, I had to rush through the museum. However, the museum is quite effective at telling its message and is definitely worth a visit.

Exterior of the Lorraine Motel

A view of the balcony where MLK was shot

I made sure I got through the museum by 1:00pm at the latest so I could arrive to Mammouth Caves on time for my 6:15pm Focus on Niagara tour, which shows the most picturesque portion of the cave (a week before, that was the only timeslot during my visit that was available to reserve). Stopping only for lunch (and to pick up something for dinner since I thought my tour wouldn't allow me to make dinner at the park hotel on time--turns out I could have made dinner there on time after all since the tour was less structured and therefore shorter than I thought) in Jackson, TN, I made it to Mammouth Caves National Park shortly after 5:45pm.

The Focus on Niagara tour consisted of driving as a group (all in our own cars) to the cave entrance then being led into the cave by park rangers who gave a brief commentary and then allowed us to take pictures. While we were allowed to stay in the cave until 7:55pm, most people were done by 7:15pm. Here are some picture highlights:

After the tour, I went to my campground located in the park to set up my campsite. Then walked around a bit, had my dinner (late since I had a large, late lunch), did some reading on my iPad, and went to bed.

This morning, I had an 8:30am tour titled Gothic Avenue which entered the cave via the historic entrance. This tour did not show as picturesque a part of the cave as yesterday's tour but still had some cool sightseeing and the rangers told some of the interesting history of the cave (it originally had been used as a salt pewter mine then a for-profit tourist attraction which explained a lot of the graffiti on the ceilings). This tour lasted around 2 hours. Here are some pictures (no flash was allowed and there were fewer opportunities to take them):

Shortly after the tour (probably between 10:45-11:00), I headed towards Louisville, which is a 90 mile drive from the park and is supposed to take around 1.5 hours (although the clock would say 2.5 hours since you cross back into the Eastern Time Zone). I stopped for gas and lunch in Sonora, KY and got to Louisville around 2:00pm.

In Louisville, my first stop was the Louisville Slugger Factory & Museum, which is located in the downtown area. I don't have anything shareworthy for interior pictures since no pictures are allowed on the factory tour and didn't get anything in the museum, which shows off Louisville Slugger bats that famous players used.

 It was a pretty enjoyable (although not spectacular) way to spend around an hour. After that, I walked down the street to the Muhammad Ali Center, which tells the story of the famed boxer. It was pretty interesting and certainly worth an hour visit.

I didn't really explore downtown Louisville but it seemed like a nice city and there are some downtown attractions I skipped. I parked on the riverfront of the Ohio River (was tempted to cross over to Indiana so I could say I've been to Indiana but didn't and my route tomorrow skips that state). Tomorrow, I'll check out the Kentucky Derby Museum & Churchill Downs then go on to Pittsburgh to see my aunt & uncle there.

Next Stop: Pittsburgh, PA