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Arts & Entertainment

Day Tripper: New Guide Showcases Pennsylvania

'Pennsylvania' Moon Handbooks by local author, Anna Dubrovsky, offers tips, fun facts and travel information.

Pennsylvania is a wonderful state and it is “really big.”

Those are two facts that local author Anna Dubrovsky verified when she researched her new book, “Pennsylvania,” published by Moon Handbooks [Moon Handbooks, Avalon Travel, 2011, $21.99].

Dubrovsky traveled extensively all over the state during the year-and-a-half that she gathered information to be included in the guidebook. “I really underestimated Pennsylvania,” laughed the Squirrel Hill-based author who put more than 10,000 miles on her car during that time.

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Dubrovsky has also lived in eastern and central Pennsylvania. When she accepted the assignment to write the book, she was, in her words, “cocky.”

 “I thought I knew Pennsylvania, but there was a lot I didn’t know,” she explained.

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The new handbook has more than 600 pages of information on places to visit, sites to see, places to stay and eat and interesting facts about Pennsylvania.

“We have so many oddball attractions,” she said, “Those are the types of things that I loved to find.”

The book has more than 800 photos, many taken by Dubrovsky.

Fallingwater and Other Frank Lloyd Wright Homes

An easy day trip is the 70-minute drive to the Laurel Highlands region to discover the works of the late, famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright.

Many people know about Fallingwater, operated by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, perhaps Wright’s most famous work.

But did you know that Angelina Jolie took Brad Pitt there in 2006 on a private tour for his birthday? That is a fun fact shared by Dubrovsky in the book.

Fallingwater is a home Wright designed for the Kaufmann family of department store fame in 1935. He built the home on top of a waterfall, making it one of the most photographed homes in the world.

According to Dubrovsky, more than 150,000 guests tour the home per year and you must make reservations well in advance. Only visitors who are 13 and older are welcome on regular tours, but a wonderful tour also is offered for children 6-12 years of age – another fact many don’t know. Tours are $18 per adults; $12 for children’s tours.

If you have the bank account of the famous Pitt-Jolie couple, you might want to spring for the InsightOnsite, a three-day seminar where you actually sleep on site – for only $1,500 per person for double occupancy.

Visit www.fallingwater.org or call 724-329-8501 for more information on tours and reservations.

Two other Frank Lloyd Wright designed homes are within an easy driving distance and many visitors incorporate Kentuck Knob and the newer Duncan House at Polymath Park Resort into their visits to Fallingwater.

Kentuck Knob is only six miles south of Fallingwater. While the style is very different from its more famous sister, it is a beautiful home in its own right.

Designed in the 1950s for the owners of Hagan ice cream, the home was sold to Lord Peter Palumbo, who has opened it for tours.

Tours are $16 for adults, $10 for children ages 6 – 12 (those under age 6 are not permitted). More in-depth tours cost $55. Visit www.kentuckknob.com or 724-329-1901 for information or reservations.

If your pockets are a bit smaller than Jolie’s, you may want to stay overnight at the Duncan House, only one of six Frank Lloyd Wright homes that are open for public lodging.

The home was actually built in Illinois, according to Dubrovsky, but was moved to Acme a few years ago. You can tour this home for $22 or rent it for a two-night stay at $425 - $575 a night. There is also a wonderful restaurant on-site, the Tree Tops.

Visit www.polymathpark.com or 1-877-833-7829 for more information. 

Day Tripper is a new travel feature that Pine-Richland Patch will publish weekly about places that are within a day's drive. 

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