June 2007 Archives

I keep reading horror story after horror story about our country's transportation system and it makes me want to cry.

We have old planes, airlines in bankruptcy, outdated air-traffic control equipment and a security system that many say, while well-intentioned, causes more problems than it actually prevents.

According to a recent story in USA Today, Northwest Airlines alone has cancelled more than 1,000 flights since last Friday, citing weather problems, pilot absenteeism and traffic control issues.

Another piece, in the latest issue of Wired magazine, sings the praises of high-speed rail and wonders why we're practically the only industralized country that doesn't have a well-developed system.

Here in Central Pennsylvania, we have our own traffic woes. Congestion on York County's two main arteries -- Route 30 and Interstate 83 -- is being exacerbated by booming residential development.

Regional planners and lawmakers have been talking about a commuter-rail system connecting Carlisle, Hershey, Lancaster and other places since I graduated from college and returned to the area seven years ago. As far as I can tell, it's still all talk.

People want to travel. People pay lots of money to travel. The demand and the dollars are there. But where is the infrastructure and customer-service to support it?

Leave a comment and tell us what you think should be done.

The Valley Forge Convention and Visitors Bureau sure knows how to lure tourists. Give them free gas to get there.

Book a two-night stay in participating hotels before the end of September, and they'll give you a $35 gas card.

I don't know about those of you who drive Hummers and other such gas-guzzlers, but that would be enough to get my little Honda Civic there and back from York.

Oh, and you also get a free guide to the King of Prussia Mall with discount coupons, a coupon for a free Happy Meal at McDonalds, and a chance to win a two-year lease on a 2007 Chevy Impala LT.

What's there to see and do in Valley Forge, you ask?

*Valley Forge National Historical Park
*King Tut exhibit at The Franklin Institute
* Bike or jog along the Schuylkill River Trail.
*The Mid-Atlantic shopping mecca, otherwise known as the King of Prussia Mall

To learn more and book your trip, visit www.visitvalleyforge.com.

When you return, send me a picture for our Wish you Were Here feature.

In York County, a lot of us have some connection to the Susquehanna River.

Maybe you don't think so, but think again. Does your water come from it? Do you drive across it? Paddle through it? Fish in it? Relax along it?

For the 17th year, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay is holding a weeklong sojourn on the water. It's a chance to get some exercise, have some fun, visit nearby attractions, and, most importantly, learn about the river's natural features and how to protect them.

This year's event will take place a bit later than usual -- July 16 to 22 -- to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Captain John Smith's exploration of the Chesapeake Bay. The trip begins at Safe Harbor Dam and ends in the Chesapeake Bay, with a bay-style lunch on Maryland's Eastern Shore.

Go for the whole thing, or just join the group for a day. It's up to you.

For details, or to sign up, click here.

We all know that the best things in life are free. But a lot of times, it doesn't seem that way. You pay no matter what you want to do: rent a boat, see a movie, wander through a fair or festival -- even if you don't eat anything or ride the rides.

Saturday is the start of the weeklong Kutztown Festival in Berks County, and organizers need volunteers for everything from greeting visitors and maning a welcome booth to running children's activities and keeping the grounds clean.

You pick your job and your hours. In return, you get free admission to the fair ($12 value) the day you work, free souvenir items, and an invitation to a pre-festival party.

Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me.

To sign up, click here.

Brad Young and his mother, Mary Young, both of Mount Wolf, walk across the new Grand Canyon Skywalk during a trip to Arizona in May.

Brad Young said that being able to walk on the glass see-through bridge and view the Grand Canyon one mile below was a truly amazing and somewhat scary experience, but one that he and his mother highly recommend.

Their travel tip: Wait a few more months before you visit so you can avoid a 14-mile unpaved road and 110-degree weather.

Check out this story I wrote for the newest issue of YDR's Smart magazine.

It's all about how to pack for -- and survive (yes, maybe even enjoy) a long road trip. It includes a checklist of items to bring, things to do beforehand, and tips for making the journey go smoothly.

Check it out before you hit the road.

When you get back, e-mail me a photo and we'll post it here, in the "Wish you were here" gallery, as well as on the travel page of the Sunday Lifestyle section of the paper.

Exhibits, food vendors, tours, music, and an educational scavenger hunt.... it's all part of Rivertownes PA USA's River Road Excursion/Fun Rally and RiverFest 2007 Sunday along the Susquehanna.

Martha Pavlick pauses for a photo in Venice lagoon, as seen from St. Mark’s Square, on May 14.

Pavlick and her husband, Tom, of Springettsbury Township flew to Italy to visit their daughter, Anne, who is studying there. After a few days in Rome, where they visited St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the trio traveled to Venice and Florence.

Her travel tip: There’s no line at the Uffizi gallery in Florence at the end of the afternoon. You can walk right in, look through half the rooms and then return and do the same another day.

If you're in search of a weekend away, a mini-vacation of sorts, head two hours north to Lake Harmony this Saturday or Sunday.

The town is home to the Split Rock Resort and an annual two-day wine festival, where you can sample vintages from more than two dozen Pennsylvania wineries.

I attended with a group of friends last year and found that -- in addition to being a fun, relaxing day outdoors -- it was a great education for both the brain and the palate.

There's no better way to learn what you do and don't like. Seminars throughout the weekend teach you how to pair wines with foods and desserts.

Just one word of advice: sip slowly or learn the "swish-and-spit" method of tasting. There are a lot to get through. :)

If you like to camp, you know that the woods are alive at night.

Crunches, rustles, chirps and all number of other sounds combine for a complex nocturnal melody.

For many campers, it's the reason they like sleeping outdoors; nature's lullaby. For others, it's a bit unsettling. You don't know what creatures are making the sounds, or if they'll be paying you a visit while you slumber.

Check out this Web site before your next foray into the forest and you can familiarize yourself with at least a few of the less harmless sounds.

Now if only they had a site like this for the leaf rustling and such...

Quick quiz:

It takes place every year on the third Thursday in June.
It draws people from all over.
It has been billed as the country's largest one-day street fair.
It is occassion for many folk, such as myself, to take a day off work.

If you haven't yet guessed, I'm just going to tell you because I can't contain myself any longer: It's JUBILEEEEEE Day.

In Mechanicsburg. Where I live.

Well, actually it's Jubilee Day with only two Ees, but I wanted you to feel how excited I am. I don't know why I look forward to it so much, but I do. Every year I realize how it's not quite as big or as grand or spectacular as I remember it being when I was a kid. But then again, few things are.

The night before, I get butterflies in my stomach when I drive home and see borough employees putting up the roadblocks and shepherding food vendors and artists to their spots so they can set up in time for the noon start the next day. I invite friends or family members to meet at my apartment so we can walk just a block to the food and fun and -- best of all -- people watching.

If you're into the sport, Jubilee Day is one of the best places to practice it because it draws all types. You've got your grandmas sitting in the shade, listening to old-timey music. Punky kids with rainbow mohawks and chains. Young mothers with strollers. Couples walking hand-in-hand. The odd businessman stopped for a bite to eat.

And me, the reporter-on-her-day-off, mingling among the thousands on Main Street.

See you there.

...cool Mexican town name that I like the sound of: Tzintzuntzan (pronounced "Zeen, zune, zan") in the state of Michoacan. Talk about sing-songy!

I saw it mentioned in an article I was reading in a three-month old issue of "National Geographic Traveler" to keep from falling asleep during my brother's college graduation this evening. (7:30-10:30 p.m.!!!!!-- a topic for another post another day)

To fully appreciate this entry, you'll need to read the one below for context.

Judy Woodard of York took a trip to Chicago with her daughter, Tamika, of Los Angeles, in April.

The plan was to stay at the W Hotel, eat great food, do lots of sightseeing and see “The Color Purple,” which was Tamika’s Mother’s Day gift to Judy.

Judy writes that she secretly hoped for a chance to somehow see Oprah Winfrey, but she didn’t say anything because she was greatful for her daughter’s hard work to plan the weekend trip.

The day they were scheduled to leave, Tamika told her they’d be attending a taping of the Oprah show.

“I never really heard the details of how this incredible surprise came together because I was too busy jumping up and screaming,” Woodard writes. “Like a kid on Christmas I was ecstatic.”

She said the experience was better than she expected, and audience members went home with more than $1,000 worth of goodies, including a 4GB iPod Nano, Beyonce and Robin Thicke concert tickets, Coach sunglasses and more.

Her travel tip: Don’t miss Millenium Park and Navy Pier. And definitely do some shopping on Michigan Avenue.

Susan Palm, left, of Manchester Township, and Becky Tallman, right, of West York, went scuba diving during a trip to Key West, Fla., in May.

While there, they went on nine dives from the boat The Sea Eagle, which was the boat used by James Bond in the film “License to Kill.” They enjoyed perfect weather and great diving during the trip. On the dives, they saw stingrays, moray eels, a shipwreck and many varieties of tropical fish.

Tallman's travel tip: The best way to go diving is with a private, chartered group — check with local dive shops such as York Divers.

Maybe it's because of my musical background.

Or maybe I'm just a little odd.

During a trip to Mexico in late April, I found myself repeating the names of certain towns and cities of our southern neighbor over and over to myself, savoring the way they sounded as I whispered them under my breath (so people wouldn't think I was crazy).

I liked the way the names of these three towns roll off the tongue like a cascading waterfall, long and elegant streams of sound:

Guanajuato (Juan -a-hwato) (start the "h" like you're checking your breath)
Guadalajara (the "j" sounds like an "h")
Cuernavaca ("v" sounds like a "b")

And the short, militant-sounding names of:

Oaxaca (Wha-hock-a)
Taxco (Tasko)
Pachuca (Pah-chew-ka)

(I can just imagine native tribes conversing when I hear these gutteral sounds.)

Or the way some end on a strong note, like in:

Yucatan ("You-co-tan" -- emphasis on the last "a" )
Cancun (I think you probably know how to say this one, buy try it more like "Kahn-Koon," emphasizing the "u" at the end)
Tepotzlan (accent on the last "a") (te-poat-slon)-- I especially like the "tzl" consonant cluster in this one

Then you get one like Teotihuacan that combines the best of the two categories above. "Teh-oh-tee-wha-kan" (accent on "kan")

Or the up-and-down, back-and-forth rocking rhythm of these two:

Zacatecas ("c" sounds like a "k") (Zah-cah-teh-kas)
Queretero (Ca-reh-teh-row)

Yeah, it's a little strange that I think about these things. But don't you ever like how a word sounds? The, what's it called -- onomatopoeia -- of words like "plop" "crack" "sip" "bam"?

If you pay attention, you'll start to realize how much language -- whether it be English, Spanish, Quechua or whatever -- is like one big musical score.

What's your favorite?

Edmund and Esther Miller of York Haven had this photograph done while vacationing in Hawaii in the end of April.

They visited the islands of Oahu, Maui and Hawaii. They especially enjoyed visiting Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial.

Their travel tip:Take a bathing suit, camera, binoculars, a Pearl Harbor history and a map of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

To celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary in May 2006, Brian and Robin Garner of Glen Rock took a Mediterranean cruise. Before boarding the ship, they spent a few days in Barcelona, Spain, and toured the city on Segways.

Their travel tip: A Segway is a wonderful way to zip around narrow city streets and go places that you can’t get to in a car or on a bus.

For years, I didn't wear a wristwatch. Nor do I like bracelets. Anything I put on my wrist seems to either catch on things or get in my way as I go about my daily tasks.

The ubiquity of cellular phones -- with the time displayed on front -- made watches unnecessary for many folks, like myself.

But in the past couple of years, I've begun to realize that a cheap, adjustable sport watch is worth wearing in certain instances.

* When you are hiking or camping in an area where cell phone service is sketchy, at best.

* When you are paddling down a river or stream and don't have time to dig through your dry bag to peek at the time on your phone.

*When you are riding your bike and it's more convenient to twist your wrist to check the time than to unclip a phone from your waist or bag.

*When you are traveling in Mexico and have run out of cash. If your $10 Wal Mart watch looks nice enough, you might get an offer to do some old-fashioned bartering, as I recently did while visiting Chichen Itza on the Yucatan Peninsula.

*When you are traveling in a foreign country where your cell phone doesn't work (or works for a very high price).

*When your cell phone company upgrades you to a phone that the manufacturer has stopped making because it has so many problems (Motorola i850, in case you're wondering). Yes, I'm still steaming over that. But seriously, I was glad for my watch when my phone suddenly went beserk earlier this week and shut down.

I don't have kids, but if I did, I'd probably be starting to worry what to do when they begin chanting the "I'm bored" summer mantra. I doubt it takes too long for the novelty of no school to wear off and the summer doldrums to set in.

"Kids Love Pennsylvania," a new book by George & Michele Zavatsky, collects the best kid-friendly attractions around the Commonwealth. Organized both by region and activity, it lists enough ideas of places to go and see and things to go and do to keep you busy until the school bells ring again.

Some of the local places highlighted include the Explore and More Children's Museum in Gettysburg and the many snack food tours in the area. There's also a listing of seasonal events.

I didn't know Adams County had a nature center.
But it does.
And the place is hosting what sounds like a pretty cool event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday to celebrate National Trails Day.

Like the guys in the picture above, who volunteered to help rebuild a bridge over Middle Creek at last year's event, you can help make trail improvements so your next venture into nature's playground is an enjoyable one.

During Saturday's event at Strawberry Hill Nature Center, volunteers will work on a trail along Swamp Creek (sounds like something out of a sci-fi book, doesn't it? I want to go visit it now, just because it seems kind of creepy and cool).

But it's not all work and no play.

You can win raffle prizes -- including hiking gear and adventure medical kits -- and take home thank-you gifts that include snack bars, coupons, insect repellants and dry-wick National Trails Day T-shirts. Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Need more info before you commit? Call 642-5840 or check them out online.

With more than 10 miles of walking trails, 600 acres of wooded hillsides and mountain streams, a historic log cabin, picnic area and nature center, I'm thinking it would be a pretty cool place to check out.

If nothing else, for that whole Swamp Creek thing...

Friends and I spotted this sign on the main tourist strip in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where the locals try their darndest to ply the tourist trade, even if it results in something like this.

I couldn't resist snapping a picture.

So I'm sitting here, mulling my lunch options, and I realize that the one thing I really, really want to eat, I can't have.

Well, not without getting on a plane to Mexico.

Or driving a couple of hours to a major metro area where maybe, just maybe I'll find some place that makes them kind of like the way my tastebuds think they should be.

What is my obsession?

Tacos al pastor.