Sunday, I visited American architect Frank Lloyd Wright's renowned Fallingwater in western PA.
The place, designed and built for the Kauffman family (of the now-defunct Kauffman's Department Stores) of Pittsburgh in the 1930s still leaves visitors in awe. It's a beautiful example of integrating manmade structures and nature and living in harmony with one's environment.
Finish reading 'Fallingwater' »
This weekend, friends and I rented a cottage near Ohiopyle State Park so we could do some things we discovered during our July camping trip there.
The ropes course at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort's adventure center was our first adventure. I can tell you firsthand that it's not for the faint of heart!
Finish reading 'Ropes course' »
A couple of weekends ago, I tagged along with a group of local mushroom hunters for a story. I was amazed how much variety they found in a little more than an hour in the woods near Safe Harbor Park in Lancaster County.
I thought I'd share a couple extra photos here that didn't make it into the story. If you're interested in learning more about wild mushrooms, check out the group.
Finish reading 'Local mushrooms' »
The annual revelry at the York Fairgrounds each September is the ultimate in backyard traveling. Yeah, it'll cost you $12 till you get in and park. And you can easily blow more than dozen bucks on food.
But seriously, where else can you see fire-eating midgets, listen to music made on trash bins and eat a fried PBJ? If that's not local culture for you, I don't know what is. I'm of the opinion that every York County resident should check it out at least once.
For more, see our York Fair blog or plan your visit according to the schedule of events. Hurry up though -- the fun ends Sunday!
A new guidebook published for the 250th anniversary of the historic Forbes Trail highlights several York County attractions.
The trail follows the path that George Washington and British General John Forbes took from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to capture Fort Duquesne and set the state for the birth of a nation.
The trail, which generally follows the path of Route 30, includes local attractions such as Samuel S. Lewis State Park, the Haines Shoe House, York Colonial Complex, and John Wright Store and Restaurant, among others.
Some might say he was never here to begin with, that it's all a figment of people's imagination.
But shhhh!
Don't tell that to the folks who will gather in Jeannette (near Pittsburgh) at the end of the month for the East Coast Bigfoot Conference.
From Sept. 26 to 28, the public is invited to attend this event, organized to educate and inform the public about sightings, research and investigations.
Still not convinced?
Finish reading 'Bigfoot returns' »
If you haven't made it over to WIlliams Grove this week for the annual Grangers Steam Engine Festival, you have two more days to get there.
I went last weekend with my sister and my niece, and even though I'm not much interested in trains, it was pretty cool to see the old steam engines and the old-timey festival atmosphere.
We took my niece, Lilyana, on a train ride and got some chicken barbecue for lunch. If you have kids -- and if any of them have the least bit of interest in trains or tractors -- I'd say this is a must-do.
Admission is $2 for adults and train rides are $3. You can't get cheaper entertainment than that!
What, you ask, is an Amish VIP?
An Amish person with motorized wheels or electricity? One who get to schmooze with the bigwigs?
Finish reading 'Amish VIP' »
It might be hard to believe -- considering the price of admission, parking, a hot dog and Sno cone -- but amusement parks nationwide are reporting revenues that are more than 2 percent less than last year's season.
A press release that came across my desk said the bad economy and deferred investment in new rides and facilities are mostly to blame. To help combat the effects of fewer American visitors, parks such as Walt Disney World and Disneyland are making a big push into foreign markets.
Are you still heading to amusement parks? Are you cutting back on the number of visits or how much you spend when you're there?
Check out this photo of Hersheypark at night, taken from the hill across Hersheypark Drive. Had I brought my real camera and a tripod, you can imagine the results would have been even better! For more cool photos, check out YDR photographer Bil Bowden's blog.
Sunday morning, I drug myself out of bed early to go to Williams Grove.
The former amusement park and picnic grounds in Cumberland County's rural Monroe Township closed down a few years back, but the place has found new life with a weekend flea market in a beautiful setting.
I got more peaches than I can eat in a week for $1.50, a bunch of homegrown tomatoes for a dollar and a beautiful green pepper for less than 50 cents. You'll also find vendors selling yard-sale-type items, antiques, plants and more amid the remnants of rides.
Williams Grove is also the site of the annual Grangers steam-engine festival, set for this weekend. I've never been to it, but I'll probably go -- if nothing else than to watch my 14-month-old niece ride on the trains she's obsessed with.
And to get more peaches before summer's over!
My birthday fell on a Tuesday this year, so the best way I could think to celebrate was to invite a group of friends to join me for dinner at a place I have wanted to check out for some time now: Bube's Brewery.
About half an hour from York in the small town of Mt. Joy, the historic brewery complex offers a variety of dining options in a very cool setting.
We were supposed to dine in the Biergarten, but the weather looked threatening, so they put us in a room on the second floor of the main complex, right next to an old-fashioned general store of sorts.
Finish reading 'Brewery worth a trip' »
Sunday afternoon, some friends and I hiked to an observation tower near the resort town of Mount Gretna and climbed the narrow rusty ladders to the top, where you can supposedly see parts of four counties on a clear day.
It's not super well-known -- the Park at Governor Dick isn't a state or county park and I heard of it for the first time when friends mentioned it. We had a bit of difficulty figuring out which roads would take us to the trail head, and the trail itself wasn't well-marked, but we figured it out.
It was a nice excursion, but we were a little frustrated at the lack of on-site information about the tower and the park. We like to learn a little when we're visiting new places.
Now, for the ice-cream...
Finish reading 'Hike and ice cream' »
Friday night, I did something I've been wanting to do on a Friday night for some time now.
I walked to Eckel's drug store in Mechanicsburg for an ice-cream cone.
The town landmark still makes milkshakes with those lime-green mixers and whips up some of the tastiest floats and flavored sodas around. It was the setting for filming of some scenes in the movie "Girl Interrupted" in early 1999.
It's one of the reasons I love living in a small town. If you've never been there, it's definitely worth the 35-minute drive from York.
I know you can't resist reading a blog post with a headline like that!
Two colleagues and I accompanied members of the York Daily Record/Sunday News's Teen Takeover staff to a York Revolution baseball game Monday night.
It was a monkey magic Monday at Sovereign Bank Stadium and I took full advantage!
In the first photo, you'll see me peeking behind the back of magician/illusionist Eli Georgaras to see if I can spot any secret moves as he performed a card trick. (I couldn't -- he was pretty swift.)
In the second photo, you'll see Django, a 17-year-old capuchin monkey, perched on my shoulder.
Django and I go way back.
Finish reading 'Monkeys and magic' »
Check out my story in today's paper about the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. Friend and coworker Melissa Burke (YDR's religion reporter and a Baltimore resident) raved about the current exhibit and suggested the museum might make a good backyard travel for cash-strapped locals looking for a nearby day trip.
I wasn't disappointed. Here are some photos from my visit that we didn't have space for in the paper:
Summer isn't summer for me without a visit to Cowans Gap State Park near McConnellsburg.
Earlier this month, my family rented a cabin there for a week and I spent a weekend there. Here are three photos that show my favorite parts of camping:
The rowboat that got me hooked on being on the water and taught me how to steer a boat. It was my inspiration for buying a kayak two years ago. I wanted to be able to go out and paddle around on my own.
The campfire. Oh, the stories, the silliness. The sticky marshmallow S'morey goodness. This glowing fire probably has coals that are perfect for cooking mountain pies.
And lastly, the view. The relaxing scenery by the lake is a sight for sore urban/suburban stressed eyes.
I hate the way my voice sounds, but other than that, I think this video of me flying on a trapeze in Baltimore two weeks ago is pretty freakin' cool.
All credit for its coolness goes to YDR photographer/videographer extraordinaire Paul Keuhnel, who captured my airborne frustrations and success (note, that's success, singular!)
Keep your eyes on the Living section of the paper in August for the full story and another video.
Have you ever tried this? Would you?
Jen generously donated me some blog time to share about my weekend camping trip to Ricketts Glen State Park, which is about 30 miles north of Bloomsburg on Route 487..
Sitting here in my cubicle, the camp-fire smell is still in my hair, a few bug bites are a bit itchy and my quad muscles are still sore from a hike to see most of the park's 22 named waterfalls ... but those are my biggest complaints about the weekend.
A couple of friends suggested the park as an ideal spot for camping, and I wasn't let down.
Finish reading 'Camping at Ricketts Glen' »
Last summer, more than 300 people came to Gifford Pinchot State Park for a free sailboat ride, free munchies and a day of fun courtesy of the Pinchot Sailing Club.
Saturday, they'll do it again.
Come to the Conewago day use area dressed to get wet between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. and you can float around the lake on a club member's sailboat. A picnic lunch will be provided free for those who sail, beginning at 10:30 a.m.
For details, visit www.pinchotsailing.com.
A PennDOT press release that landed in my inbox says they installed 73 "wayfinding" signs in support of visitpa.com's Civil War Trails in six counties.
Thirteen are in York County, 11 in Adams County, 18 in Cumberland County, 4 in Dauphin County, 20 in Franklin County and seven in Lancaster County. They confirm for motorists that they are on a Pennsylvania Civil War Trail.
I haven't seen any of them yet (although apparently there is one on Main Street in Mechanicsburg near where I live.) Have you? Where are the York County ones?
Finish reading 'Have you seen any?' »
I was delighted that my final assignment of the day Monday took me to Monaghan Township. I had seen an ad in a community newspaper for pick-your-own cherries at Elicker's Orchard in the northern York County municipality (E. Ridge Rd.) and wanted to check it out.
Now, I'm no stranger to the pick-your-own game. I gather strawberries at some local farm or another nearly every spring. The summer after my junior year of high school, I worked picking strawberries five mornings a week to help pay for a plane ticket to visit my penpal (pre-Internet term) in Spain.
But I had never picked cherries.
Half an hour after I pulled into the orchard, I had purple-stained fingers and half a pail. That's probably more than I can consume before they go bad, but at $1.25 a pound, how can you skimp? I'll share.
Geeze, I was just there a little more than a week ago and already they have a new exhibit going that I'm not going to get to see. It looks pretty cool though. Check out the USA Today story here.
Today, a photographer and I tagged along with some York folks who went to Reading to check out the GoggleWorks center for the arts in that city's downtown.
We planned to spend a few hours. We stayed for nearly twice that. There was just so much to see and do.
Finish reading 'Goggle, not Google' »OK, as promised, here is my list of the Top 10 Free Attractions in or near York County. Now, it's your turn. Shoot me an e-mail and we'll add your suggestions to the blog.
1. Gifford Pinchot State Park -- The lake here is my favorite peaceful kayaking spot
2. Heritage Rail Trail County Park -- I like to ride my bike here, especially the southern part
3. Central Market (well, free to browse until you get tempted to buy something)
4. Cherry Lane -- catch some midday music or just chill in the midst of downtown
5. Allegro Vineyards -- free and friendly wine tastings, like the billboard says (or any of the area's wineries, for that matter -- most will let you sample for free)
6. Greybeards Antiques in Jacobus -- once again, free to browse till you find a treasure you need to buy
7. Gettysburg National Military Park -- I'm not a history buff, but I know this place is a local treasure. Admission is free, and if you're lucky, maybe you'll see some ghosts!
8. Factory tours. Many area companies offer free peeks at how they make everything from chocolate to motorcycles certain days and times.
9. Safe Harbor petroglyphs. Ancient messages carved in rocks mid-river. If you paddle out to see them, please obey the guidelines to protect these treasures.
10. Harrisburg's Riverfront Park. Like York County's Rail Trail, it's great for biking or walking. Benches with a great river view offer prime chilling spots on a nice day. Or, meander across the Walnut Street Bridge to City Island.
TripAdvisor.com recently named the country's Top 10 free attractions. Because we're all about saving money these days (note $4/gallon gas prices and $40 for a bag of groceries) and because I like Top 10 lists, I want to know what you think are the best free attractions in this area.
The national list included spots like the Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas, Arlington National Cemetery, the Golden Gate Bridge, Zion National Park, the Pacific Coast Highway, Boston's Freedom Trail, etc.
Post your Top 10 list as a comment, or e-mail it to me and I'll post it here on the blog as an entry of its own.
I'll think about mine and post my list here tomorrow, so check back.
I love it when I discover someplace new not far from home. (Duh, you say, that seems to be half of what this blog is about.) I know. Anyway, after seven months of training, I was given my first wedding to photograph solo earlier this month.
When I called the bride to go over the information on the papers, I asked her about the request for cemetery photos. Cemetery pictures? On your wedding day?
Of course, when someone is paying you to photograph their wedding, you don't ask questions. Well, not those kind of questions.
Turns out, it was one gravestone in particular they wanted their picture by -- that of Edgar Allan Poe.
We're nowhere near becoming an East Coast Napa Valley, but York County's wine scene will soon get a boost with the addition of Browns Vineyard and Winery.
In this story from last week's YDR, the name frequently associated with to-die-for baked goods might soon become linked with to-die-for wines.
Of course, we won't know for a while yet. Fruit wines and white varietals will be ready for sale later this year, but reds won't make an appearance until the fall of 2010.
Still, it will push the number of wineries on the Uncork York wine trail to an even dozen. Maybe the critical mass will draw even more locals and visitors to the wineries.
We'll toast to that.
You know it's fall when:
*The landscape looks like a painting
*Your feet crunch on leaves when you walk outdoors
*The afternoon sun is warm but evenings require a jacket
*You smell smoke from woodstoves
*Coffee shops offer pumpkin-flavored lattes and muffins
*Apple cider appears in the grocery store
*You're thinking about what your Halloween costume will be
*The office candy dish fills up with candy corn
*Pumpkin patches open for picking and jack-o-lanterns start appearing on porches
If you're looking for a places around PA to check out the fall foliage, here's a Web site where you can track the changing of colors.
Post a comment and tell me what's your favorite sign of fall.
This picture was drawn probably about 1,000 years ago. On a big rock in the middle of the Susquehanna River near York County.
I saw prehistoric sketches like this while on assignment for a story today. I got a bit of sunburn, despite the 30 SPF, but I think it will be worth it.
Keep your eyes on the Living/Lifestyle section of the York Daily Record/Sunday News in the coming weeks to find out who drew these? Why here? What do they mean?
If you've seen them, leave a comment and share what you know.
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.
With gas prices hovering at the $3 mark, I almost wish I were sticking closer to home this Memorial Day weekend.
Maybe, say, floating around the lake at Gifford Pinchot State Park, like my friend Emma (pictured above).
Or hiking the many miles of trails in the York County Park system.
Or chowing down on picnic food while taking in the awesome views at Sam Lewis State Park or Susquehannock State Park.
Or riding my bike along the Heritage Rail Trail County Park.
Who wants to fight holiday-weekend traffic on the interstates? Raise your blood pressure a few notches as you realize you're idiling away precious dollars of gasoline by the minute?
Finish reading 'Chill close to home' »
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