Going to holiday lights displays has become an annual tradition for me and my family. Check out the places to go to enjoy the magic of the holiday season! Brookside Gardens “Garden of Lights” But the fascination with the lights made me wonder — how did the extravagant lights displays come about? As our holidays […]
Author: Jody Arneson
Christkindlemarkt in Bethlehem PA
Beginning with this post, I’m starting a series about Lehigh Valley, PA. This is the first installment of this series. To see others in this series (once they’re published), click on the label “Lehigh Valley” below this post. Celebrating 25 years this year, Christkindlmarkt in Bethlehem is a great way to spend a fun afternoon as […]
Fabulous Phipps Conservatory
Pittsburgh — the butt of all the jokes we Penn Staters used to tell when I attended that university — constantly surprises me. It’s a lovely city, and possibly one of the prettiest places in Pittsburgh is Phipps Conservatory. Phipps offers a visual romp of color and surprises, between lovely blooms and foliage to the glass art […]
It Is an Excellent Good Pudding
If you really want to understand a time period that isn’t our own, then live it, even if only for a few hours. That was the thought as my sister and I signed up for a second open hearth cooking seminar at Gunston Hall. If ever you think preparing a full Thanksgiving meal, replete with […]
In Search of Audrey Munson: America’s First Supermodel
In this guest blog, Steve Rosenbach takes us on an unusual exploration of some of New York City’s secrets! In the first decade of the twentieth century, one young, beautiful woman became America’s first supermodel. Every sculptor wanted to sculpt her. Every painter wanted to paint her. She even appeard in some of the earliest […]
Three Quaint Towns and Two Fun Fall Festivals
Beginning in mid-October, I started a series of posts about things to do and see in Butler County, PA. This is the third installment of this series. To see others in this series, click on the label “Butler County” below this post. One of several log cabin homes in Harmony. What could a PA town […]
Potomac River Paddling Adventure in Dyke Marsh
Dyke Marsh Preserve, one of the few remaining freshwater tidal wetlands on the Potomac is best explored by kayak or canoe. Located on the west bank of the Potomac River south of Alexandria, Virginia between Old Town Alexandria and Mount Vernon. Dyke Marsh consists of about 380 acres of tidal marsh, floodplain, and swamp forest. […]
Strange Happenings at Miller House
There have been some strange happenings at Miller House, on West Washington Street, in Hagerstown, MD. The Miller House is now the home of the Washington County Historical Society, which was founded in 1911, the same year, actually, that the last family to live in Miller House — the Millers, appropriately enough — purchased the […]
The Barns of Butler County
Beginning in mid-October, I started a series of posts about things to do and see in Butler County, PA. This is the second installment of this series. To see others in this series, click on the label “Butler County” below this post. Not on the barn tour, but it should be! Thanks to the barn […]
Ghost Hunt: Anderson Mansion
Located in the historic Manchester District in downtown Pittsburgh, Anderson Manor is unique and packed with history. Built in 1830 by Colonel James Anderson, with additions to the house in 1905, this home was a part of the elite district during the Pittsburgh Steel Industry boom. A western Pennsylvania paranormal investigations and ghost hunt event […]
Almost Too Much to Do in Moraine State Park!!
Beginning with this post, I’m starting a series about things to do and see in Butler County, PA. This is the first installment. To see others in this series (once they’re published), click on the label “Butler County” below this post. Looking to enjoy the fall foliage? Take a boat ride on the Nautical Nature! […]
Ghost Hunt: Carrie Furnace
The Carrie Blast Furnaces, overlooking the Monongahela River in the industrial town of Swissvale, PA, remain an eerie reminder of Pittsburgh’s steel industry past, and the conditions the workers there went through. When an opportunity came up to participate in an “intimate ghost hunt” of the former steel mill, I lept at the chance. Built […]
Autumn Drive Through Adams County Apple Country
Adams County is a picturesque rural county in south central Pennsylvania. Although synonymously known as Apple Country, it is most well known for the little town of Gettysburg, the site of the most famous Civil War battle. But as I’ve posted in this blog before, there is more to Adams County, and Gettysburg, than the […]
Mt Hebron Cemetery Holds 35 Thousand Stories
It’s a cliche, but still true, that you can discern much about a town by its cemetery; Mount Hebron Cemetery reveals Winchester’s secrets. Mount Hebron Cemetery, in Winchester, VA started modestly, in 1844, adjacent to two much older cemeteries: the German Reformed Church Cemetery, chartered more than a hundred years earlier, and the Lutheran Church […]
“Yaking” in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge
I’ve been to Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) several times, always excited to see and enjoy the birds and wildlife. With the purchase of our new kayak earlier this summer comes the opportunity to explore it by kayak. We visited the refuge about 2 weeks ago, in mid-September. Blackwater NWR was established in 1933 as […]