York’s art scene is as varied and diverse as its many artists, with a mix of private galleries, public displays, and outdoor murals and sculpture. If you’re considering a visit to York — and if you’re not, you should — then consider dipping your toes into the variety of York’s artistic offerings! These fun “retro-rustic” […]
Pennsylvania
Museum of the American Revolution
How much do you really know about the Revolutionary War? While touring the Museum of the American Revolution, I learned some things I hadn’t known (or had forgotten since my high school US history class) and untangled some deeply held misconceptions from actual history. Perhaps I should have paid better attention… And that’s why this […]
Elk Life Day Trip
Elk Country says it all. Elk Country, straddling Clearfield and Elk counties, is home to the largest elk herd in the northeastern United States. And that’s where you go to catch a glimpse of these incredible beauties! Elk Country is by definition in the middle of nowhere. The best place to start this daytrip is […]
Browsing Bellefonte’s Spirits, Boutiques and Antiques
Bellefonte was named by a French diplomat on a land-speculation visit to central PA in the 1790s. He named the crossroads “la belle fonte” for the natural spring — “Big Spring” — in town that provides the town its drinking water. Bellefonte’s Big Spring was awarded the “best tasting water in the state” by the […]
Eastern State Penitentiary Photo Safari
Refining the revolutionary system of separate incarceration first pioneered at the Walnut Street Jail, Eastern State Penitentiary emphasized principles of reform rather than punishment and was operational from 1829 to 1971. Eastern State finally closed its doors in 1971, after 142 years in use, and has since been named a National Historic Landmark. The former […]
Boal Mansion and Columbus Chapel
What’s an authentic medieval European chapel doing in the middle of Pennsylvania? You’ll have to daytrip to the Boal Mansion, in Boalsburg, to find out! The Boal Estate has been the Boal family home for more than 200 years. During a tour, you learn the story of America as seen through eight generations of one […]
Making Soap and Keeping Clean
In York on Beaver Street there’s the home of the Sunrise Soap Company. More than a boutique, it’s a factory. And of course, it’s more than a factory, it’s also a day trip destination in its own right, right in the heart of downtown York. As you enter you are embraced by the scents of […]
From Boutiques to Antiques in York PA
There are a number of interesting boutiques, from Redeux Market, an antiques and collectibles store, to Memory Lane Sweets, a candy store specializing in nostalgic candies. Although not technically a boutique but continuing the theme of harking back to earlier, simpler times, is Timeline Arcade, which specializes in arcade games of the preceding decades. There […]
A Month of Summer Daytrips for Kids
It’s that time again — when school ends for the year and kids cheer and parents groan (just a little, because, you know, we really love our kids). If you’re looking for some great ideas for day trips with your little cherubs — the kind of daytrips that will keep their imaginations active and expand […]
Lovely Discoveries at the “New” Penn State Arboretum
The only constant is change, and that’s never more apparent than when you revisit a place you lived and loved for four years. I graduated from Penn State 30 years ago, and although the bones are all still there, new buildings and new features jar the walk down memory lane. The field hockey fields and […]
Good Eats in York PA
Downtown York offers a number of interesting restaurants, from coffee shops to food markets to finer dining, with more restaurants opening. York will feed you well if you decide to explore the culinary side of York! Consider checking out some of the places below! I-ron-ic Art and Thrift Boutique and Coffee House This coffee shop […]
Kayaking the West Susqehanna River
Once the weather gets warm, it’s time to start kayaking again! For the first trip of the season, we were introduced to an 11-mile segment of the West Branch Susquehanna River, which spanns some 243 miles, almost entirely within Pennsylvania. Almost half — 102 miles — are within just one county: Clearfield County, in central […]
Antique and Classic Cars Galore and More at Grice Museum
Beginning in March, I started a series of posts about Clearfield County, PA. This is the fifth of this series. To see others in this series, click on the label “Clearfield County” at the bottom of this post. Looking for something to do with dad? How about a visit to one of the most unique […]
York PA Is a Daytrip Destination!
Spring is a great time to visit York, to see the many blooming pear trees along Market Street. York has always been a place to pass through or pass by, on my way to somewhere else, but not anymore! Recently, I spent a day exploring York, and came away excited about York as a day […]
Bloody Knox and Clearfield Historical Society Museum
Clearfield County offers visitors and residents alike sites of historical interest, such as the Bloody Knox Cabin, an unexpected tidbit of Civil War history, and the Clearfield Historical Society Museum, which sheds light on the regions coal mining and timber industries, as well as what life was like for women in the area. Bloody Knox […]