The kids are home for winter break and are starting to get bored! What do you do? Here are some fun, inexpensive ideas for great memory-making daytrip destinations in the mid-Atlantic region. Inspire your kids over the winter break! Have you ever wondered how the food you eat — a potato chip, for example — goes […]
Pennsylvania
Christmas Magic in York, PA!
Christmas Magic celebrates its 35th year this holiday season in York County’s Rocky Ridge Park. The event is a walking trail (ADA approved) that meanders along a wooded hilltop through nearly 600,000 twinkling LED lights and animated scenes. It’s a kid’s delight! The half-mile trail sits among a mature oak forest nestled on a quiet […]
Vroom, Vroom! Harley-Davidson Factory Tour
Even if you’re not into motorcycles, taking a factory tour of the Harley-Davidson Vehicle Operations Factory in York, PA is fascinating. If you’re into motorcycles, and especially if you’re into Harley-Davidsons, then even better. This is also a great tour for your teen-aged children. I’ve always enjoyed factory tours, which demystify the world around us. […]
William C Goodridge Freedom Center’s Festival of Trees
The William C. Goodridge Freedom Center and Museum explore the dichotomy of a man whose public success built a five-story commercial building right in the center of York, but whose most important legacy was built in the shadows. The Freedom Center is worth visiting to learn Goodridge’s story: born into enslavement in Baltimore in 1806, […]
Martin’s Potato Chips Factory Tour
Have you ever wondered how the food you eat — a potato chip, for example — goes from being a potato to a chip? You can find out on the Martin’s Snacks Factory Tour. For children and adults alike, factory tours demystifies the manufacturing process. During the tour, you get to see the start-to-finish process […]
Boutique Winery at Halbrendt Vineyard and Winery
Halbrendt’s Vineyard and Winery is a small family owned winery in Orrtanna, PA (west of Gettysburg) specializing in artisan wines from estate and locally grown fruit. The winery offers varietal wines and blends made from Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Cayuga White, Traminette, Vidal Blanc, Chardonnay and local fruit. Sometimes the winery hosts plein air painting in its […]
10 Great November Daytrip Destinations
November brings great weather for hiking and biking, and if you head south, there are still lovely autumn leaves and scenic drives to enjoy. November’s chill also reminds us the holidays are right around the corner. Start your holiday giving now by giving great experiences, the sort of ones that they’ll remember for years after. […]
Southern Alleghenies Art Museum – Ligonier Valley
This is one of those daytrip surprises I often end up writing about! I was on my way from one daytrip destination — Fort Ligonier — and on my way to another destination (Nemacolin Woodlands Resort), when I passed by this log house. Then I noticed the sculpture in the garden, and happened to see […]
Ghost Hunt at PennHurst Home for the Feebleminded
This is a visitor’s first view of Pennhurst. I’m inclined to think the orb-like object is a raindrop, rather than an orb, since it was raining when I took this particular photo. Pennhurst State School and Home for the Feebleminded still haunts Spring City, PA. The facility began its service to Pennsylvania in 1908 as […]
10 Great October Daytrip Destinations in the MidAtlantic
With summer 2018 firmly behind us, our thoughts start turning to autumn’s glorious colors, scenic drives, the harvest bounty, and spooky destinations. Read on for a little of each, selected from MidAtlanticDayTrips’ jaunts throughout Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia! Start planning now! October is a great time to enjoy the changing foliage and check out […]
Centre Furnace Mansion
Minutes from the Penn State campus in Centre County is an historic mansion that helps tell the story of the iron industry in America, how the county got named, and Penn State itself was founded. An artist’s interpretation of Centre Furnace Mansion in the early 1800s. The mansion is a restored and furnished ironmaster’s home […]
Chanticleer Gardens Offers a Profusion of Delight
Chanticleer Garden is a 48-acre botanical garden built on the grounds of the Rosengarten estate, which was built in 1912 as a “summer cottage” for Christine Penrose and Adolph Rosengarten, Sr., owner of a Philadelphia pharmaceutical company specializing in producing quinine. The garden isn’t as old as the estate — it’s only 30 years old, […]
10 Fun Things to Do in September!
September is summer’s last gasp, and is a favorite time of year. The weather cools, and toward the end of the month, autumn leaves start showing their colors. The mid-Atlantic region offers a wide variety of great things to do and see! There’s nothing quite like a Renaissance festival, whether it’s in Maryland or Virginia […]
Ghost Hunting at Eastern State Penitentiary
Photo Courtesy Eastern State Penitentiary; photographerTom Bernard By day, Eastern State Penitentiary is a museum dedicated to educating the public about the history of both the penitentiary itself and incarceration in America. By night, it is a ghost hunter’s dream: shadowy figures, mysterious laughter, and footsteps have all been reported. EVPs are not uncommon. (EVP […]
Eastern State Penitentiary Update
I first visited Eastern State Penitentiary about 10 years ago, and wrote about it in MidAtanticDayTrips in 2014, several years after the actual visit. It haunted me then, and still does. Even as the cell blocks high arched ceilings evoke a cathedral-like reverence, the cells still hold their secrets, and they’re not giving them up. […]