Legacy Used Books and Collectibles

So, living in New Holland Pennsylvania and running our bed and breakfast here in Lancaster County, leads me to be concierge on several occasions. I love starting my guests off with a destination for enjoyment whether for dining, sight seeing or shopping. New Holland is not the commercial hot spot that say Intercourse or Bird-in-Hand would be. You have to do a little research here to find what you are looking for.

I often hear, “we just drove so far… is there someplace close by that we could walk to and do a little shopping and get a bite to eat”? One of the places that always comes to mind would be my favorite little book store right here in New Holland. Read the rest of this entry »

Beautiful Mural Depicting the Immigrant Heritage of Bloomfield

Since my daughters’ orthodontist was located in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh, I’ve spent many hours, wandering around the area waiting for various dental appliances – expanders, retainers, braces – to be put in and taken off. So one would think that I would’ve explored every nook and cranny of this primarily Italian neighborhood.

But last weekend, the Burgh Bits and Bites Little Italy tour proved that I was not as familiar as I thought with the best of Bloomfield.  The energetic owner of the company, Sylvia McCoy, was our tour guide. Luckily she gave out a bottle of cold water to all of us at the beginning of the 2 hours plus tour, as it was another 90 degree plus day in Pittsburgh and my middle-aged self doesn’t deal well with exercise (okay, it was just walking at a slow pace) combined with heat. Read the rest of this entry »

ZOOAMERICA

One of our favorite spots to visit in Hershey PA is ZOOAMERICA.  Much quieter than its next door neighbor Hersheypark, the zoo is open all year round or you can visit it on the same day you visit Hersheypark as part of your park admission.  We love visiting in the fall and winter when the animals are more active and the paths are less crowded.

ZOOAMERICA indoor exhibit

ZOOAMERICA is celebrating its 100^th anniversary in 2010 and they have lots of great activities planned during all seasons of the year.  This time we went to visit their newest additions – the Ocelots named Nib and Bean.

Favorites in our family are the night-time exhibit where you walk through a darkened hallway to see the nocturnal animals and also the Black Bear Exhibit. Read the rest of this entry »

Here in Lehigh Valley, we’ve been slammed with nasty heat this summer, so I grabbed a buddy and headed southeast to Delaware River Tubing.

After parking, we wandered up to the large crowd of people, assuming that’s where we paid. Between waiting in line to pay and then waiting  for the free bus that took us and our tubes to the launch point, it took close to an hour. However, I don’t fault the folks at Delaware River Tubing for that – it was July 5. And once we splashed into the 80-degree Delaware River, it was totally worth it. Read the rest of this entry »

We loaded up our family this weekend to make a shopping trip for some school clothes and clothes shopping for our family always means a trip to the Outlet Shoppes at Gettysburg.  Normally we are not fans of outlets, but this particular set of outlets is wonderful.  No matter how many cars are in the parking lot, the sidewalks are never seem very busy.

Old Fashioned Shopping at The Outlet Shoppes of Gettysburg

The shopping area is set up like a small town Main Street with the Shoppes set up facing each other and parking in between (as well as behind) the Shoppes.

With places like Old Navy, GAP and Wilson Leather a lot of good bargains can be found for the kids going back to school.  Read the rest of this entry »

View of the crowd at Musikfest's RiverPlace stage. Photo Credit: Glenn Koehler

Last year was the first time I went to Musikfest in over 10 years and I had a pretty good time. Sunday night, I returned to the annual Lehigh Valley event for some of that tasty food (Abe and I ate $32 worth of food between the two of us, the highlight being the Aw Shucks corn) and for my first ever Musikfest concert at the Sands RiverPlace stage to see Sublime With Rome.

The RiverPlace stage is located on Sand Island at the southern end of Musikfest. Apparently, because of being surrounded by water, it can get a bit buggy there, but Sunday night it was cool and drizzling without a bug in sight. I’ve heard some people complain about how muddy this stage can get, but honestly, since it was raining for most of the day, most of Musikfest was a tad muddy; it wasn’t like Woodstock ‘94 or anything, people! Read the rest of this entry »

I hated fishing when I was a kid. I felt like the only boy at cub scout camp who didn’t know how to bait a hook or cast a line. And eating fish sticks was one thing, but trout? Mostly, it came down to the fact that none of the adults in my life had much interest in the sport.

Not so my kids. Both my son and daughter received a fishing rod from my wife’s father for their third birthdays. Two years ago, after Delton received his Spider-Man pole, Pappy took him to Limestone Springs Fishing Preserve, a trout hatchery near Richland in Lebanon County. Going here with a young kid offers three advantages: no need to purchase a fishing license, several waterholes well stocked with rainbow trout and—best of all—someone to clean and fillet your catch. Granted, this takes some of the adventure out of catching fish, but your three-year old will be too busy having fun to notice. Read the rest of this entry »

Give your horse some style!

I’ve always been fascinated by horses and to this day still have a desire to learn how to ride.  Growing up in Bucks County, I was exposed to horseback riding very often.  When I asked if I could take horseback riding lessons, I was immediately turned down, “What do you need that for?”  My dreams of riding a white horse in my princess gown were dashed.

While I may have known about the thriving equestrian community, thanks to horse-obsessed friends and cousins, it was friend (and hairstylist!), Lisa Potts, who made me aware of just how much there was to do with horses right here!  One afternoon (and some great looking hair later), I had learned about Lisa’s favorite things to do with her horses, right in Upper Bucks County*.  I’ve also added a few of my own suggestions (for those of us who are “horse-less!”) Read the rest of this entry »

The Bessemer Converter at Station Square

Growing up near the big steel mills of Pittsburgh, words like coke (not the soda or the sniffy kind,) Bessemer oven and Carrie furnace were part of the local vocabulary, but I admit I didn’t really know what they were . . until yesterday.  The Babushkas & Hard Hats tour, sponsored by Rivers of Steel, filled in all my “blanks” on steel lingo and then some.

After first inspecting at the giant, black Bessemer Converter (go ahead, ask me . . I know what it is now) at Station Square, our group boarded a mini-bus for the quick drive down Carson Street to Gaynor’s School of Cooking . (Why didn’t I know this existed before now???) Here we mixed up some Polish poppy seed quick breads before making our way to Homestead to see steel industry artifacts at the refurbished Bost building, once the home of the iron and steel workers’ union,  right by the site of the famous Homestead lock out of 1892. Read the rest of this entry »

Canoeing the Yough
In clean, clear  water we swim
With fish, without care.

Wow, was I impressed from the get-go when we decided to rent three canoes yesterday and canoe the seven miles trip from Smithton to West Newton.  We rented boats and the guy at Youghiogheny Outfitters was a godsend, helping us out with cooler reorganization, assistance with how to canoe for 5 hours with a four-year-old and other tips.  The price was good too:  $35 per boat for the 7-mile trip ($30 per boat for the 4-mile trip or, for the daring, $40 for the 11-mile jaunt.)

The trek was perfect:  perfectly clear water to watch the fish swim by, perfect sightings of heron and ducks, perfectly blue skies and perfect water temperatures for swimming. There are occasional rope swings to be found along the river, if you look closely and the water is beautiful for swimming.  It’s shallow for the most part and clear enough to see the bottom.  My daughter loved picking up tiny shells from freshwater clams all along the river’s edge.  We couldn’t have asked for more for a family day trip. Once again, I’m charmed by what is in my own backyard. Read the rest of this entry »