My wife and I took our annual spring break pilgrimage to Gettysburg and the Pennsylvania Dutch Country in March. Our first stop, was Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum and Gift Shop in Orrtana, PA; a tremendously kitschy & nostalgic site with some of the best deals on candy you can find. Mister Ed is a local legend, [...]

As fall begins to wind down, I’m finding myself seeking opportunities to squeeze in one last “outdoor experience” – like a visit to a local attraction, a bike ride through the countryside, or a picnic lunch with a special someone. Because the truth is, if you live in Pennsylvania, you know that once the cold [...]

Pennsylvania has a long rich brewing tradition and one that’s being kept vibrant, thankfully, by the seemingly ever-increasing number of craft brewers. You don’t believe me? Notice how the major brews, like Budweiser, now have beers with lime and wheat in them, in an attempt to appear more like a specialty, craft item? It’s true.
This [...]

For me, it doesn’t feel like fall until I do four things: 1) Buy and plant orange and yellow mums, 2) Decorate the yard with pumpkins, 3) Rake leaves for a few hours (yes, the 90+ trees in our yard require a heck-of-a-lot of raking, so I start early) and 4) Attend a fall festival [...]

Seasonal changes bring new foods to our plates and our markets. They also often bring celebrations. To that end, this Sunday, September 13, you can taste the local bounty of the Lehigh Valley at Taste of the Valley, brought to you by Buy Local Pennsylvania
Spend your afternoon grazing on the good food created by chefs [...]

This past weekend, we visited a new restaurant in Emmaus called Tap and Table, which opened in late May. Located on a rural stretch of road in a former dive bar, the interior is illuminated mostly by candlelight, with a high ceiling that showcases the exposed beams–it’s basically one big open room, with a long [...]

Whenever we head “up county” from our home in Lancaster County, we always take our dog, Chloe. Unfortunately, this means we have to get creative about stopping anywhere along the way, as we generally dislike leaving her in the car for any significant amount of time. Once, we picked up some sandwiches and picnicked on [...]

For years, my husband has lamented the lack of authentic German beer halls in the City of Philadelphia. It is indeed odd for a city with such a rich tradition of German immigrants.
The first German immigrants came to Philadelphia more than three hundred years ago in the late 17th century. While a number [...]

This is a place where the journey is almost as sweet as the destination.  Depending on where you’re traveling from, that journey can be as calming or as exhilarating as you wish. When I take this route, I know where I’m going to end up, one of my favorite brewpubs.
The Bullfrog Brewery, in an old [...]

On a rainy weekday, we decided to have an adult day while the young one was away. We took a pleasant drive up Route 61 to the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville. They run 2 tours: 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. We opted for the afternoon, as [...]