Our family took our first summer trip this to Pine Grove Furnace State Park Cumberland County PA.  We had two reasons for going, one was to visit the new Appalachian Trail Museum and the other was to take our smaller kids on a “hike” on the trail.
We arrived just after 1pm on a Saturday [...]

Growing up near Hershey and Lancaster, I knew how many tourists inundated the area every summer. Not being one for tourist traps, I never would have thought that Lancaster County would be where I’d take my kids on their first family vacation. Despite my desire to want to get away to some place new, I [...]

The first bike ride of the year is usually challenging.  It’s a process of waking up muscles that haven’t been used all winter and trying to adjust to sitting on skinny bike seats.  This year was no exception.  We couldn’t even remember how to get the bikes secured to the bike rack!  Ah, but life [...]

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, [...]

My first-grader loves math and science.  Considering I’m the only computer nerd on the entire eastern seaboard who didn’t excel at those particular subjects growing up (I was an English and History kind of student), the fact that my son checks out non-fiction after non-fiction book from his school library is a bit mystifying to [...]

Western Pennsylvania, blessed with more overcast than sunny days (well it sometimes seems that way), has a shining gem of band that plays music that brings to mind blazing white sands and dancing for a week during Carnival.
Led by Eric Schrader, the Greenville High School Steel Drum Band has performed as featured soloists with the [...]

Although it’s easy to forgot, that at one point, Western PA was the frontier of America. When Lewis and Clark set out for points unknown, the land my home now occupies was the Western-most “civilized” place (and, I would argue, may still be). So, maybe, a Wild West museum along the Allegheny River [...]

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! What perfect weather for a Christmas open house.
I had wanted to take my family on an afternoon outing to the Conococheague Institute near Mercersburg to see the frontier buildings decorated for Christmas. But the boys came down with fevers, so I sneaked out during nap-time on [...]

My friend’s birthday is in October and we went on a double date with our husbands to celebrate. We started the evening at the Dobbin House. It must be the greatest restaurant in Gettysburg since it already has two posts. Actually one of my colleagues, John, would say it’s the greatest restaurant in all of [...]

Philadelphia’s South Street is a well known destination for visitors interested in exploring a hip, urban, funky spot at any hour of the day. One of our favorite destinations is Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, a fantastical creation by an iconic artistic figure in the Philadelphia community, Isaiah Zagar. Click here to view our photos taken during [...]