A few times a month I travel route 225N over Peter’s Mountain to do some shopping and I never fail to be amazed by the beautiful sights on my trip.  Today I was in for a big surprise on my way to Halifax – Fall has come to Retherford’s Pumpkin Patch!
I wait all year to [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

This time of year Pennsylvania’s gardens, roadsides, and meadows are filled with daylilies, wild and domesticated.  So, my family and I weren’t surprised when we saw these flowers thick across the grounds of The Campbell Pottery Store.
I’m a sucker for galleries and the family like to shop, so we can kill two birds with one [...]

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 [...]

I love wandering about, getting a bit off the beaten path looking for fun food finds. Due to a vivid memory of my dad getting very lost driving around South Philly, forty years later, I was still a little iffy about tackling the area myself.  So, during a trip to the eastern part of our [...]

Red and juicy, sweet and luscious. Oh, that wonderful bite of a fresh picked strawberry, still warm from the June sun.  In Western Pennsylvania, strawberry season is short, so each berry must be savored.
This year, since I’m away for the month of June and my kids are now grown and living on their own, I’m [...]

On a rainy Saturday in Pittsburgh, I wasn’t in the mood for dodging umbrellas in the Strip District or jumping puddles at an outdoor farm market in order to get my farm-fresh fix.  But all was not lost.
The Farmer’s Cooperative of East Liberty (344 Sheridan Avenue,) a year-round indoor market in the East End, rescued [...]