Travel Log - Gettysburg, Pennslyvania

We decided to drive over to Gettysburg for lunch after we finished kayaking at the Pine Grove Furnace lakes.  It was too late in the day to visit the museums, so we had a wonderful lunch and strolled around town.

I had never been to Gettysburg and I found the town to be beautiful.  There are lots of historical buildings, restaurants and shops.  It's a very clean and inviting city.

We had a delicious lunch at the Pub and Restaurant on the square.  I'm a vegan and they had a great hot veggie wrap with fried potatoes.  So good.

After that we just wandered around.  We did go in one shop; Gallery 30.  This place was unbelievable.  Packed full of gourds made into every conceivable thing.  Plaques galore.  A huge selection of jewelry.  The store was really beautiful and we enjoyed walking through.  Unfortunately, everything in this store is very expensive so, for us, it was just a looking tour.

Many of the old houses are now businesses and have been restored and made beautiful.  I know I keep using the work beautiful, but this town is so pretty.  It was well worth a visit.

Travel Log Ricketts Glen State Park, Pennslyvania

I would have never known of this park.  Since arriving in Harrisburg, PA I've been doing google searches on day trips and day hikes and places to visit near Harrisburg.  Ricketts Glen never came up.  So, in talking to my husband on what we should do during our last weekend in Pennsylvania he mentioned that several of his co-workers had mentioned this park.

I googled it and was amazed.  So many waterfalls!  All in one park!  Yes!  We were definitely going there.  And we did.

Ricketts Glen State Park is a couple of hours away from Harrisburg.  It's easy to find with gps.  We stopped at the ranger's station and picked up a map.  We were told by the ranger to take the Highland Trail route to see the waterfalls.  Once we got to the trail head we realized we could go that way or take the other way around, toward Beaver Dam Road.  Having never been there, we followed the advise of the ranger and I'm so glad we did.

There are lots of steep areas to climb and since the trail goes through waterfall areas, it's wet.  So you are either climbing or descending steep, wet stone steps with no railing.  It's challenging in areas.  Taking the Highland Trail route allowed us to climb the wet, steeper areas, instead of descending them.  So, I highly recommend everyone take the Highland Trail your first time to this park.

Get there early.  We started at 8:30 am and there was already plenty of traffic on the trail, though we were spaced out.  By the time we finished the trip the parking lot was full and there was people everywhere.  The pressure of having people behind you, waiting, can make the hiking less enjoyable.  I'm glad we started early.

We did see a few families with very young children and I wouldn't recommend this.  The climbing is challenging and small children will struggle or need to be carried.  We saw a couple of dads with babies strapped to their fronts.  Very dangerous.

Visit the bathroom before starting.  It takes at least 3 hours to hike this loop and there's no bathrooms on the trail.  That might not be much of a concern for men, but it is for the ladies.

We took water and snacks but we didn't stop to eat until after we finished the trail.  There is a great place at the halfway point to sit and eat if you bring food.  Again, there's no bathrooms, so keep that in mind.

We thoroughly enjoyed this park.  The waterfalls are amazing and the photos don't do them justice.  I'm so glad we made the trip.

Travel Log - Washington, DC

I went to Washington DC as a child with my family for summer vacation one summer.  I never went back and I assumed that I never would.  Living in Harrisburg, PA now gave me the opportunity to go back with Brent for a day trip. 

Parking was a major concern and we did some research the night before to find a place to park that was reasonably priced and close to the area we wanted to visit.  Having only one day meant that we had to be specific about what we would see.  There's enough there to see to spend weeks.  We found parking under a Holiday Inn and paid $18 for the day.  We were two blocks from the museums we wanted to see.

We also filled up with gas locally the night before because we were unsure what the gas station situation would be.  We took breakfast and ate it in the car on the way.  We also took protein bars, peanut butter crackers and waters in a small backpack to eat during the day.  The only food we bought was coffee for the return trip.

Brent picked one museum he really wanted to see and I picked one.  As it turned out, we got to visit those and two others.  We went to The museum of American history, the museum of American Indians, the museum of Air and Space and the museum of art.

Security is serious at some of the museums and very lax at others and we have no idea why.  We were patient at the ones where it took more time to get through security.  The wait was well worth it.  We weren't supposed to be able to take food in but they never said anything about our snacks.  Probably because we never ate any of them inside the museums.  There were food trucks everywhere, so getting food there wouldn't have been an issue, but we didn't know that ahead of time.

I didn't take a lot of photos. I wanted to spend my time enjoying the exhibits, not focusing a camera.  So, I tried to take just a couple of photos in each museum.

 The Indian museum was our first to visit.  I was very disappointed.  The exhibits were very political.  The museum wasn't what I thought it would be.  I would liked to have seen more history on the tribes themselves.  I would recommend skipping this museum if you are short on time.

The Air and Space museum was out next stop.  There was a very long line to get in and security was slow.  The exhibits were very interesting and we really enjoyed our time at this museum.

We then went to the museum of American history.  This one was my favorite.  There was so much to see; we could have spent a week at just this museum.  I enjoyed all of it.

Lastly, we went to the Museum of Art.  This was at the end of the day so we didn't have time to look at anything for more than just a moment.  We saw as much as we could, but there was so much we missed.  I really enjoyed this museum too.  I could have stood for hours at some of the paintings.

Overall we have a great time.  It was a lot of walking; 6 1/2 hours of constant walking.  We were exhausted but satisfied that we squeezed every bit of goodness out of the time we had.

Travel Log - Bridges of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

There are five bridges visible from the area along the Susquehanna, where we are staying in Harrisburg, PA.  Three are for general traffic, one is a walking bridge, and one is a train track.  They each look and are constructed differently.  They are all very busy.

There is a sea wall here along the river that is wide and used by walkers, bikers and I've even seen people fishing as I walk in the mornings.  There is also a paved path that runs along side Front Street.  I prefer the lower path in the mornings because the steep bank provides shade as the sun comes up.

This morning, as I was photography the bridges I also shot lots of flowers but I only ended up with two good enough to share.  Such is the way with photography.

This is such a lovely city.  I see things I want to photograph every time I go out with my camera.

Travel Log - Duncannon, Pennsylvania

This last weekend we spent the day in Duncannon, Pennsylvania.  It's only 25 minutes from Harrisburg, PA.  It's a small town but filled with interesting things to do and see.

We started with Hawk Rock and Cove Mountain Overlooks.  This is a challenging climb.  It took us an hour to get to the top.  The descent was even more challenging.  There are very steep sections.  Two days later my thighs are still aching.  If you are reasonable fit this is a fun climb.  Otherwise, I'd skip it.

Next we went for lunch at the Doyle Hotel.  This is a very old, run down hotel.  We would never have considered going there but for the rave review online.  Once we saw how run down the hotel really was we hesitated but went in.  I'm glad we did.  The cook and waitress were friendly and the food was great and so was the conversation.  If you find yourself in this little town I highly recommend the Doyle Hotel for lunch.

Third on out list was The Old Sled Works Antique Mall.  We spent a good hour walking around looking at all the good stuff in this building. 

Our Fourth stop was a wine tasting at the Buddy Boy Winery and Vineyard.  I'm not much of a wine drinker but I thought this would be fun and it was.  I picked out five wines to taste and afterwards we bought the one I liked best.  The people working there and the other guests were friendly and we really enjoyed our visit.

Next on our list was the old cemetery where there is supposed to be a historic church from the 1800's.  Unfortunately, we couldn't find it.  We looked, couldn't find it so we moved on.  There is a huge cemetery and I'm sure the old church is there somewhere.

Lastly, we drove a short distance to the Dellville Covered Bridge.  This historic bridge was burned down by an arsonist a few years ago and has been rebuilt.  The road though this covered bridge doesn't go anywhere so it's strictly for those who appreciate it's beauty.  It is a beautiful bridge, inside and out.

If this first weekend seeing the sights in and around Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is any indication, our stay here will be busy every weekend.