A few weeks ago I used a few days of leave and my sister, mother and i took my niece to the Philadelphia Zoo and the Please Touch Museum. I just posted photos from both trips. You can see the Philadelphia Zoo photos here and Please Touch Museum photos here.
This small gift shop carries all types of knickknacks, decorations, gift items and gourmet food gifts with a rustic country flare. The best part is the HUGE selection of handmade candles and soaps. You can find every type and scent imaginable from a variety of small vendors. While we were visiting we got into a conversation with the owner, Deb, who happens to be from the Philadelphia area. Besides being a friendly shopkeeper who makes every customer feel welcome in her shop, she also can tell you off the top of her head where each item comes from and the story behind each vendor.
There are lots of cool little shops in Jim Thorpe, but Homespun is a one you shouldn’t miss.
We stumbled upon What If… of Hershey while looking for a place to stop and eat while passing through central PA. I found it on Yelp and immediately noticed that many of the reviews started out by saying that you shouldn’t let the fact that it’s in the basement of a Howard Johnson scare you off. My first thought was that I should continue my search, but after reading a few rave reviews, I was convinced we should try it. Now, here I am writing one more review that tells you not to let the fact that it’s in the basement of a HoJo scare you away.
Everything at this place was great. It was all made fresh. We even had to wait a bit for our tiramisu for dessert because they were making it fresh. Also, who wouldn’t love a place that has a polenta of the day?! (The polenta was delicious, by the way.) It’s all served in a modern atmosphere that is in stark contrast to the HoJo lobby that you pass through on your way in. The presentation of their fresh delicious food is as modern as the atmosphere.
This is a great article from TIME magazine about the SS United States. I’d love to see the ship turned into a museum/hotel/dining/shopping complex like the Queen Mary out in Long Beach. Marianne and I had a blast visiting the QM. (Photos of that trip are here.)
The United States could be such a cool attraction at Penns Landing instead just sitting there rusting. It’s a piece of history that needs to be preserved.
More info can be found at www.ssusc.org.
One advantage of being stuck at home all last week was that I caught up on a lot of reading and got caught up on posting photos. I posted 2 new albums from the same trip.
The first is from the WinterFest in Jim Thorpe, PA. It features ice carving, chainsaw carving, concerts, Mug Walk, shopping and all of the fun that goes along with a small town winter festival. Check it out here.
On the way home from Jim Thorpe we stopped at the Yuengling Brewery in Pottsville. it was a very cool tour. Check out the photos from America’s Oldest Brewery right here.
We also stopped at a restaurant in Hershey that has inspired me to started writing some reviews for Yelp, UrbanSpoon, etc. More about that to come soon.
And here’s another album of photos that has been languishing on my desktop for way too long. They were taken on on a trip from new Hope To Landsdale, Pennsylvania. The New Hope and Ivyland Railroad is a vintage tourist railroad. For Lansdale’s Founders Day they took the antique steam locomotive and passenger cars out onto SEPTA’s tracks. After a stop at SEPTA’s Warminster station we arrived in Lansdale to enjoy the festivities before heading back to New Hope aboard the train. You can check out the photos here.
I’m finally cleaning out the backlog of photos that I’ve been meaning to post on my website. I just posted some photos from the Easton, PA garlic Festival. They can be found right here.
After going to the Bethlehem Chriskindlmarkt, we stopped at Koziar’s Christmas Village. It was the first time I’ve been there since I was a little kid. It’s only grown more impressive over the years. My photos don’t do it justice.
When I think of Christmas it conjures images of small towns with rows of little stores selling gifts in Germany. OK, so maybe not the Germany part. However, a really cool Christmas tradition does come from Germany. It’s the Chriskindlmarkt. Bethlehem, PA (a.k.a. Christmas City) puts on a huge one every year. I finally got a chance to go to it this year. It was a fun day of shopping and some sightseeing.
Then i heard Philadelphia was putting on one of their own at City Hall. It was called the Philadelphia Christmas Village. While not as big it will hopefully be an annual event because it has real potential.
Check out my photos from Bethlehem and then take a look at my photos of Philadelphia.
I finally found time to go on another covered bridge tour. If you haven’t seen my previous photos from the Lehigh Valley, you can check them out here. Then go check out my newest photos from the covered bridges of Berks County. I’m sure they aren’t the last ones you’ll see posted.
The photos also include some pictures of the Reading area including the William Penn Memorial Fire Tower and Pagoda.