Planning Our Summer Travel

Back to the mountains... again!

Every year my wife and I have numerous discussions about where we would like to go over the summer and this time around it is no different. While we don’t have any extensive plans like we did last year, we do plan on returning to our usual weekend trips around the state that we enjoyed so much in the past. Basically, now is the time to get the broad strokes down and we will fill in a lot of the other day trips as the season progresses. Plus, with all the things that usually occupy our weekends, being able to schedule this much is kind of surprising at this point.

The first trip that is on our agenda is a place that we have visited many times in the past the last drive up there being two years ago on our anniversary. Having introduced our son to the Strasburg Railroad a few weeks ago, we thought it was time to return to Jim Thorpe for a couple of days. Not only is it a place where we can relax a little and walk around but we can also take our son on the train through the valley. Also, it helps that it is only about an hour and a half away which affords us plenty of time for exploring. Of course, we might have to introduce our son to Country Junction while we are up there as well.

The second trip that we have locked into the calendar is a return to Gettysburg. With our son more mobile than ever and looking for a place that would allow us to explore both from in the car and by walking around, Gettysburg seemed to be one of the better options. Given the family history regarding the Civil War it is also important for me that we introduce our son to sites like this early on. And, as many of you know, no matter how many times you go to Gettysburg you always find something new every time you are there. 

In addition to a variety of local and regional events, I also have a number of locations on our calendar for later dates including Elizabethtown, Lititz, Ronks, Lancaster, Manheim, New York, Kennett Square, and a number of others. All of these are in various stages of planning and I am not sure if we will be able to fit them all in but there are some options beyond the scheduled items above. It certainly won’t be the busiest travel season that we have ever experienced and it won’t have some of the longer excursions like last year but it will give us all an opportunity to get out and explore a little this year. After all, our son wouldn’t want it any other way.

Diners, Spelunking, And More Chocolate

Following a great first day away from home and a surprisingly uneventful night of sleep, we woke up early on Mother’s Day knowing that there were a few things that we wanted to see before we headed home. In addition to our room including tickets to Hershey Gardens, we were also given tickets to the Milton Hershey Story Museum which is where we ventured off to after we checked out and packed the car. Only about 5 minutes from the lodge, the museum was in downtown Hershey were we were able to park for free just behind the building. Having not eaten yet, we pushed back our exploration of the exhibits and instead grabbed a small breakfast at the café attached to the lobby (nothing special about the food here).

The museum itself was an interesting timeline of the Hershey story which covered the entire life of the entrepreneur and the legacy that still thrives today. For those of us that enjoy reading all the information posted with the artifacts, it is a nice place to stop while in the area. Of course, being surrounded by cocoa, our son decided to make some chocolate of his own and he wasn’t too happy about the results. Needless to say, the second half of the museum went by much further than the first half. However, we were still able to find our son a job on the first floor so at least we have already started planning for the future.

With our son now a little fresher than before, we picked up a few little items at the gift shop and ventured back out into the lobby where we had our son’s picture taken and we discussed the rest of the day. We were already planning on heading over to Indian Echo Caverns but we decided to stop by a diner for some lunch before our little spelunking adventure. While it fell short of the food from the night before, the lunch we had at the Soda Jerk Diner was pretty darn good (and it was a heck of a lot cheaper). The home made Moussaka is something that shouldn’t be passed up if you happen to stop in (save room for salad before and ice cream after which are included in the price).

From the diner we drove over to the caves just around the corner. While the wait was a little misleading (you can only say 10 more minutes so many times before people get annoyed), the tour was one that I am glad we were finally able to see (this stop has been nearly two years in the making). While there is an interesting story behind all the rooms and tunnels, it is probably best if I just include a variety of picture below that give you a pretty good sense of the spaces and tunnels which we explored during the 45 minute tour.

By the time the tour came to an end, our son was not happy. With all the traveling we had gotten him off of his schedule a bit and he was having nothing of it. Before the rest of the group could block our escape, we scurried up the 71 stairs and walked straight over to the car where we could change him and feed him. It was also a good time for us to rest. Once our son was satiated we got back on the road and began the slow trek back to the house.

Not wanting to make too much progress, too quickly we took the back roads across much of Lancaster County including slow coasting through Ephrata and Lititz. I am sure that my wife would have taken some picture but she was asleep for most of the time. It had been a long day and I would have done the same thing had I been a passenger. As we slowly made our way back east we made one final stop for a slightly early dinner at the Windmill Diner and Family Restaurant. Some place familiar and not too far from home… it was a nice way to end our weekend getaway and our son’s first, albeit short, family trip.

Summer Travel Planning

With spring in full swing I have been giving some thought to where my wife and I should go this summer. We enjoyed getting away last year on the weekends and it would be nice to continue that and really spend some more time together. We both really enjoy the time away from the apartment, getting out, and taking plenty of pictures as well.

We had quite the list last year and managed to check off a lot of places on the list so this year it is a little harder to think of towns and destinations that we haven’t been to. Of course, we are happy to return to some of the places we visited previously but new places will definitely take precedence. We might even venture beyond the Pennsylvania boarder although we are still averse to venturing into the states that begin with New.

So far, there are a few places already on the list but, again, it is much more difficult to come up with places and this would be in addition to any work and lodge travel that I have coming up. Here is my list as it stands today (still have to discuss everything with my wife and get her input):

• Jim Thorpe – This would be our third time visiting the small mountain town and we look forward to seeing a few things that we missed previously including the Butterfly Sanctuary.
• Scranton – I have to be up there in June for a Masonic function which is when I will look for different things to do and places to see.
• Hershey – Smells like chocolate! Haven’t really been there in a while so it might be time to finally get back over there and visit… maybe a trip to the park is in order too.
• Lititz – The small Lancaster County town was on our list last year but was cut when we began slowing down toward the end of the summer.
• Yuengling Brewery (Pottsville) – We tried doing the tour last year but arrived too late. We will be planning ahead this time.
• Bushkill Falls - We passed this up last year as we didn’t want to pay the admission price and we had already walked around Raymondskill Falls. Hopefully we go there on a day when it is not mobbed by those venturing across the river.
• Indian Echo Caverns (Hummelstown) – The spelunking was a big hit last year so it is time to explore another cave. We will be sure to save this trip for the peak of the heat during the summer.
• Winterthur (Delaware) – Another hot day destination. I have always wanted to visit this DuPont estate but something would always come up and prevent it. Maybe this time I can actually check it off my list.  

As I said before, the list isn’t very far along but it’s a start. I’m sure that we will fill this in as the summer approaches. Any suggestions of where to go? Any great deals that you know of floating around out there? What to meet up or serve as our tour guide? Let me know in the comments or by emailing me at timetokeepitsimple@gmail.com.