‘Pennsylvania’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Visit: Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine {Ashland, PA}

August 28, 2020 · Narrative

A fun place to visit that is also educational is right up my alley. Let’s visit the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine in Ashland, Pennsylvania!

On a recent visit to Wellsboro, Pennsylvania (more on that coming soon), I was looking for fun things to do along the way home. I checked my favorite travel app, Roadside America, because it’s is a treasure trove of quirky things to do and see based on your current location, and that’s how I discovered the Pioneer Tunnel Coal Mine. Although we have visited coal mines for tours before (see Exhibit A), this one was a little different because you could take a ride through the coal mine in one of their coal buckets on a track. There is also a separate ticket you can buy for a ride on a steam locomotive train (we didn’t do that one because we got there too late to catch the last ride of the day).

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Visit: Duck Donuts {Hershey, PA}

February 2, 2018 · Narrative

It’s pretty hard to resist a donut shop with fresh-from-the-fryer donuts … so we didn’t. Let’s check out Duck Donuts in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

As I mentioned in my earlier posts about Hershey, PA, during our most recent trip, we really concentrated on doing things we had never done before. So as we were checking out of our hotel, I asked the front desk clerk if there was a donut shop or bakery that we should try before we left the area, and that’s how we found ourselves at Duck Donuts.

It’s very easy to find, right on West Chocolate Avenue, and there is ample parking in their own lot. The interior of the shop is bright and airy, and there are a few tables in the front, and some additional tables tucked into the back. Duck Donuts was originally born in Duck, North Carolina, and has expanded to many locations all over the country.

To say I was just a little bit overwhelmed with all the different donut selections would be an understatement, so I did what I always do in these situations … I asked the employee what the number one seller is.

Maple Bacon Donut it is.

Once we placed our order, the kids could watch the donuts be made right behind the clear glass counter. It seriously doesn’t get fresher than that!

The employee’s suggestion was perfect. The donut was soft and warm, sweet from the maple glaze, with a little hint of salty chewiness from the bacon topping.

It didn’t last long at all.

Everyone got something different, and only half of the donuts made it out of the shop.

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Visit: Turkey Hill Experience {Columbia Pennsylvania}

January 25, 2018 · Narrative

Looking for something fun to do with your kids? Or maybe you just love ice cream? Let’s check out the Turkey Hill Experience in Columbia, Pennsylvania.

A visit to the Turkey Hill Experience has been on our bucket list seriously, like, forever. Every single time we’re in Pennsylvania, or going through it, I look up how far away we are from it, and it is always over two hours away. Pennsylvania is really deceiving. It’s big, wide, and everything is always in the opposite direction.

Not kidding.

But when we were meandering about Hershey last month, we actually found ourselves only about thirty minutes from Turkey Hill, and FINALLY, we were able to go and get it crossed off our list.

Located in downtown Columbia, the place was easy to find and, although the parking lot was fairly full when we arrived, we were able to find spaces up the hill a bit.

The layout when you walk in is a little … weird and counter-intuitive. Although there is a Guest Services desk right inside the door when you enter the building, you actually have to go upstairs to purchase the tour tickets. The downstairs registers are strictly for gift shop purchases.

Once upstairs, there are a few different options to choose from, between the self-guided tour and a few tastings. Because of the timing of the tastings, and because we were heading back on the road home right after this stop, we opted for just the tour, and paid our admission (they give discounts for AAA, btw).

There were a lot of guests milling around, and some kids racing around, and it was generally happy chaos. You can meander on your own from room to room, learning about Turkey Hill and their product line. Some rooms are filled with placards of information about the company, some have interactive displays, and there are a few tasting areas, one with their iced teas, and one with a variety of ice creams. No limit on how many items you taste, and the ice cream tastings are very generously portioned (which means we all actually stopped after trying one flavor!). There were several new flavors that day that I haven’t heard of!

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Visit: Grove’s Candies {Hershey, PA}

January 5, 2018 · Narrative

How can you visit Hershey, PA and not visit ALL THE CANDY STORES? That was exactly our thought as we walked into Grove’s Candies recently.

We spent two days in Hershey during Christmas break, and although I have been going to Hershey since I was a kid, during this trip, we did things that I (and my kids) have never done before, which made it exponentially more awesome. I just momentarily fell down the blogging rabbit hole … we used to go to Hershey semi-annually, but it seems we actually haven’t been since 2011! I promised Madeline we would go back this year when the weather warms up a bit. Although the theme park was open last week when we were there, the wind was making the cold weather almost unbearable.

Focusing on enjoying other attractions in Hershey is exactly how we found ourselves walking into Grove’s one afternoon last week. My friend had spied the brochure at the hotel we were staying at, and it was around the corner from another stop we made in the area, so, of course, we had to go.

It was easy to find, and is the bottom level of a small house right on East Chocolate Avenue (on street parking). As soon as we opened the door, we were greeted by a very friendly and talkative elderly woman who welcomed us right in. She was definitely up for visitors and was excited to explain every single candy item they make in the store. She has been making candy for over sixty years, and everything is made by her family and another family.

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Visit: Knoebel’s Amusement Park {Elysburg, Pennsylvania}

April 1, 2015 · Narrative

Looking for a Spring Break adventure or a day trip to take with the kids? Consider Knoebel’s Amusement Park in Elysburg, Pennsylvania, a homespun park with something for everyone.

For Nick’s birthday for the past few years, he has opted to go away for an overnight with a friend (and his Mom and sister, of course, as well). A few years ago, it was to the Philadelphia area and we visited the zoo and CoCo Key. Two years ago, it was a trip to Dorney Park and the Lost River Caverns, and last year, it was to Knoebel’s.

Knoebel’s can best be described as a family-style amusement park, and this was our first time visiting. Like many theme parks, it has rides for every age level, something for little kids, and the scaredy cats, and many large coasters and thrill rides.

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Visit: The Famous Rocky Steps {Philadelphia, PA}

March 31, 2015 · Narrative

If you’re a fan of the Rocky movie franchise, or Sylvester Stallone in general, a visit to the famed Rocky Steps in Philadelphia is a must.

And when my friend, Beth, and I had a Girls Weekend in Philadelphia last August, this was a definite on our list.

Right after eating our way through Reading Terminal.

#priorities

The 72 stone steps are located at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is relatively easy to find.

Parking, on the other hand, was not.

It was like the work-out before the work-out, if you know what I mean.

There were a few crews cleaning up from some sort of art show the evening before, and some areas were under construction, so between finding a good parking space, and navigating how best to get to our destination … well, we were determined and we got it done.

It was a warm, gorgeous day with beautiful blue skies. Which means hello photo op!

Because, besides perhaps running up and down the stairs and channeling your best Rocky moments, what else would you do?

At the bottom of the steps, there were a few, um, entrepreneurial types offering to use your camera to take your picture, for your donation of a few dollars, of course.

It’s the American way.

And there were also a few people selling t-shirts. I wanted one, but had left my wallet in the car.

Next time.

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Review: Tony Luke’s {Philadelphia, PA}

October 28, 2014 · Narrative

Heading to Philly? A stop at Tony Luke’s for a cheese steak and fries is just the thing you need.

Who goes to Philadelphia, the “cheese steak capital of the world,” and orders a cheese steak with roast pork and broccoli rabe, instead of the steak, yellow cheese, and caramelized onions legit version that everyone covets?

… meekly raising my hand ….

That would be me.

Partly because I was trying to be virtuous. And a friend raved about it. And the kids aren’t fans of broccoli rabe, so when it’s presented as an option, I’m all …. GIMME.

Which is exactly how I found myself sitting in my car on East Oregon Avenue in Philadelphia, underneath an overpass, parked in front of Tony Luke’s, and delving into a little dashboard dining.

Delicious in the most ridiculous sense.

This was the kick-off to a Girls Weekend in Philadelphia back in August. In that, it was our first stop. Because we pretty much planned to eat our way from one end of the city to the other.

And I think we did.

The restaurant is a blink-and-you-miss-it type place.

In fact, it was so non-descript, it wasn’t until I was standing in front of a poster inside that I realized it was owned by Tony Luke, Jr., one of the guys on Frankenfood, a show on Spike TV. And then I quickly texted Nick to tell him where I was, because it’s a show we all watch together.

And then I, of course, bought him a t-shirt because I felt bad he wasn’t there to experience the moment with me.

#momguilt

Opened in 1992, the place is small, with a handful of tables inside and a long counter to order from. There is an adjacent parking lot, as well as on-street parking. They actually didn’t sell cheese steaks when they originally opened, but added them about six months in, based on customer demand. Now they have 22 locations, as far reaching as Bahrain, and even have a few of their menu items available to be shipped frozen straight to your door.

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Visit: Oyster House {Philadelphia, PA}

September 30, 2014 · Narrative

Looking for a slightly casual, but slightly fancy restaurant in Philadelphia? The Oyster House is a not-to-miss visit.

A friend and I took a weekend girls trip to Philadelphia last month, with pretty much one thing in mind.

To eat our way through the city.

And I’m pretty sure we managed to accomplish that.

Although we were only there for one night, we made the most of our time, which pretty much means our weekend was packed with epic proportions of food deliciousness.

Say oysters and I’m there.

No questions asked.

Our hotel was pretty centrally located, and within walking distance to Reading Terminal, the famous LOVE sign, and the Oyster House restaurant, which we planned to visit for our starters that Saturday night.

Because, you know, oysters.

The restaurant is slightly on the small side, so if you’re going during the height of dinner time, and especially on the weekend, call ahead for reservations. Luckily we were there early and managed to snag a small table, but it was crowded at 5 pm, and packed when we left.

Dimly lit, and simply decorated, I could not love the décor more. Rustic and brick throughout, the walls were focused on one theme: oyster plates. Modern ones. Colorful ones. Sparkly ones. There are over 100 of the vintage plates throughout the restaurant, and they are part of the owner’s collection. Each one more beautiful than the next, I loved this out-of-the-box idea for decorating, and it was, obviously, perfect for the restaurant.

I can’t post the photo here because of its width, but this shot gives a great view to the place. …

Review: Lost River Caverns {Hellertown, Pennsylvania}

September 10, 2013 · Narrative

When we visited Dorney Park last weekend, I needed to have a back-up plan in case it rained. Especially with three kids in tow. The disappointment of doing nothing might have been too much. We ended up lucking out with the weather, but stopped at one of my back-up plans along the way home anyway.

The Lost River Caverns, in Hellertown, Pennsylvania, is very easy to find and worth a quick stop. Educational, fun, and photo ops all rolled into one. Madeline and Nick’s friend had never been here before. The Ex and I took Nick years ago (I think he was four years old), but he doesn’t remember it at all, so first time wonderment for all.

A small parking lot in front of the building, and a larger parking lot across the street, there is ample space. Picnic areas and a small covered bridge across the street mean you can stay and enjoy some free time long after your tour has ended. The caverns are open year ’round, closing only for three days (Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years).

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Visit: Allentown Fish Hatchery {Allentown, Pennsylvania}

September 2, 2013 · Narrative

We had planned to go to Dorney Park this past weekend, and when the weather forecast started looking decidedly iffy, I started Googling around to see what else might be fun to do in the area, but indoors.

And while the fish hatchery is definitely not indoors, the Google search was how I found it to begin with.

And what a fun, quirky, and unusual little stop!

It was fairly simple to find, although your GPS might direct you to the parking lot for the Museum of Indian Culture, which is actually right after the fish hatchery. That being said, a quick u-turn and we were pulling into the gravel driveway to find a parking space minutes later.

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Visit: Roadside America {Shartlesville, Pennsylvania}

March 26, 2013 · Narrative

Every year we went to Hershey Park, I would see Roadside America on the opposite side of the highway.

And I would make a mental note that I wanted to stop there.

And every year, on the way home from Hershey Park, we would pass right by it before I realized it, and I would make a note to stop by the following year.

This went on for years.

Seriously.

But finally (finally!) when the kids and I and Mystic and his kids last went together (Labor Day 2011), we managed to stop in and finally check it out.

Roadside America is one of those quaint little unique stops that is perfect when you’re on a road trip and want to get out of the car for a few minutes and stretch your legs. Billed as “the world’s greatest indoor miniature village,” it certainly is a sight to behold. It started as a hobby of two young boys (Paul and Larry) in the late 1800’s and was born from their fantasies and active imaginations. Buoyed by regular drawing lessons from a nun (at three cents each session), the boys spent all their after-school and weekend free time working on the miniature houses and villages. Putting everything they had into it.

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