Volunteer fire dept. with green fire apparatus. Be sure to…read morebuy a ticket for their annual Dodge Challenger Raffle. Check out the former FDNY Mack pumper.

Earlier this month, my husband and I took a road trip from New Jersey to Chicago and back. The…read morefirst leg of our trip involved traversing across Pennsylvania along the PA Turnpike. Our westbound drive included going through the Mountain Tunnels - Tuscarora being one of them. It's a cool experience to take this scenic route and drive through this tunnel. Forewarning, beautiful but there's a risk. We took this route on 6/4 and we were stuck on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for hours because of a closure at Allegheny Tunnel due to a vehicle fire inside the tunnel (150 people were evacuated from the tunnel). If something happens in the tunnel, there isn't room to easily detour cars out of the tunnel.

Love driving these tunnels. The Tuscarora Mountain Tunnel is one of the tunnels on The Pennsylvania…read moreTurnpike and is the second longest. Traveled through the Blue Mountain, Kittatinny Mountain, Tuscarora Mountain, Allegheny Mountain tunnels in a trip to Harrisburg, PA and earlier this year out to Jersey City, NJ. https://www.paturnpike.com

Lemon House is part of the Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site, meaning that it…read moreresides on the land and can be viewed while you are there. To note, Lemon House is one of the buildings you can see from the highway on your way by. Lemon House is an original building on the grounds. It has been restored to what it would have looked like for the time period. Lemon House, at times, gives you a better timetable for the time that the railway was in use. I suppose you can view this an an extension of the visitor center. When you walk in you are greeted by one of the rangers, they give you a little run down of the inside of the place and let you go on your way. They are also there to ask any questions, might you have them. You only get to view the first floor of this place. What you will get to see is the dining area, bar, and fancy parlor. The Fancy Parlor was by far my favorite room in here. Decorated with pieces from the time period and giving you a glimpse into how people would interact and relax. The dining room is kind of like a cafeteria style area, great big room specifically for eating your meal. The tavern area seems a bit small, but I can see it working. The other rooms on the first floor have not been restored to what they would have looked like. Instead they hold the informative information about the structure. This information gives you the timeline of the house, right down to who owned it at what time and how it changed hands so much. It also tells you that this is not the original house. They built this one here to be near the railway in order to take advantage of the traffic and offer services. They are not sure where the original house stood to this day. It is a beautiful structure. Great addition to the grounds, and I am happy that they decided to save the structure for reuse instead of demolishing it. It would have been too bad if they had.

"The Lemon House is a museum, not a working tavern or restaurant." So says my guidebook from the…read moreAllegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site. Located just south of the visitor's center and the engine house, it's one of the major attractions at the site and one of the few that has been completely restored. The Lemon House shows how the socioeconomic structure developed along the railroad and the Main Line. It was owned by Samuel and Jean Moore Lemon, two of the many entrepreneurs who used the development of the areas natural resources and transportation links in order to make a living. Travelers along the Main Line would stop here to eat, drink, and regale each other with their journeys' tales. The Lemon House was restored in 1997 in the style of 1830-1850, specifically what it might have looked like in 1840. I say "might" because as with the engine house, any plans or schematics for the design of the building have been long lost. There's also little evidence as to how the tavern was operated or what the menu might have been. What the restorers did know however were such things as period artworks and documentation of other 19th century taverns (many had remained in business into the 20th century). Also historians do know what the social mores were at the time, so we will keep them in mind as we tour the building. Historians also do know a few things about the Lemons. Jean Moore Lemon (1797-1880) was well educated and apparently was the bookkeeper for the tavern. The local banks have records of her signature. Her obituary praised her for her charity works. Samuel Lemon (1793-1867) was born in Huntingdon County, PA. His grandfather served in the War of Independence and his father in the War of 1812. He was best known as a tavern owner and businessman. He must have had some business acumen because the Lemon House was very solidly built. So let's take a tour of the Lemon House. Like the travelers of the day, we enter through the central hallway. In most houses the hallway was very welcoming and it's likely that travelers preferred this room. Here travelers could read the paper, play games, or catch up on the stories of the day. It is furnished with simple wooden chairs and benches which could withstand the elements. Period paintings, not original to the house, adorn the walls. The next room is the bar room. Ladies, we are allowed in here today but we would not have been back when the tavern was operating. The social mores of the day required men to act as gentlemen and women to act as ladies. In general, women of any social standing did NOT go into bar rooms. Here the men could ignore the social graces of the day. Guys, imagine such notorious behavior as removing your dress coat or tilting your chair back. Imagine uttering such oaths as "hell" and "damn"! Now the barroom was restored based on a watercolor "Country Inn" by August Koller. The watercolor was painted in 1840 in western PA. We proceed into the fancy parlor. Here a man or woman who wished to have a more quiet retreat could dine or relax (notice girls, we don't get our own room here--ah, the Victorian social graces). You did not have to be rich in order to use the fancy parlor, but you had to exhibit social graces. The furniture was designed for correct posture and appropriate behavior. Chairs were uncomfortable because they did not want you to linger or sleep here. Interestingly, you could smoke or chew tobacco in here and you can see the silver spittoons on the floor. Of course there is a piano because refined ladies would know how to play one. It's likely that Mrs. Lemon entertained neighbors and guests here. The last room we'll take a look at is the Double Dining Room, also known as the Common Room. Travelers and the occasional local foik could stop for a meal here. Unlike today, it was one set meal. There were no choices of what you wanted to eat. Stew was the most likely meal to be served because it could be kept hot on the stove all day. Trains would pull in and the crew would shout out "1 hour for lunch!". Community seating was the rule of the day, meaning you dined with strangers. This was done for efficiency's sake. This community seating lives on today--if you've ever eaten in an Amtrak diner car, you'll know what I mean. I could go on, but I'm almost out of space here. The Lemon House is my favorite site here because it's so complete and it gives you an idea of how people traveled back then. Quite a difference from the Holiday Inns and Denny'ses of today, huh?

This place is epic! EPIC!! you could literally spend an entire weekend here exploring and you still…read moreprobably wouldn't get to see everything! It's truly a colossal piece of history. We went on a Saturday..got there around 3pm and left at 5pm. We barely ran into anyone while exploring..which was great. 2hrs was obviously not enough time. When we got there we checked in at the table..you get a wristband while on the property. Purchasing your tickets ahead of time..it makes life for the employees a lot easier. It's dark and there isn't power..so using the iPad to check out is a pain for them. They give you the rules and what not to do..where to stay out of..and they let you explore all on your own. We literally had so much fun. Make sure to bring plenty of flashlights and warm clothes if you're going during that winter season like we did. There are tunles that run from building to building..awesome! The chapel is incredible, the cell housing areas are just as cool..just so many things..the prison barber school..the cobbler shop. So many nooks and crannies. We learned theyll have overnight explorations in the spring/summer/fall in 2023. There will be a hydroponics building as well. The place is just spectacular, and the drive to keep this place open for people to come see history and not let it wither away is amazing. Thank you! Truly appreciate places like this. Please don't leave trash and break things here and ruin it for people who have an appreciation for places like this.