What an amazing place and Tom was so gracious to take us in during the awful snow storm with our…read moredog. We left Baltimore only 80 miles away at 11:30 am by 6pm we had made it as far as Columbia,PA due to the weather and poor road conditions. Tom saw that we were exhausted and clearly stressed out by our failed attempt to make it to North Country, New York. Tom welcomed us with open arms, took time to get to know us, and showed us around this beautiful historic home. The house is stunning, full of history and not to mention it is meticulously clean. Make sure you put his home on your must see and stay if you are looking for a quaint getaway from the hustle and bustle of the big city. Oh and one more thing Tom is a brilliant artist, take time to explore his portraits!

Great choice for our single night stay on our way home; we picked it because of the Victorian look…read moreof the house, but we soon found out that the whole house was a treasure; Tom was a charming host and interesting conversationalist; the house is filled with his artwork; breakfast was excellent, with little surprises and plenty of hot coffee; our stay was too brief, but we're already making plans to return

If so interested or inclined, the below two pieces can give you a little light bed time reading as…read moreto the history of how the Statue came to be. www.atlasobscura.com/places/mini-statue-of-liberty-harrisburg www.abc27.com/digital-originals/how-the-mini-statue-of-liberty-came-to-be/ If you're so inclined to pay a visit, the only realistic way is on the water and ideally by kayak. In the current time, with the lack of rain, which has the Susquehanna very shallow, I don't see how else you can get here aside from a helicopter or walking on water. I know that you can put in north of the Statue in places like Duncannon or Halifax, but I prefer to do it the hard way which is at Fort Hunter and then trekking the mile plus upriver against the current. The only real way to approach from the south especially with the low water levels is to head over towards 322 to get around the large amount of rocks which guard the statue's front. Is there really something to see here? No, but it is a unique cultural oddity and to me worth a trip that few people ever get to experience up close.

Who says nothing happens in Harrisburg? Today, Tuesday, July 7, crowds of people, myself included,…read morewaited to see a glimpse of the historic Union Pacific Big Boy Steam Engine #4014, built during World War II, as it passed through Harrisburg via the iconic Rockville Bridge. Hubby and I arrived around 1:00 pm to secure a spot to view the iconic train going over the historic Rockville Bridge. It was the first time the Union Pacific Big Boy steam engine train toured cities East of the Mississippi River. We knew the train stopped in Lebanon and chugged along at only 35 miles an hour until it arrived in Harrisburg three hours later. A wonderful piece of history and great to see so many people's interest in railroad history.

All things said about this fantastic structure are true…read more 1. It is truly a marvel of engineering and was designed to be the bridge that would last forever. pabook.libraries.psu.edu/literary-cultural-heritage-map-pa/feature-articles/rockville-bridge-built-last-forever 2. If you are of a foamtastic persuasion, it doesn't get much better than this. Two Amtrak trains a day plus a ton of action from NS. Sure, PSR has killed off some of the volume, but during my recent trip this past Sunday, I got 3 NS movements and the eastbound Pennsylvanian within 15 minutes of each other. Not too shabby. To me, if you really want the best perspective, it's going to be on the water. If you rent from Susquehanna Outfitters, they do a run that drops you off at the boat launch at Fort Hunter which is just north of the bridge. From there you can basically hang out/float in place (unless there has been a huge recent rain, the Susquehanna doesn't have much of a current in this area) and hang out waiting for the next movement plus the only way to head south is to go under the bridge through one of the aqueduct arches. www.yelp.com/biz/susquehanna-outfitters-wormleysburg Whether you see it from the highway, Front Street, Fort Hunter or wherever, the structure is impossible to miss and it's truly one of a kind.

My goal today is to visit PSP to dispose of outdated drugs properly…read more I regularly pass by this PSP location. Today, I learned that this PSP facility is an administrative facility, not a site to dispose of outdated drugs. When I buzzed the Visitor bell, I was instructed to go to the PSP location on Bretz Drive.

Today, June 7th, 2008 saw the hosting of a chicken bbq by the grantville fire company at the…read moreInbtegrity bank on allentown ZBlvd in Lower Paxton Twp. After having missed out on the last chicken bbq at colonial park, i was really in the mood for some grubage! so here i walked over and low and behold they had several chickens left, costing 6.50 each. It was a large sized thigh, a roll with butter, a small container of applesauce and a baked potato wrapped in tinfoil. I had one right after coming home, and I have to say it tasted pretty good. I had to toss it in the microwave for about 15 seconds and it was right whee it should have been. The event was staffer by firefighters and their wives and children, all wearing fire company clothing and so forth. There was a large tent, capable of holding two dozen people where they had he tables set up. there was a large grill, about 10 feet long, with plenty of charcoal and lighterfluid also. there was a fire marshal's car as well as an older looking (think 1950's) firetruck parked there. it was pretty hopping, with a few people lined up as i walked over, and two more going to buy chicken as i left.

Congratulations, and how fortunate for my husband's friend, Dr. Eliseo Rosario, who retired as a…read moreCarlisle pediatrician, to have his second photography exhibition in the lobby of the Harrisburg MLK City Government Center. This exhibition, titled "From City to City," encompasses Dr. Rosario's travels, which include NYC and Juno Beach in West Palm Beach. Unfortunately, all my photos have a light glare, so it's hard to appreciate them.

People have a lot of things to say about the City of Harrisburg, but I'm always one to give credit…read morewhere credit is due -- and the City absolutely deserves credit for putting together a really great Ice & Fire Festival in 2026. This was the 9th annual M&T Bank Ice & Fire Festival, held on Saturday, March 7 from 11am-7pm. The free event featured more than 60 large and small ice sculptures placed throughout the city along with a downtown street festival that included a giant ice slide, fire dancers, live ice carving demonstrations, fire pits with s'mores, live performances, kids activities, food trucks, and an artist market with local makers. The sculptures were scattered along the downtown festival path and extended out to locations like City Island, Midtown, Italian Lake, Shipoke, and Reservoir Park. Starting at 5pm, the sculptures were illuminated for the evening crowd. One thing the City did particularly well was helping visitors plan ahead for parking. Their website listed a wide variety of parking options in advance, which made it easy to gameplan before heading into the city. I ended up finding an excellent parking spot on City Island overlooking the river, which was honestly a surprise. I had expected parking to be chaotic, but there were actually plenty of spots available when I arrived. That immediately gave me hope that the festival might not be as overwhelmingly crowded as I had anticipated. One of the activities I was most excited about was the ice sculpture scavenger hunt. Participants could scan QR codes located at each sculpture to enter for a chance to win gift cards and prize baskets from local businesses. There were supposedly around 60 sculptures total across the city, but not all were within walking distance. I ended up visiting 23 sculptures, happily darting from sculpture to sculpture scanning codes and submitting entries along the way. The event also offered free s'mores kits at the top of every hour, and I happened to be near the distribution tent right when they were handing them out, so I grabbed one to bring home. A nice little bonus. I also spent some time browsing through the vendor areas set up throughout the festival. There was a great mix of local makers, artists, and small businesses participating, and it was fun to stop and chat with a few vendors and support some of the local offerings while I was there. The variety of vendors added a nice element to the festival experience and made it feel like more than just a walk-through event. One of the nicest surprises of the day was that the festival wasn't nearly as crowded as I expected. I was able to move around comfortably, see plenty of sculptures, visit vendors, and enjoy the experience without feeling overwhelmed or stuck in massive crowds. This was my first time attending the Ice & Fire Festival, and honestly it ended up being one of the better organized and thoughtfully laid out events I've attended in Harrisburg in quite a while. The scavenger hunt was a particularly fun way to explore the city and gave the whole event an interactive feel. Yes, it was cold -- but walking from sculpture to sculpture kept me warm. I also felt perfectly safe exploring the festival by myself and had zero anxiety even with the crowds. All in all, this was a really fun way to spend a chilly early-March afternoon in the city, and the Ice & Fire Festival has definitely earned a spot on my list of events to attend again next year!

The Soldiers & Sailors Monument is a reasonably standard Civil War monument. It's tall, made of…read morestone, and has several statues placed on or around it. The monument does have several features that make it stand out. 1. It's located directly across from the Lancaster County Convention Center, so it's easy to access. 2. It's located almost in the middle of the street with busy roads surrounding all sides but one. 3. It's been updated with more plaques and new information as more conflicts have occurred. Take a second to read the plaques when walking by, they provide interesting information about the conflicts.

This phallic salute to soldiers and sailors has a rich history dating back beyond its July 4, 1874…read moreerection. The 1744 Treaty of Lancaster between the British and Iroquois was signed at this very spot in the old Lancaster courthouse. On September 27, 1777 the Second Continental Congress met in that same building, which burned down just 6 years later. Originally designed as a tribute to Lancastrian Union soldiers killed during the American Civil War, the statue now also represents those who have served in subsequent American military conflicts. Basically, if you fight for our country, Lancaster will honor you with a giant stone penis on top of which a robed woman sporting a sword and crown of stars called the "Genius of Liberty" turns her back on the defeated confederacy. Oh yeah, and there's 4 little men at the shaft representing the branches of the armed forces. Totally overshadowed by the badass penis climbing lady. Take a look next time you're in town.