I visited the 1719 Museum this past Saturday and really enjoyed the experience…read more The guided tour starts with a short film about the property that provides some great context for the rest of the tour. Then you leave the visitor center and walk over to the first structure of tour, which is a full-sized reproduction of a Native American longhouse. Longhouses (large multi-generational family homes made of logs, saplings, and tree bark) were once ubiquitous in Pennsylvania, including along the Susquehanna River. At the time the Hans Herr home was built, south-central Pennsylvania was home to several Indigenous tribes, including the Shenks Ferry, Conoy, Lenape, Mohawk, Nanticoke, Seneca, Shawnee, and Susquehannock peoples. The 1719 Museum collaborated with the Circle Legacy Center and members of the local indigenous community to build the longhouse reproduction in order to share the history of and honor Pennsylvania's native communities and educate visitors to the area. With your guide, you walk into the longhouse, where you sit down while the guide explains quite extensively about the Native communities in the area, the longhouse and its architecture, and the relationships between the indigenous people and the Mennonite people who made homes in the area. After the longhouse, the guide walks you over to the Hans Herr House. It was built in 1719 and is a 2-story, rectangular sandstone Germanic-style dwelling. It is the oldest dwelling in Lancaster County and the oldest Mennonite meetinghouse in America. The guide walks you through various rooms in the house and shares information about the Herr family as well as the larger Mennonite community in early Pennsylvania history. Our guide was Cindy, and she was incredible. I learned so much about the Native, Indigenous and Mennonite communities of 18th century Pennsylvania (and - in the case of the Native peoples - a much earlier history of their lives in Pennsylvania). She really educated us on a broad range of topics, while keeping the tour fun (I love fun education)! She made my tour extra special. If you're spending some time exploring Lancaster Counter, the 1719 Museum should definitely make your itinerary! In one place, you can learn a little bit about Pennsylvania's Native and Mennonite communities, and it's just a special place!

Why is the Hans Herr House significant and who the hell was Hans Herr?…read more The house itself is significant as it is the last remaining structure that is still standing from the original group of Mennonites who came to the Lancaster County area to escape religious persecution from their native Switzerland. The house is also significant in that it is the oldest structure in Lancaster County and likely the oldest remaining Mennonite meetinghouse in the Western Hemisphere. The original group traveled from Switzerland to Germany to escape religious persecution then after a governmental regime change they were forced from Germany to England where they met with William Penn who allowed them to colonize a portion of what is current day Lancaster County or when they arrived in 1711, the extreme most western frontier of Pennsylvania. One interesting piece of information is that the house did not belong to Hans Herr as it was built by his son Christian which is why his initials are over the doorway along with the inscribing mark of 1719. On the tour you are told why the name remained(s) Hans Herr House versus Christian Herr House but honestly I forget why. Maybe something just deferential from Christian towards his father or because of his father's status with the original group that came to the area or maybe everyone just liked the flow of the name more so it's based on tradition? The tour itself is around 40-45 minutes and it starts in the building which houses the gift shop and you are given a brief overview of the Anabaptist faith, the Mennonites who are direct descendants of the faith and a map which shows the route the initial settlers took from Switzerland to Pennsylvania. After that you are taken over to the house where you see the three rooms which make up the first floor (kitchen, bedroom and all purpose dining room-meeting room-family room) and the second floor which is where the eight children slept and finally the basement which is accessed from a side entrance outside of the house. You learn that the key to the home's design is that they didn't believe in wasting any space so every inch served a purpose such as not having hallways so as soon as you walk in the front door you're right in the kitchen. One thing worth noting, if you are someone who is hardcore hung up on only visiting historical places if they have lots of original items then this place might not be for you. There is not a whole lot original to the house that you can see with the exception of a piece of the ceiling insulation on the first floor (rye straw + manure + ??), the wooden crossbeam over the kitchen fireplace and the steps which go from the second floor to the third floor attic (obviously you can't use them). Past that I think most everything else was changed out in the 19th century when the house was still used as a residence or in the early 70's when the initial renovation occurred to make things into a tourist destination. If you want more original take a look at the bibles on display in the gift shop which are original to Hans and Christian. I wouldn't call the Hans Herr House a must see, but it's interesting enough and the tour is the right length to keep everyone interested along with being located close enough to most of Lancaster County's tourist elements. If you go: The 1719 Hans Herr House is open April 1 through November 30, Monday-Saturday, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM. Forty-five minute Herr House tours are offered at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. This is not the tour information for their reproduction Native American Longhouse. That tour is offered at 10 a.m., 12 noon and 2 p.m and has an entirely different focus. Prices are currently Adults: $8, Children 7-12: $4 and Children 6 and under: free with a slight discount if you choose to tour both structures. There are also several special events that happen throughout the year and that information is available on their website.

Super cool landmark…read more As per the plaque: Constructed in 1860, the Gatehouse was designed by the Baltimore firm of Thomas and James M. Dixon. Built in Tudor Revival Style, it provided for two living units, one on each side of the archway. The Gatehouse resembled a Swiss chalet and became a trademark of the Sheppard. The neighborhood children viewed it as the home of Hansel and Gretel. A tenant alwavs lived in the Gatehouse until 2005. The beautiful Rhododendron Drive was historically entered by driving through the Gatehouse. In 2002 the entire Charles Street entrance was reconstructed and cars no longer entered through the Archway.

So we went to hershey park and after a 3.5hr drive, thought it would be nice to do some horseback…read moreriding. My wife, 8yr old, and myself booked a tour for 330. We all loved it. It was hot and humid but the ride was mostly in shade. The horses were very well behaved, and my daughter absolutely loved it. Her horse was well behaved and gave no issues. My wife's horse kept eating (much like me), but still was gentle and easy going. This place is great for beginners as the horses are well behaved. You take a 15 minute tutorial in how to ride then off you go.

Wonderful place with a very helpful staff. My wife and I had a terrific time together riding…read morehorses. I recommend trying it for yourself!

I visited Historic Rock Ford on Sunday and learned so much. The house was built around 1794 for…read moreGeneral Edward Hand, an adjutant general to George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. Rock Ford is a Georgian-style mansion, where General Hand lived with his wife and children until his death in 1802. His wife passed away in 1805 and only briefly remained in the Hand family before becoming a home for tenant farmers for the next 150-ish years. The house was saved from destruction by the Junior League in 1958 and then renovated and restored to what it looks like now. I learned all this and more from our guide Priscilla, who was wonderful. She told us about the man, the family, and the house, as well as the enslaved people and indentured servants who are a part of the home's history, too. The tour lasted a little over an hour, so I didn't have time to find the John J. Snyder, Jr. Gallery of Early Lancaster County Decorative Arts, which is also on the property. The house was beautiful, and the information I learned from Priscilla about General Hand and his house was very interesting. If you're interested in history and historic homes, the Historic Rock Ford is worth a visit!

One of many historic buildings in the area is Rock Ford, a brick mansion with a large garden. They…read morehost tours throughout the week, which is the only way to see the inside. There are a parking lot and a visitor center with a kind staff person behind the desk. They also have restrooms inside the center.

Awesome park Great pokemons…read more Cool place for adults and kids! Has public restrooms with water fountain. The playground equipment is new and has all kinds of neat ways to play!

Since the John Wright Restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, I took advantage of a…read morebeautiful, non-rainy day to explore the property, sit on a picnic table to enjoy the cool breeze from the Susquehanna River, and observe the long span of the Veterans Memorial Bridge, formerly known as the Columbia Wrightsville Bridge.

On my way to my next destination I was able to cross the Veterans Memorial Bridge. Spanning the…read moreSusquehanna River this bridge is quite exquisite. The attention to detail put into the bridge is amazing. I can imagine that when this was the only crossing for the river that it was constantly busy and backed up with traffic. It is a two laned bridge, a lane going in each direction. Walking across this bridge I am sure would give you a different viewpoint of it. There are lantern type toppers that would light the way. It gives off vintage with the way it looks and feels like it should be a setting for movies. Beautiful bridge that feels like a fabric that connects two towns on either side of the river.

I am SO happy I stumbled upon the Echo Dell Indian Echo Caverns during a rainy day in Hershey, PA…read more After visiting the gift shop at Hersheypark and eating some ice cream, I did a quick search for things to do in the area and the Indian Echo Caverns popped up as a tourist attraction very close by. My family and I have never done a cavern before and I've always wanted to see one so we said why not? We got there around 3:15 on a Tuesday and we were able to hop on the next tour. Our tour guide Jack was absolutely fabulous. The way he told the stories about the cave and the history behind it was just so interesting. My kids were very engaged during the entire tour of the caverns. The caverns are absolutely gorgeous. All the different "rooms" had different stories and different formations throughout. I loved seeing crystal lake, the water was beautiful. The different colors of the limestone was so cool. Everything was just so impressive and neat. They also have a pretty large gift shop, a playground, and a small petting zoo. It was pouring rain so we couldn't do any outside activities but that's OK. The caves are a cool 52 degrees so make sure to bring a sweatshirt or light jacket if you get chilly. Also, you can't touch any of the rocks so if you have a little kiddo who can't help themselves just be aware of that. Echo Dell Indian Echo Caverns was such a cool spot to visit and I am so happy we found it while in Hershey! Thanks again to Jack for the awesome tour, it was so much fun.

The caverns are very high and big, lots of space so it's cool to see. There are super big…read moreformations, but most are dead, would have been amazing if the flowstone were alive and glistening white, majority was ugly grey and dead. They have farm animals outside you can feed, a jungle gym and swing set. It's a nice area and was a nice time

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 you enjoy history, stop by this former house of President James Buchanan, the only bachelor U.S…read more president. If you want to go inside, you have to book a guided tour. They are only a few times certain days of the week. The grounds are usually open for you to wander and sit. Personally, I found the house beautiful from the outside.

The man had TASTE. If you're into furnishings and stuff this is a must see! Tiger striped maple on…read morebalustrades on the stairs. The China, the art!