Travel

Tucson and the night sky

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged arizona / outfits / travel style by

Packed for spring break in Tucson: lipstick / spring nail polish / pink earrings / spring sweater / bucket bag / summer dress / maxi skirt / white top / western boots / sneakers / wide leg jeans /

Off to Tucson! For my son’s spring break, he wanted to go somewhere where we could see the night sky. I heard that Oracle State Park was one of the top night sky parks in the country, so I booked a trip to Tucson, AZ without realizing the moon would be almost full. Oooops. Mom fail. But I digress. . .

We landed in Tucson and the airport had a classic car on display. I love classic cars! So, I naturally had to snap a pic of this 1957 Chevy Bel Air on our way to pick up our rental car. Isn’t it amazing? Of course, our rental car wasn’t nearly as cool, so again, I digress. . .

We picked up our rental car and checked into our hotel. After getting settled, we headed out to Guadalajara Mexican Grill for dinner. It was so good! They made the salsa right there at our table, and as you can tell, it was in a large bowl! They made the guacamole at our table too. Both were seasoned to perfection. Love!

I enjoyed chicken tacos, and my son and husband indulged on burritos. The food was amazing, I would definitely go back! So, if you are ever in the Tucson area, be sure to stop in for lunch or dinner. Yum!

After dinner, we headed out to Oracle State Park. In order to view the night sky, you need to schedule an appointment ahead of time to get gate access and permission. So, if you want to visit, be sure to plan ahead.

Once we arrived at the parking lot for star gazing, we parked and let our eyes adjust to the dark sky. Unfortunately, I didn’t check the moon schedule ahead of time. Rookie mistake. We were a few days away from a full moon, so the moon was quite bright. We were able to see several constellations and stars; my cell phone photo below didn’t pick anything up. So, while the milky way wasn’t visible, we did see more stars than we would have back home. We were also able to see Mars, which was amazing.

It was a fun travel day, and our trip was just getting started! Stay tuned for more coverage from Tucson, AZ!

XOXO

Cathy

Visiting Punxsutawney Phil

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged central pa / outfits / Punxsutawney / spring 2025 by

OK, so maybe Groundhog Day has passed, but you can visit Punxsutawney Phil all year long! Love! Ever since I was a little kid I always enjoyed seeing what the groundhog would predict for the season. Is spring around the corner? Do we have more winter? Listening to the groundhog predict the weather was way more fun than reading it in the newspaper, yes I am that old, or waiting for the ten o’clock news to find out. I mean, who doesn’t love a cute little groundhog predicting the weather?

So, we decided to go visit Punxsutawney Phil and see where his weather predicting magic happens! When we arrived in Punxsutawney, we grabbed some coffee at a local coffee shop named Groundhog Grindz Cafe and the coffee was so good, we loved it! For lunch, we grabbed really good pizza at Punxsy Pizza. I highly recommend it if you head out to Punxsutawney to visit Phil!

The town has a lot of sights to see centered around the Groundhog. We checked out a weather center, Phil’s Burrow, and the stage at Gobbler’s Knob where the magic happens.

It was really fun to check out these sights and also spot all of the Groundhog statues and monuments around town. Phil’s Burrow is where the groundhog lives during the year, and it appeared there were four “Phil’s” living in the burrow. Not sure if one groundhog is the official Phil, or if there are multiple groundhogs. It’s a mystery!

Gobbler’s Knob is the location where the main stage is located. This is where the groundhog predicts the weather every year. In addition to a stage, there is a visitor center and hiking trail. It is definitely a great place to visit and also get a touch a nature. Love that!

Hopefully someday I can head out to Punxsutawney for the actual Groundhog Day event. It would be so much fun! Until then, I have the memories of visiting Phil, or shall I say, the four Phil’s, in the burrow.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy

Pictured below, dinner at Red Lobster. It was soooooo good!

Treating ourselves with food

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged central pa / outfits / restaurants / spring 2025 by

wearing: statement earrings / spring knit top / spring nail polish / east/west bag / black wide leg pants / boots (old, similar here) /

Sometimes an active vacation needs a slow day! Despite it being spring break, my daughter had a zoom meeting she needed to take mid-afternoon. It also happened I had a meeting around the same time I needed to take, so we decided to take it slow and relax in the hotel room during the mid-afternoon for our meetings.

We explored in the morning by walking around downtown State College and then enjoyed a delicious sushi lunch at Tokyo Sushi and Hibatchi. They have really fresh sushi and good tea, so it has turned into my favorite sushi spot in State College, PA. We took a leisurely sushi lunch and then did some shopping in the shops downtown.

After shopping, we headed back to the hotel to take our meetings and relax. Then, we went back out for a long dinner at The Tavern. I enjoyed their mushroom ravioli, and my daughter enjoyed a chicken dish. The food there is always delicious. I highly recommend it if you are in the State College area!

To wrap up the day, we walked onto the Penn State campus to check out some construction and see the progress. It’s amazing how large schools are constantly under construction! When I was in college, our buildings were old, and while there was talk of new construction, I didn’t actually witness it. Now, there is a ton of new construction on my old college campus! haha

Well, that’s about it! These are two of my favorite State College restaurants, so definitely check them out if you are in the area!

XOXO
Cathy