central pa

Traveling to Central Pennsylvania for spring break

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged central pa / sfo museum / spring 2025 / travel beauty by

Pictured: view from my airplane seat / SFO Museum display /

Off, off, and away! I took a red-eye east and landed in Central Pennsylvania with my daughter for a week of exploring the middle of the state. SFO Museum kept me intrigued with a display of historical information and artifacts all about San Francisco. It was a fun display, so don’t miss it if you fly through SFO!

I took a layover in Chicago and then continued on my way, landing just before noon at my destination. There isn’t enough coffee in the world for taking a red eye when you are middle aged. But I digress. . .

After picking up my rental car, I went to pick up my daughter, grab lunch and then check into our hotel. Thankfully the hotel has free coffee all day, so I indulged.

We got settled, took a walk, and then headed off to dinner! We enjoyed a delicious meal at Gigi’s Southern Kitchen in State College, PA. I had the blackened salmon, and my daughter enjoyed fried chicken. The decor is amazing, and the food is always delicious. Yummy!

After dinner, we relaxed in the hotel. After all, a red eye takes its toll, and my daughter was ready to crash since it was her spring break from school. I painted my nails, and we watched TV together. We were all set to start our adventures in PA the next day!

By the way, this topcoat is amazing. My manicure lasted all week long without chipping. Love that!

Stay tuned for my blog posts all about our trip!

XOXO

Cathy

Penn’s Cave exploration

 in Travel  tagged central pa / lifestyle by

Pennsyvania has a rich landscape with a huge number of natural resources. One of the perks of this abundance of resources is that the state offers several caves to explore. On a recent trip to central Pennsylvania, we decided to explore another cave. I had heard good things about Penn’s Cave and Wildlife Park, so we decided to check it out!

Since it was very cold, we only purchased tickets for the cave tour and not the wildlife tour. I am sure the wildlife tour is amazing, but on this day we were only interested in the cave. I am so glad we toured the cave! It was an amazing experience and would be fun to check out again, maybe on a warmer day not in the middle of winter. haha

The tour of Penn’s Cave is about fifty minutes and takes place on a boat. It is incredibly interesting to hear the history of the cave and how it has been created over centuries. Our tour guide was extremely informative and taught us the history of the cave and the area. It was so cool!

If you travel to Pennsyvania, be sure to check out Penn’s Cave! You can learn more at pennscave.com.

Hersheypark for the holidays

 in General Fashion / Travel  tagged central pa / family / hershey / holidays 2024 / outfits by

wearing: earrings / pink scarf / down coat (old, similar here) / long sleeve tee / wide leg jeans / comfy sneakers /

I have always wanted to go to Hersheypark. This past Thanksgiving week I finally got my chance! The park is decorated for the holidays, so we went in the evening in order to enjoy the lights and holiday theme. This turned out to be a good idea since the park isn’t very crowded during the week at 5pm. Although I purchased a fast pass for my family, it turned out that the pass wasn’t really needed. The lines were short, and it was easy to walk around. I imagine on a warm summer day the place is packed solid!

Hersheypark is located in Hershey PA, and it is home to the delicious chocolate we all grew up with. One of the first things we noticed upon entering the park is the sweet smell of chocolate. It was amazing. The chocolate theme is fun and definitely makes you crave chocolate! haha

We went on several rides including the Ferris wheel, Reese’s Cupfusion, the merry-go-round, swings, classic cars, a train ride, and more! The park includes rides for all ages and tastes. There are several roller coasters and thrilling rides. For food, we enjoyed a hot dog before indulging in chocolate.

Since it was cold outside, we opted for hot cocoa in order to get our chocolate fix. It was really yummy! After all, we are in the town where chocolate is made!

Hershey PA gets quite chilly in the late fall, early winter months. So, I opted to wear my heavy down coat and bundle up with my pink scarf. I should have brought gloves, but I accidently left them in my suitcase. Rookie mistake. Bring gloves if you visit at night! If your coat does not have a hood, wear a snow hat or beanie too.

Since I knew there would be plenty of walking, I wore my Hoka’s and they were perfect. My feet were happy! Love that!

After we enjoyed the park, we visited the gift shop-of course! They have tons of chocolate flavors and offerings not found in other locations. It was a chocolate dream! So, if you visit Hersheypark, remember to hit up the chocolate shop on your way out and get ready to indulge. Leave room in your suitcase for chocolate, that’s all I have to say. You might go a little crazy in the shop.

You can learn more about Hersheypark, and buy tickets, at Hersheypark.com.

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO
Cathy