Browsing Category: "Day Trips"
York County Connects With Maryland Via Bus Service
York County’s public transportation system is linking up with Maryland public transportation using Rabbit Transit, the York County bus system. The scheduled route will run six times a day and take passengers to the Maryland light rail system. According to news sources, the scheduled bus runs are designed for commuters who live in York County and work in Baltimore and D.C. But I see no reason why tourists can’t take advantage of the service as well.
Trips cost $5 one way. That’s a huge savings though considering that gas prices are approaching $2 per gallon again. It will cost you more than in fuel to drive from York to Baltimore.
Visitors to Gettysburg can drive to the Rabbit Transit office or find a Rabbit Transit bus stop and take the bus to Maryland, hop the light rail system into Baltimore or Washington D.C. and enjoy a day trip to two of the Northeast’s biggest tourist attractions.
10 Things To Do In Gettysburg (Besides Visit The Battlefield)
Visitors to Gettysburg, Pa. often don’t realize the many great things you can do here without visiting the battlefield. Of course, I’m not saying you shouldn’t see the bloodiest ground on the face of the earth. I’m just saying don’t stop there and stay. Here are 10 other wonderful things to do while in town:
- Ski Liberty – Just a couple of miles out of town and slopes for the entire family.
- Visit the National Apple Museum - Located in Biglerville, just a stone’s throw away from Gettysburg. A must see for the whole family using a pre-Civil War built barn as a museum to honor the nation’s fruit.
- Eisenhower Farm – Actually located in Gettysburg and one of the favorite sites among visitors to Gettysburg.
- Take a ghost tour – I think Gettysburg has more ghost tours than we have ghosts. Really. It’s not hard to find a ghost tour in Gettysburg any time of the year. And it’s something you’ve got to do at least once.
- Eastern Museum Of Motor Racing - Located in York Springs, Pennsylvania near the Latimore Valley Fairgrounds, this museum houses vintage racing cars and memorabilia of one of America’s favorite sports.
- Go on a scenic train ride - For 75 minutes, or three hours if you prefer, you can take a train tour through Adams County and see the beautiful landscapes from a different perspective.
- Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival – Like music? Like Bluegrass music? Then you can enjoy great Bluegrass music twice a year at the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival. Takes place between Gettysburg and Fairfield in the spring and fall each year.
- Golf - The Links at Gettysburg is an 18-hole golf course carved out of indigenous red rock formations and meandering streams.
- Visit Washington D.C. - The nation’s capital is just a two-hour drive away.
- Ride a Harley – Every year, thousands of bike riders descend upon Gettysburg for Bike Week. You can join them.
There are lots more things to do in Gettysburg Pennsylvania. Don’t wait for an invitation. Plan your next trip now.
5 Places To Ski Near Gettysburg Pa.
It’s January and while you’re busy thinking about Nathan Bedford Forrest and the revenge of the South, everyone else is thinking about ski bunnies and beginner slopes. Welcome to Gettysburg, Pa. Did you know there are 5 places to ski near the most famous battlefield on earth?
Yes, I know. You come to Gettysburg for one reason and one reason only. Little Round Top. No problem. Did you know you can ski Round Top? I’m not talking about the famous battle location. I’m talking about one of the five places around Gettysburg that you can ski and it’s called Ski Round Top.
But if you really want closeness just swing around the corner and ride the slopes at Ski Liberty. Just outside of Gettysburg, Ski Liberty has 16 ski slopes. A lot of them are for beginners.
The aforementioned Round Top is located in Lewisberry, Pa., right in the heart of York County, not much further than Ski Liberty.
Whitetail is just north of the Maryland state line, about 1.5 hours southeast of Harrisburg off I-81. A little further to the east, off Pennsylvania Turnpike, is Hidden Valley Ski Resort. Located in Hidden Valley, Pa., this resort is perfect for a winter vacation, and it’s close enough to take that day trip to see the battlefield.
Finally, Seven Springs Mountain Resort is just 1 hour west of Pittsburgh, which means its darn close to Gettysburg. In just a couple of hours, give or take, you can be back in Gettysburg and gawking at every inch of the battlefield that you want to see. And it’s all in a days drive.
If skiing is your thing, and it should be, don’t forget about Gettysburg. You can ski and drive the battlefield in the same weekend.
Washington D.C. and Green Living
A wise sage once muttered that, “it’s not easy being green.” Now, that may have been Kermit the Frog twenty years ago, but that sentiment may resonate with you today. We’re living in a new age of recycling, sustainable building materials, organic clothing, and that buzz word: carbon footprint. What are you doing to help? If you feel overwhelmed by the pressure to live green, then take a day trip down to Washington D.C. to learn about environmentally friendly living.
On Sunday November 16 from 2:00 – 5:00 PM, the National Building Museum will host a Family Workshop: It’s Easy Being Green. Admission is $5 for each child who participates in the workshop. The session will equip you with some easy tips and activities to help usher in your new green lifestyle. After the workshop, explore the Museum and take a look at their new exhibit: Green Community. The exhibition shows how some people have always lived green by preserving their resources and providing spaces for recreation, and how people are working together today to create more sustainable communities.
“Green” has become part of our everyday jargon in this society, but maybe Kermie was wrong after all..it just may be easy to live green! Find out for yourselves this weekend at the family workshop in Washington D.C.!
Lancaster’s Quilt Museum Isn’t Just For Squares
Old-fashioned art is stitched in time. Quilts and textiles are on display in Lancaster at the Quilt Museum, located on Market Street right in the heart of Amish country.
The museum has a permanent exhibit that showcases 82 quilts rotated in 6-month cycles in what is called the Esprit Collection.
An upcoming exhibit called “Rags to Rugs: Pennsylvania Hooked and Hand Sewn Rugs” will start in November and run through December 31, 2008. Both contemporary and historical rugs will be on display.
The Quilt and Textile Museum exists in a Beaux Arts-style building constructed and erected in 1912. The building is owned by the Lancaster Trust Company, a failed bank from the depression era.
The works on display are done by local artists as well as some from far away. A Christmas exhibit will begin on November 7, 2008 and run through December 31, 2008.
The Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum also offers education and a creamery and cafe on premises. The museum is operated by the Lancaster Heritage Center and is open year-round. Be sure to visit the museum on your next trip to Gettysburg. For more information about the Quilt and Textile Museum call (717) 299-6440.
Nearest Cities To Gettysburg, Pa.
Two of Gettysburg’s nearest cities with a population more than 50,000 are in Maryland. Frederick, Maryland is the nearest with more than 50,000 and Baltimore, Maryland is the nearest city with more than 200,000 residents. The nearest city with more than 1,000,000 residents is Philadelphia and it’s 144 miles.
Nearby small towns include Biglerville, just seven miles away, Arendtsville, which is almost eight miles, and York, Pa., a good half hour drive. There’s plenty to do here.
Arendtsville is where the annual Apple Blossom Festival takes place. Biglerville is the home of the Apple Museum. And, of course, York has its own historical flavor. Baltimore and Philadelphia likely need no introduction. There is plenty to do in both cities and each has its own historical and cultural significance. What I mean is, fun is just a day drive away. But if you don’t feel like driving, you can always get in trouble in Gettysburg.
7 Things To Do In Baltimore, Maryland
Travel – Eat – Sleep had a great blog post recently on things to do in Baltimore, Maryland. Of course, Baltimore is just a couple of hour drive from Gettysburg and so it makes a great day trip. I’ve talked about day trips to Baltimore before. But I like these suggestions:
- Lexington Market – Truly a site to see, this is the country’s longest running market. Historic and cultural. Don’t miss it.
- St. Mary’s Park – One of nature’s many blessings.
- Washington Monument – Didn’t know Baltimore had a Washington Monument? Well, now you do. Check it out.
- Mount Vernon Park – Home of the Washington Monument.
- Walters Art Gallery – Statues, paintings, displays of knights’ armor … there is no gallery like it.
- Maryland Science Center – Worth a trip just to see the giant dinosaur out front.
- The Light Rail – Of course, Baltimore has one of the best public transportation systems in the world. And why you want to drive?
Beware The Blue Meters
Some lessons you have to learn the hard way. Believe me, I did. $50 hard.
That was the fine. Fifty dollars. For parking in front of a blue parking meter without a handicap sticker. You see, those blue meters are for handicapped persons. And if you’re from out of town and not used to seeing blue meters, just know that they are for the handicapped. If you are not handicapped and you park in front of a blue parking meter then you will be ticketed and you’ll spend some money making Gettysburg city administrators happy that you’ve paid for a family meal.
And the $1 an hour fee might seem a bit steep for the parking meters downtown, but they do a lot to regulate parking on the streets. With Gettysburg getting as many visitors as we get, especially during this time of year, if we offered free street parking then everyone would have a tough time maneuvering through the area as traffic would be piled up with automobiles on every street competing for limited parking space. The $1 an hour parking fee at the meters helps keep down congestion. And the bright side is, when you park in Gettysburg you can walk to just about anywhere and enjoy your stay in one of the most historic towns in America.
My Day Trip To Baltimore
Among the many things Baltimore is famous for is that this is the place Edgar Allan Poe, the famous (or infamous) American poet and short story writer, died. It was a very mysterious death, the cause of which is still unknown. And Baltimore has a great Edgar Allan Poe museum that you can visit as well.
Baltimore is just a couple hour drive away, but it’s just as quick to take the train, provided that you don’t mind driving to Owings Mills, Maryland first. That’s as far north as the Metro will go, but if you drive to Owings Mills from Gettysburg (about an hour-and-a-half drive on a bad day), you can take the Metro into Baltimore or D.C. and have one heck of a day trip.
My step-daughter, a senior in high school, came up to visit us for the summer and today was her day of arrival. So at 8:30 a.m. this morning, the wife and I (and our five-year-old grandson) hopped in the family vehicle and drove to Owings Mills. Then we hopped aboard the Metro and went to Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI). We met Jearlene and afterward strolled through Lexington Market for lunch.
Lexington Market has quite a history. It is the world’s largest continuously running market and has provided a place for buyers and sellers to meet for 220 years. After the Battle of Lexington – you know, the U.S. won the war (and their independence from Britain) – General John Howard donated land that his family owned and so the market began. The Market survived a great fire in 1949 and stands today as a monument to economic freedom – and it’s just a train ride away from Gettysburg Pennsylvania.
Two hours, tops, and you can be in one of the most historic and thriving cities in the world: Baltimore, Md. And be back to Gettysburg in time for dinner and a nightcap.
Day Tripping: How Many Directions Can You Go?
Lancaster County isn’t the only place close enough to Gettysburg for a day trip. You can go in any direction and have a great time in just one day by automobile.
And there’s so much to do no matter where you go.
York, for instance, is just a few miles away and is a great place for a day tour. This historic town is the place where the U.S. Articles of Confederation were drafted. The White Rose City served as the capital of The Continental Congress and was the capital of the United States for a brief period during the Revolutionary War. You can still see historic buildings in place, including the tavern where Benjamin Franklin was known to have shared a beer with Marquis de LaFayette.
The Battle of Hanover landmark is just a short drive away (even closer than York) and provides a walking tour.
Hershey, affectionately called “The Sweetest Place On Earth” because this is where the most famous chocolate in the world is made, has a great amusement park for the whole family.
The state capital of Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, is a commuter’s distance from Gettysburg. Here you can find a Fire Museum, the National Civil War Museum, the State Museum of Pennsylvania, and Fort Hunter Mansion & Park. Plus, smaller towns in the area have great sites to visit as well.
Both Baltimore and Washington, D.C. are a day drive away. In fact, they are so close to Gettysburg that Adams and York Counties are the two fastest growing counties in Pennsylvania because residents of Baltimore and D.C. are moving to this area and commuting south to their day jobs. You can drive just over the state line to Owings Mills, Maryland and take the Metro into either Baltimore or Washington D.C. and use the Metro anywhere you want to go while in either city. And there is lots to see and do!
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is only 2 1/2 hours away and there is plenty to do here as well. Once the capital of the U.S., this is where the Liberty Bell resides and you can live and learn America’s history right here in one of the largest cities in the country.
Pittsburgh is a little further away – about 3 1/2 hours – but if you are up for the trip, you’ll have a blast!
