A Wonderful Weekend in Lancaster, Pennsylvania

Lancaster, Pennsylvania is one of my favorite places in the world.

Things seem to slow down there. The simple things become most important.

I've always noticed that as I drive into Lancaster County, a sense of calm

overcomes me, as if my blood pressure drops a few notches.

Rolling farmland with barns and silos give way to quaint towns

such as Bird-in-Hand, Intercourse, Lititz and Strasburg.

A recent overnight adventure included my sister Lee,

her daughter Julie, plus Julie's 2 girls, Lindsey & Ellie.

Here's the math: 2 sisters, 3 nieces, 3 days and 2 nights 

loving together-time and exploring Lancaster!

Kitchen Kettle Village was the hub of our activity.

We stayed in our own little cottage: The Hershey Suite.

Perfectly cozy accommodations for our group,

complete with Amish quilts on the beds,

and a yummy breakfast each morning!

(make mine baked oatmeal with blueberries)

Nothing like starting the weekend off with a horse-drawn Amish buggy tour!

My great-nieces having a great time! Love them!

I always have my camera ready for beautiful flowers!

We saw "Jacob's Choice" at the Plain & Fancy Theater,

toured the Amish house and one-room school,

and went on the 90-minute Farmlands Tour.

Our tour shuttle stopped at a gift shop with amazing handmade quilts for sale,

as well as these "quillows," -quilts that fold up and tuck into the shape of pillows!

Inside the Fisher Family Homestead, plain dresses hang on pegs in the girls' room...

...and this picture hangs above the kitchen counter,

illustrating the strong faith of the Amish community.

Lee and her granddaughters strike a pose.

Time for some shopping and strolling through the charming Village.

The girls decided to have a caricature done!

Ice cream is the perfect ending to a perfect weekend!

I've written several blog posts about Lancaster and Lititz.

You can see a list those links on my "Series" page here.

Websites to explore:

Discover Lancaster

Kitchen Kettle Village

The Amish Experience

Bees? ... Please!

Mary Kate McDevitt

I've long been attracted to bees. (Just hoping they're not too attracted to me.)
The magnificent architecture of the honeycomb and hive.
The hierarchy of their lives from the royal queen down to those ever-busy workers.
Not to mention the delicious honey, which I adore in my tea!

Here's a great quote:
Draw honey out of the comb of Scripture and live on its sweetness. 
~Charles Spurgeon 

I had a wonderful opportunity to visit a beekeeper & see his honey bees.
You can see my photos and read the post: My Honeybee Adventure!

I also like bee art: patterns, prints and the bee motif on anything and everything.
I have a board on Pinterest called "Bumblebees, Honeybees" that you can check out.

Enjoy this gathering of bees!

roadsiderose

Croworks

Walter Inglis Anderson

DeepColouredWater

A ceramic tile from the Moravian Tile Works in Bucks County, PA.
See my blog post on this wonderful place -here.

Hester Margetson

Bridget Henry

sheaclay

Live Art Gallery Fabrics

Andreas Preis

And finally, sage advice from a honey bee~

thebuzzfromqueenb

Seiji Kawasaki's Realistic Wood Carved Food

It's hard to believe that these wood sculptures aren't real food!

Seiji Kawasaki carves these pieces and paints them to totally fool us 

into believing that we could take a bite and not get splinters between our teeth.

That is real wood-carving talent if I ever saw it!

Chocoholics- this one's for you.

Please pass the French onion dip.

He puts these wooden veggies to use as chopstick holders.

 See more of Seiji's carvings at his website,

his Facebook page,

on Instagram & on Twitter.

Images used with direct permission from Seiji Kawasaki.

Our Riverboat Tour of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

All aboard the Gateway Clipper's River Cruise
for a fantastic tour of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania!
Since 1958, the Gateway Clipper fleet has hosted 
sightseeing cruises for over 25 million passengers.
What a perfect addition to our weekend! 

The city of Pittsburgh is situated at the 

juncture of the Monongahela and Allegheny Rivers; 

they meet to form the Ohio River.

We saw spectacular views of the city from different angles as we 

traveled down the Monongahela, or "The Mon," as it's nicknamed,

then turned up the Allegheny and back again.

Here's the beautiful fountain of the 36-acre Point State Park,

its water shooting 150 feet into the air.

North across the Allegheny River is Heinz Park.

To the left of Heinz Park is the Carnegie Science Center,

with the USS Requin submarine in front.

Heinz Park is the hometown football stadium of

the Pitt Panthers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

To the right, notice the stone wall with the oval center...

It's the Mr. Rogers Memorial, paying tribute to Fred Rogers,

of nearby WQED Studio's popular children's TV show, Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood.

And a close-up of the bronze statue of Mr. Rogers

in his famous shoe-tying pose. He passed away in 2003.

francineinretirement

Farther up, we saw PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

More city views-

Passing under the identical Three Sisters Bridges on the Allegheny:

The Roberto Clemente, The Andy Warhol, and The Rachel Carson.

Why the yellow paint? It's called "aztec yellow," 

chosen for the gold (& black) of Pittsburgh's sports teams.

Heading back toward The Point, we can see

The Duquesne Incline across the Monongahela,

with Mount Washington at the top of the hill.

A closer view of the Incline, which we rode and loved!

(A link to that blog post is listed below.)

Here's a photo of something that I'd found so fascinating:

the waters of both rivers coming together at the confluence.

You can see the different colors of each river's water,

soon blending to become the Ohio River.

A terrific front-on shot of Pittsburgh!

More views of the city, and soon our one-hour cruise came to an end.

Our captain and tour guide told us so many interesting details!

I'd absolutely recommend the Gateway Clipper 

river tours to anyone visiting Pittsburgh!

Some links for more information:

Gateway Clipper

Heinz Field

PNC Park

The Fred Rogers Co.

The Duquesne Incline

Links to more of my Pittsburgh blog posts:

Riding the Duquesne Incline
Vegetarian Brunch at The Zenith

Wowed by the Nationality Rooms at Pitt's Cathedral of Learning

Pittsburgh's Gorgeous Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens

Washed Ashore's Marine Debris Sculptures

Look closely and you'll see that this fearsome shark
is made from a conglomeration of flotsam and jetsam.
It's constructed entirely of marine debris.
Not primarily stuff that was left behind on the beach.
According to the non-profit organization Washed Ashore,
80% of marine debris comes from the land.
That means "streets to streams to rivers to oceans."

Washed Ashore's goal is to educate folks about 
plastic pollution and its dangerous impact on marine habitats.

300 million pounds of plastic are produced every year; 
not even 10% of that ends up being recycled.
Those are eye-opening numbers, my friends.

So take a look at what Washed Ashore has been up to:
Trash is collected from oceans and waterways all over the globe.
From this trash, they build huge sculptures of sea life, 
particularly those species that have been affected by this pollution.
It's amazing art that's a powerful illustration of the enormity of the problem.
The goal is to encourage a change to a more environmentally-minded way of living.

Here's a blue marlin, with a close-up photo below:

School children encouraged to touch and interact as they check out this sculpture,
with the hope that the experience will leave a lasting impression. 
.

To learn much more, make a donation, 
and find or set up an exhibit, 
visit the Washed Ashore website & Facebook Page.