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50 State Series

Family travel in Pennsylvania

Love in Pennsylvania (courtesy mezone at Flickr CC)Every Tuesday until we run out of states, I plan to post about family-friendly vacation ideas, attractions and events in each one of the US states, taking input mostly from Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, I know how to search for travel ideas on a destination or attraction Web site, but a tweet or a Facebook Wall recommendation is a much more engaging and public way to spread the word.

Please don’t email suggestions to me; that’s nice but it is one-to-one communication. Tweet me and/or Facebook me, so that all of our networks can see what’s cool about your state.

We’re going in alphabetical order but started with the end, so our first state for the series was Wyoming, then we investigated Wisconsin , West Virginia , Washington, Virginia, Vermont, Utah, Texas, Tennessee, South Dakota, South Carolina, Rhode Island and now we’re moving on to….Pennsylvania!

I was inundated this week by social media-savvy Pennsylvania folks and their input….hurray!

Their state tourism organization is on Twitter at @PATourismPR (update – and for more visitor info see @VisitPA.)  They aren’t on They are on Facebook at the VisitPA Facebook page, and so is Pennsylvania State Parks.

When I asked for ideas, here’s what came in….

Twitter Travel Tips for Pennsylvania

***  From Philadelphia Tourism via @VisitPhilly on Twitter  —  I brought my nephew to Smith’s Play Place in Philly’s Fairmount Park. Tricycles in Smithville were a hit! Smith: The Kid’s Play Place in the Park.   Also brought brought my nephews to Please Touch Museum (recently reopened.)

***  From Kimberley Kradel via @ArtistAtLarge on Twitter  — Don’t know if it’s still a favorite, but when I was a kid in West PA, my favorite was a day at Kennywood on the old roller coasters! [Yes, it is still there!]

***  From Wendy Perrin via @WendyPerrin on Twitter  — My 3 boys’ fave family-friendly event in PA is “A Day Out With Thomas [the Tank Engine]” in Strasburg https://www.strasburgpa.com. We go every September.

***  From Kayt Sukel via @TravelSavvyKayt on Twitter  — Love the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh. Also partial to Kennywood amusement park.

***  From the Philadelphia Federal Reserve via @PhiladelphiaFed on Twitter  — Check out the Philadelphia Fed’s free lobby exhibit “Money-in-Motion.” Next to the Constitution Center:  https://www.philadelphiafed.org/education/money-in-motion.

***  From Kristin at Visit Pittsburgh via @Kristin_VstPgh on Twitter  — Pittsburgh has great family friendly attractions. Visit https://www.visitpittsburgh.com.

***  From Bill Church via @BillChurch64 on Twitter  — Steelers camp (now open,) Latrobe, historic Kennywood Amusement Park, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh inclines, Daffins Candy, Sharon.

***  From Kim Haynes Hollenshead via @Kim_Hollenshead on Twitter  — Can you add a tour of Herr Foods in Nottingham PA? https://www.herrs.com/SnackFactoryTours.html Nothing’s better than a hot/fresh chip!

Continue reading “Family travel in Pennsylvania”

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50 State Series

Family Travel in Utah

Utah's Bryce Canyon in winter (courtesy limaoscarjuliet on Flickr CC)Every Tuesday until we run out of states, I plan to post about family-friendly vacation ideas, attractions and events in each one of the US states, taking input mostly from Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, I know how to search for travel ideas on a destination or attraction Web site, but a tweet or a Facebook Wall recommendation is a much more engaging and public way to spread the word.

Please don’t email suggestions to me;  that’s nice but it is one-to-one communication. Tweet me and/or Facebook me, so that all of our networks can see what’s cool about your state.

We’re going in alphabetical order but started with the end, so our first state for the series was Wyoming, then we investigated Wisconsin , West Virginia , Washington, Virginia, Vermont and now we’re moving on to….Utah!

I could not find their state tourism organization on Twitter. I did find@UtahStateParks, the St. George/Zion National Parks (@UtahTraveler) and @MeetInSaltLake (the Salt Lake City Convention and Visitor’s Bureau) and would also like to mention @PCSki which represents the Park City Mountain Resort. Although @PCSki is a commercial Twitter account,  I met one if its tweeters (@krista_parry) this year and was impressed with her passion for Park City and winter sports.

Utah state tourism is not on Facebook (that I could find.)

When I asked for ideas, here’s what came in….

Twitter Travel Tips for Utah

***  From Kara Williams via @karasw on Twitter – Moab & Arches Nat’l Park for kids! Sorrel River Ranch Resort – just outside town – is $$$, but fab, w/ two-level family suites.

Continue reading “Family Travel in Utah”

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50 State Series

Family travel in Vermont

ben-and-jerrys-button-courtesy-dvs-on-flickr-ccEvery Tuesday until we run out of states, I plan to post about family-friendly travel ideas, attractions and events in each one of the US states, taking input mostly from Twitter and Facebook.

Yes, I know how to search for family travel ideas on a destination or attraction Web site, but a tweet or a Facebook Wall recommendation is a much more engaging and public way to spread the word.

Please don’t email suggestions to me;  that’s nice but it is one-to-one communication. Tweet me and/or Facebook me, so that all of our networks can see what’s cool about your state.

We’re going in alphabetical order but started with the end, so our first state for the series was Wyoming, then we investigated Wisconsin , West Virginia , Washington, Virginia and now we’re moving on to….Vermont!

You can find their state tourism organization on Twitter at @VermontTourism and here is the Vermont travel and tourism Facebook page. There is also a Vermont tourism YouTube channel.

When I asked for ideas, here’s what came in….

Twitter Travel Tips for Vermont

***  From the tourism folks via @VermontTourism on Twitter,  a ton of goodies as you’d expect  —  ECHO [Lake, Aquarium and Science Center,] Shelburne Museum, Ben & Jerry’s Factory [in Waterbury,] Fairbanks Museum, Montshire Museum, VT State Parks, Smugglers Notch Resort…

Quechee Gorge, Green Mtn Railroads, LOTs of summer county fairs, farmers’ markets, hikes, swimming holes…Very kid friendly and HUGE year-long event for all of Vermont: Lake Champlain 400 celebration – follow @VTChamplain400 [on Twitter] for more….Great website for kid’s events and attractions in the Champlain Valley: https://www.findandgoseek.net….

VT Statehouse (now with veggie garden!) Rock of Ages granite quarry, UVM Morgan Horse Farm, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum…Also, gotta mention all our ski & snowboard resorts, Cabot Creamery, Church Street Marketplace, VT’s historic downtowns…

And finally, World’s Best Cheddar [cheese,] right? [Follow @CabotCoop on Twitter.] Vermonter’s love their food made locally.

***  From Jinny VanDeusen via @JinnyWJGB on Twitter  — Camping in Winhall Brook [Ball Mountain, Vermont.]

***  From Nancy Kish via @AgapeHillFarm on Twitter  —  Agape Hill Farm offers llama walks, interactive farm visits and birthday parties in Hardwick, Vermont.

***  From Rebecca Lewis via @RebeccaPRChick on Twitter  —  My fave VT resort is Smuggler’s Notch!

Continue reading “Family travel in Vermont”
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Tips USA

Dueling tourism taglines for North Carolina and Ohio

Here they are, and coincidentally both were on Chevy cars parked right next to each other in Dayton, Ohio.

You know I had to drop everything and take travel geek photos.

The plates feature taglines for two different states in two different regions of the US that both use an aviation angle to tout some “historic cred,” and perhaps encourage tourism along with state pride.

North Carolina, of course, is the home of Kitty Hawk on the Outer Banks, where the Wright Brothers conducted their famous experiments in flight around the wide-open, unpopulated sand dunes (at least, they were unpopulated way back in 1903.)

Today it’s still a nice place to visit, if a bit touristy. Plenty of lighthouses to see, although there are so many shipwrecks offshore that it’s called the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”

Sainted Husband and I liked the area so much, we got married there a few years back, in the tiny town of Duck at the Sanderling Inn.

Ohio, on the other hand, was actually the home of the Wright Brothers and their famous bicycle shop in Dayton.

You can visit the Dayton Aviation Heritage site, but ironically the original Wright shop was transported to Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan by automotive titan Henry Ford, in an effort to preserve important historic locations.

My esteemed contacts at the Dayton Daily News tell me that the National Museum of the Air Force, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, does an excellent job of telling the aviation story in that part of Ohio.

Pick your state plate – you’ll get a fun flying story either way!