Shae, Truffles and I spent just over a month in Pennsylvania from early October to early November. We’d briefly visited Pennsylvania before, but never spent much time there nor explored any of the state, so we weren’t too sure what to expect.
We ended up liking the state a lot. Philadelphia was a cool city, particularly with all its history. Pittsburgh was much nicer than I thought it would be and we found lots of fun things to do in and around Harrisburg. I don’t think Pennsylvania would make my top 5 states on the road trip so far, but of our 30 states visited so far it might crack the top 10.
Anyway, after we complete a state Shae and I always share our favorite and not-so-favorite things from our time there, so here’s our best and worst things from Pennsylvania.
Favorite Accommodation We Stayed At
Stephen – I enjoyed all four accommodations we stayed in during our time in Pennsylvania. Of all of them though, I’d have to pick the Airbnb we stayed at in Pittsburgh. It was perfect for our needs – furniture was very similar to stuff we used to own, the kitchen was very well-equipped, there was a backyard for Truffles to run around in, it was quiet – just lovely.
Shae – Oh man. This is a tough choice. I mean, my head says the Airbnb in Pittsburgh too – but my heart says the Hyatt Centric Philadelphia Center City. I LOVED being in the thick of the city, able to walk all over and around the corner from a great park for Truffles.
Favorite Meal
Stephen – That’s tough. In terms of actual meals, I’d probably have to go for Primanti Bros. – those sandwiches were ridiculously loaded and tasty. For any kind of foodstuffs though, the award goes to Beiler’s Donuts in Philadelphia. Those donuts were incredible and were possibly the best donuts I’ve ever had. I’d need to do a side-by-side comparison with Round Rock Donuts to truly decide which are the best.
Shae – My favorite meal was with new friends from the GoWithLess Facebook group – hi Bud and Jeremy! We went to Lucha Cartel and I had the Philly Tacos during happy hour – they were fantastic!
Most Disappointing Meal
Stephen – Probably the design-your-own ice cream I created at the Turkey Hill Experience. It had all the makings of a tasty creation, but there just wasn’t much flavor to it. Considering everything I put in there, that was surprising, so I’ll blame Turkey Hill rather than myself 😉
Shae – The Philly Cheesesteak at Oh Brother – known as one of the places to get a cheesesteak in the city. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t anything to write home (or on the blog) about either.
Favorite Free Activity
Stephen – Ohiopyle State Park. We caught it at a great time of year with the fall colors. Honorary mention goes to all the historical things there are to see and do in Philadelphia that are free.
Shae – I loved seeing the historic things in Philadelphia. My favorite was probably going into the Franklin Court Printing Office and seeing the press in action while learning about this skill that made a name for Benjamin Franklin.
Favorite Paid Activity
Stephen – The Duquesne Incline in Pittsburgh. Although it’s a paid-for activity, it’s not expensive. It gives great views of the city and it’s pet-friendly which meant Truffles could join us.
Shae – The Trolley Tour at Hershey’s Chocolate World is probably towards the top of my list in Pennsylvania as well as the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.
Favorite Pet-Friendly Activity
Stephen – Not so much activity as activities. We spent a day in Amish country while staying in Harrisburg and there were all kinds of pet-friendly things to do there.
Shae – I think I most enjoyed Ohiopyle State Park with Truffles. I loved that she could come to other places that aren’t always pup-friendly, but our hikes in the state park were particularly lovely.
Least Favorite Activity
Stephen – Hands down – Gettysburg National Military Park. 3 hours of pro-Confederate apologetics didn’t make for an enjoyable experience, especially seeing as it was meant to be only a 90 minute tour.
Shae – I think I’d agree about Gettysburg being the low point in our trip through PA. I did go to the museum the day before and that was really interesting, but the tour we took and the subsequent cider tap house we found made the day “meh” overall.
Favorite Hike
Stephen – Ohiopyle State Park, although I think that might’ve been the only actual hike we did in Pennsylvania.
Shae – Yeah, we didn’t really hike much other than Ohiopyle State Park so that has to be the top hike.
Favorite Quirky Thing We Did
Stephen – I don’t know how quirky I’d call this, but eating at Shady Maple Smorgasbord – the largest buffet in the US.
Shae – We didn’t get to anything particularly quirky during our stay in PA so I’d have to agree with Shady Maple Smorgasbord as well.
Favorite Memory
Stephen – Eating Beiler’s Donuts – they were that good!
Shae – It’s always tough picking a favorite memory. I loved seeing some of our old friends – Cassie and Andrew – and making new friends with Bud and Jeremy. I think a stand out for me though is eating lunch by the water, surrounded by the fall colors, at Ohiopyle State Park – it was one of those really great road trip days that we dreamed about when we started out 5 years ago.
Funniest Moment
Stephen – Chatting to someone just before we drove to Philadelphia who warned us to be careful because of how dangerous it is there. Maybe it is if you walk into the wrong neighborhood, but I’ve seen scarier kids movies.
Shae – Trying to get Stephen to understand just how special this picture is with Daniel Striped Tiger… he didn’t grow up with Mr. Rogers Neighborhood as he’s from England. And him trying to remind me of all the teasing I’ve done of “Finger Mouse” and “Button Moon” while I have this in my childhood memory bank.
Thing We Most Regretted
Stephen – I don’t know if I would call it a regret as such as there’s not anything I could’ve done about it, but I was laid low by a stomach bug for most of our time when staying in downtown Philadelphia, so I didn’t get to enjoy our time there as much as I’d have liked.
Shae – Taking the Gettysburg “90-minute” tour. That was down to our ranger guide and we’ve given feedback about our experience to the park since visiting.
Something We Missed And Want To See
Stephen – It seems like there are a lot of pretty state parks and waterfalls in Pennsylvania that we didn’t get to see. Ultimately though, the biggest thing we missed out on was getting to see Punxsutawney Phil and experience Groundhog Day as we didn’t visit at the right time of year for that.
Shae – There’s so much I’d still like to see in addition to Punxsutawney Phil – The Franklin Institute, The Mutter and Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia, more of Pittsburgh overall and going to stay at Hotel Hershey and having spa treatments there.
Our Biggest Surprise
Stephen – How much I enjoyed Pennsylvania. Like I mentioned at the start of this post, I don’t think it’s in my top 5 states so far, but there was a lot to like about the state and we particularly enjoyed Philadelphia.
Shae – How much I loved Philadelphia – I could live on Elfreth’s Alley if I had a spare million hanging around.
My Pennsylvania Drinking Game Would Be…
Stephen – It’s annoying because I feel like I mentioned to Shae a few weeks ago what my Pennsylvania drinking game would be, but I’ve completely forgotten what it was. I guess I’ll have to go for “Take a drink every time you see Steelers paraphernalia somewhere.”
Shae – Mine would be take a drink whenever you see anything relating to independence or William Penn.
Summary Of Pennsylvania In 10 Words Or Less
Stephen – Pretty place that’s worth a visit with lots of history.
Shae – Philadelphia is the best part – the rest is nice too.
Pennsylvania Cities We Visited In Order From Favorite To Least Favorite
Stephen – Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh. Having said that, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg could be interchangeable; Philly is definitely top though.
Shae – Philadelphia, Harrisburg then Pittsburgh, but not by much.
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