Fall In Pennsylvania

Hello! Last weekend we headed east for a short trip to north-central Pennsylvania. Although we didn't see much sun while we were out there, the fall color and the hills still made for some gorgeous scenery. 

Since we couldn't leave until last Saturday around lunchtime, we only went as far as Pittsburgh that day. Stopped at Salvatore's in the Youngstown, OH area for dinners of solid Italian food. We made sure to take doggie bags - not only did the portion warrant that, but we wanted to save room for Handel's Ice Cream, which was kitty-corner from  Salvatore's. I'd just learned of this small chain and wanted to check it out. You know a place has good ice cream when it stays open all year, doing walk-up business even in the winter! I think it was some of the best ice cream I'd ever tasted. They have locations primarily in eastern OH, but are in a few other states as well (not MI, alas), so check out their website for more info:

http://www.handelsicecream.com/home/index.html

Our destination was Williamsport, PA. Our time there was short - Sunday afternoon and Monday before returning home on Tuesday. We made the most of our visit by stopping at one of our favorite places, Purity Chocolates of Allenwood, PA. I always enjoy seeing the chocolates being made in the small workroom just beyond the retail store:

Above, an employee is making up boxes of assorted chocolates while chocolates that have recently been unmolded stand nearby.

A huge chocolate turkey awaits decorating. You can see the mold used to make it in the background.

 

In the retail store, an acorn-shaped chocolate box has been filled with assorted chocolates - very attractive! 

Cute cats - perfect for a Halloween party!

Not a great photo, but here's the monster turkey wrapped up and ready to wow someone.

Since this was the biggest chocolate turkey I've yet to see at Purity, I took a photo of its price tag. My husband and I speculated how much of the turkey would be left by Thanksgiving if we bought it on the day of our visit and ate a little bit every day through that holiday. It would be fun to lug home, but instead we bought a few goodies elsewhere in the store. I always pick up chocolate-covered pretzel "seconds" from the bargain basket, and they always taste great to me!

Switching gears, after lunch we drove to Worlds End State Park in Sullivan County, PA. We have been to this state park many times before, hiking on the various trails that are in, or go through, it. This time we did the Butternut Trail, which was 3 1/2 miles long. That doesn't sound long, and it isn't, but there was a steady climb up, and a steep, rocky climb back down. 

The vista at the top of our climb had nice views:

 

 We had started our hike down at the creek, the Loyalsock, so you can see that we had had a bit of a climb up.

Met a charming older couple on "holiday" from New Zealand while on the trail. They had done some sightseeing around NYC and eventually were going to fly to Seattle to visit their daughter, who lives there. How they found their way to a rather remote corner of north-central PA, I'm not sure. The woman was afraid of seeing a bear, so they hadn't hiked very far. We'd yet to see a bear on the trails in the area, we told her - but had once seen one run across the freeway near Williamsport!

Shortly after leaving Worlds End State Park, we drove across this:

This covered bridge, which is in Forksville, PA, spans Loyalsock Creek.

The apple crop in our area had been hit very hard by unfavorable weather this past spring, so I stopped at an apple orchard called Marshalek's on the way back to Williamsport:

Above, the view up the hill outside the retail store. I bought a half peck of Golden Delicious apples for eating and for making applesauce and apple butter. I make both in my crockpot. 

And that is a bit of what we did and saw in Pennsylvania. Our trip was too short, but we enjoyed it!