Rainy Kutztown Weekend

Foggy Morning at Pine Hill Campground

After back to back intense trips for work, one to Edison NJ, and one to Portsmouth NH, it was nice to take RoadAbode on a short trip to Kutztown, PA.
Pine Hill campground is nestled in between Old Route 22 and Route 78, with the surrounding land taken by farm fields and wineries.
Friday Night we found a nice local pizzeria

RoadAbode RoadTrip ~ Bethlehem PA ~ More than Just "Christmas City"

Don't underestimate Bethlehem PA. The RoadAbode Crew was not ready for the amazing amount of diverse ways to experience this historic town along the Lehigh River. We discovered Bethlehem is a town growing into it's own as an Arts hub, rising from the ashes of what once was a booming steeltown.
It's Moravian origins, the growth and demise of Bethlehem Steel, and the subsequent nurturing of the Visual and Performing Arts in this Leigh County town is something we plan on discovering more of.

Where Bethlehem Came From

Hand Crafted Moravian Stars

In 1741, a small group of Moravians, founded a mission community, naming it Bethlehem, along the banks of a tributary of the Lehigh River. Until the 1850s, only members of the Moravian Church were allowed land plots in Bethlehem. There are still historic buildings standing, remnants of the communal living of the Moravian culture from that time period. Tours are available by checking in at www.historicbethlehem.org
We stopped by what is reputed to be the oldest continually operating bookstore in the world. The Moravian Bookstore is quite inviting. It is actually four or five street front stores interconnected, including not just an interesting collection of books, but also unique gift items, a quaint cafe and a whole area within the store devoted to handmade Moravian Stars and other European inspired Christmas decorations. These geometric stars were adopted by the Moravian Church as a symbol of the birth of Jesus and represent the star of Bethlehem. According to tradition, a Moravian Star is hung the first Sunday of Advent and remains up until Epiphany, January 6, which is believed to when the wise men (or Magi) arrived to pay homage to Christ. The city of Bethlehem PA erects a large illuminated star that can be seen for miles during the Christmas season. During the holiday,  tours of decorated historic homes, churches, and special events occur throughout it's neighborhoods, earning it the name of "Christmas City."
Though the Moravian faith and traditions established the history of Bethlehem, What caused it's growth was steel. Starting in the late 1800s and throughout the 1900s, the Bethlehem Steel Company was the economic giant for the Lehigh County region. At it's height of production in the 50s and 60s, Bethlehem Steel was named the second-largest steel producer in the United States, with Pittsburgh Pennsylvania's US Steel taking top spot. The company became a major supplier of  steel for both World Wars, and became one of the larges shipbuilders, producing 1,100 warships for the United States war efforts.. After approximately 140 years of metal production at the Bethlehem Steel plant, the company closed operations of its massive foundries in Bethlehem in 1996. Bankruptcy and the closure were due to combination of cheaper imported steel, rising costs supporting pensioners and lack of innovations by it's management team. Many thought the closing of Bethlehem Steel would be the death knell for the surrounding town.
In 2006, Sands Casino Corporation brokered a deal that is the largest redevelopment project of a former industrialized property in the nation and the largest casino development investment made to date in the state of  Pennsylvania. To date, the casino is in operation, and old steel mill buildings are being methodically revitalized as entertainment venues, restaurants, and shopping areas. Within the revitalized area is where the Banana Factory, ArtQuest and SteelStacks are located.
The Historic district is only a short drive, or twenty minute walk from the site of the old Bethlehem Steel site, and has experienced it's own revitalization with interesting boutiques and a nice collection of eateries.

What to do in Bethlehem

SteelStacks, part of the old Bethlehem Steel Complex

The three Art Centers we visited were The Banana Factory, SteelStacks, and encopassing ArtQuest district. We visited the Banana Factory for their Urban Art Street Festival. Various performing and visual arts were highlighted, including glass-making, photography, jewelry craft, knitting, sculpture, street dance and 3-d chalk drawing. Some artists had booths selling their crafted pieces. Food trucks and Pennsylvania brewer Yuengling provided interesting lunch options. If visiting, The Banana Factory is open to the public on "First Fridays" and has other special events through the year. Check in at www.bananafactory.org for what is going on when you visit.
SteelStacks offers both a historical look at Bethlehem Steel, and acts as a backdrop to music and performing arts. Musikfest, an annual August festival since 1984, is held there. For a performance schedule, check in at  www.steelstacks.org
Besides the previously mentioned Moravian Bookstore in the Historical District, we also strolled off the main avenue to investigate the Steampunk exhibit being held in the Kemerer Museum of the Performing Arts. This museum is one of only fifteen in the United States concerned with the design and manufacture of beautiful objects that are also functional. The Steampunk exhibit was very interesting, but smaller than expected. What really made it interesting were the informative and friendly docents, giving  information on the various pieces in the collection. The Kemerer Museum afrer falling in disrepair was revitalized and re-opened in 2012, and features regionally influenced peices of decorative art. Check their hours and information on other historic Bethlehem locations at www.historicbethlehem.org
After enjoying our Steampunk adventure, as we walked to our car parked by the Moravian College, we passed a small festival in a park going on. It was located next to the Public Library We strolled over, and found out it was celebrating the connection with Bethlehem's sister city, Tondabayashi, Japan. There were demonstrations of Japanese culture, foods and hands-on origami folding . Was a cool little add-on to the day administered by students  from Moravian College and other volunteers.

Bethlehem really surprised us, from the variety of festivals, art community, historical finds, and the dining possibilities (which we didn't take advantage of this trip). We all agreed there were reasons for each of us - from teenage to fifties - to visit again!

Where we Stayed

When in the Kutztown area, we usually stay at Pine Hill RV Park. It's located right next to a horse farm, and a mile down the road is the lovely Pinnacle Ridge Winery, a small local vintner with some wines we enjoy. Pine Hill is a great park, especially for older couples. We did see families here, but currently the do not have a pool, which kids love, and there is road noise since you sit a top a hill overlooking Route 78. That does not bother us "city folk" though. I love the views and have grown up with the occasional loud truck.
Pine Hill has done lots of upgrades since we first visited in 2008. It's a great location for when we visit Hawk Mountain and Cabelas. It was also perfect for this trip as well. Central Bethlehem was only 30 minutes away, Allentown even closer and the RV park is only a few minutes from a shopping district. On Route 100 near where it intersects with Route 78, the Pine Hill Staff recommended we try the Starlite Diner for a meal. Glad we did - this is what a diner should be! great specials, an expansive menu, great salad and soup bar, and plenty of dessert options. Everyone in the RoadAbode Crew was full and enjoyed their meal.

"Just" another family weekend

Something I don't want to take for granted.  It's a bit amazing in this age of connectivity that all four of us still looked forward to being disconnected (maybe not totally) and away - with each other.  This weekend we were at Pine Hill RV Park, in Kutztown,  Pa. Between route 78 and old 22 we were backed up to a small farm with a llama,  horse,  donkey and a few dogs as their pets, and our entertainment. Road noise from 78 would bother country folk, but not us urban dwellers. It was pretty peaceful.
We toured Yuengling brewery, climbed Hawk Mountain, and drove some beautiful country side. Ate a few interesting meals, and didn't quite finish a bottle of 2012 Cayuga from Pinnacle Winery - a mile from our campsite.
But the best part - we were together with no life interruptions to take us away.
With the girls (and myself) getting older, don't know how many more weekends we will still have together like that.

Great Day in Kutztown

Actually we were in Kutztown, Lenhartsville, Kempton, and a a few other towns along the way. Basically we are in the Lehigh Valley area, somewhere between Reading and Lancaster PA. Got up late this morning, (7:30a) made coffee, and had breakfast with the girls, and then headed for the showers. Pine Hills RV Campground (No places for tents) has the showers just like I like them, and anterior room with plenty of hooks and even a shelf – and a shower with shelves as well. The only issue is that they have a timer on your shower – looks like long ago you had to pay for the shower. The coin box is still in operation to turn on the water, but it contains a token that you use to get the water going – for a “good” 6 minutes. The instructions were a bit complicated, but I finally figured them out for a nice hot shower. Only problem is it seems I take 7 minute showers. I was at the end of my shower, just done my feet Put soap in my travel box, went to rinse my hands – time up. I had to go thru the whole process of retrieving the token, winding up the mechanism, and starting the water – just to rinse my hands. Not the worse of problems, just a silly one.

Once back to RoadAbode, grabbed another coffee, brushed teeth, and headed out to Hawk Mountain. The ride there was scenic, thru farm land and wooded hills. Does seem the tent caterpillars are in full force this summer, some trees looked like they were covered in silky down. I also forgot how close the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary is to the Appalachian Trail – will have to hike this part sometime. We went into the visitors’ center there, and while Amy went to the desk to pay our visitor fee, I looked with the girls at some of the exhibits about the history of the mountain, and about raptors themselves. Perhaps it’s my age, or the level of “Political Correctness” these days, but I was a bit perturbed by the next exchange. I asked a staff member (I had to catch their attention -a group of them having a discussion about something) where a trash can was to dispose of my coffee cup. “Sir, we have a ‘pack it in, pack it out’ policy at the sanctuary, please take it with you.” I was puzzled by this, but said thank you, and headed back to the car to deposit the cup in the car, rather than have to take it on the trail. Is it environmentally better mojo, to have all guests “pack it out” – or will some – especially visiting schools, or some wise guys – fine places along the trail that they deem “packed out”? I have more on this later. The trail was very well kept, but very rocky. I reminded the girls to be care full along the way. We were rewarded with wonderful views of the mountains and valley below, but few raptors. (We are a bit early in the migration season) Amy had brought along some fruit, which once at the uppermost part of the trail – the North Face – was a great treat. The tempature and blue skys made the steep hike quite easy, and totally enjoyable. We enjoyed stopping at every lookout along the way. We headed back, tired a bit from the hike, but a good tired. One thing I noticed as we pulled out of the Parking lot. As we left the visitor lot, we passed the employee/volunteer lot. What do you think I saw there? A huge trash dumpster, the kind used for household type trash. So SOMEBODY is not “packing it in, packing it out”.
Our next stop was Crystal Cave, by request of Em. We hardly looked around the gift shop, tried to get ice cream (Icecream shop only took cash – we forgot our “big bills” at RoadAbode) and then waited for the cave tour to begin. It was the same as the last time we were there, but still enjoyable. I love watching the young teens that lead us thru the tour do their “spiel” hitting all the important points of the cavern, with a little humor thrown in. The young lady we had handled a few rambunctious kids very well – better than their own parents.
After our Cave tour, the girls didn’t even want to peruse the gift shop, we were hungry and our meal was at our next stop. By request of me, we were eating at Cabela’s Outdoors shop. They have a resurant on their second gfloor, and I had heard I could get Elk, Boar, Bison, even rattlesnake in my meal! Well the rattlesnake was not to be had, but I tried a bratwust made from bison, the girls went for mare traditional fare. Meal was good, and portions big. I wish I wasn’t filled so quickly, or I could have tried an elk burger, wild boar wrap, or duck hot wings. We wandered around a bit, gawking at the stuffed wild game displays, and the huge fresh water aquarium. The girls checked out the “bargain Cave” and the sidewalk sale, but still couldn’t find anything they deemed a real bargain. So we headed home to RoadAbode, full but ready for dessert.
Once back, we headed to the office for some ice-cream. Not cheap, but good. (told ‘em we should stop at a supermarket and get a half gallon, but there must be something special about “camp store ice-cream”) We rested a bit, took a walk around the campground, checking out other rigs as usual. We found out the neighboring farm had horses – and a llama, so we returned with carrots for them. Girls had fun feeding. We returned to our campsite, had a fire, some marshmallows and pistachios, and then a little ‘show’ with some rainbow crystals from the camp store, to have a fire of blues, greens, purples and oranges. Quite pretty! Girls are enjoying a bit of tv, and are ready for bed. A great day! Here’s a few pictures:

How they Sealed Each Sites Sewer connection at Pine Hills

Directional Plaque at Hawk Mountain
The Rocky Trail
A Stick bug on the trail
Am and Kim at North Face Lookout
A Stuffed moose
Where we had "linner"
By the Campfire