Hiking Wissahickon Creek Gorge Loop Trail

September 24, 2019 By Hollie in hiking Tags: fitness, hike, hiking, pennsylvannia, philadelphia, sports

Wissahickon Creek Gorge Loop Trail (Philadelphia, PA)

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I wanted to check out the Wissahickon Creek Gorge Loop Trail near Philadelphia. The Wissahickon Creek Gorge Loop Trail is located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that features multiple trails for runners, hikers, and mountain bikers. The orange trail and white trail and slightly more technical than Forbidden Drive. The Friends of the Wissahickon do a great job maintaining the trails for the city of Philadelphia.

We’ve run at Wissahickon dozens of times but never taken the back trails and hiked. The Wissahickon Creek Gorge Loop Trail is a 9.2 mile trafficked loop trail. It has a waterfall and isn’t too technical that with the right shoes, most people are able to hike.

If you’ve never been The Wissahickon Valley Park, there are more than 50 miles of trails. You can run, hike, or bike and forget you’re still in Philadelphia.

The main trail, Forbidden Drive, runs five miles along Wissahickon Creek. Forbidden Drive is a wide, flat, gravel, road that I’ve run on many times.

While HikingWissahickon Creek Gorge Loop Trail You’ll see a little bit of everything Philadelphia has to offer:

Wissahickon Gorge
Valley Green Inn
Covered Bridge
Fingerspan Bridge
Runners, hikers, and mountain bikers
Possibly horseback riders too (We didn’t that day, but we do many times we are running)

Hiking Wissahickon Greek Gorge Loop Trail

No fast runners allowed

At the top of Chestnut Hill while hiking Wissahickon Creek Gorge Loop Trail

The Wissahickon Gorge

The main attraction of hiking Wissahickon Creek Gorge Loop Trail.

hiking over the Fingerspan Bridge bridge at Wissahickon Creek Gorge Loop Trail

You can see all hikes here.

In all, it was a great afternoon. Let me know, have you been hiking in Philadelphia? What’s your favorite part?

Penrose Diner (Philadelphia)

August 25, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, brunch, coffee, Diner, eggs, pennsylvannia, philadelphia 1 Comment

Penrose Diner (Philadelphia, PA)

While my dad was driving through, we decided to go to the Penrose Diner in South Philly. Despite being in Pennsylvania, it’s only about 10 minutes from my house. If you fly into the Philadelphia airport, it’s right there.

Penrose Diner Atmosphere: A
The parking lot of the Penrose Diner is small. It can be hard to find a parking spot. Even if every spot is taken, the diner is massive, so there are probably seats inside.

The inside has plenty of booths, tables, and a full-length bar, plus a large bakery case.

Penrose Diner Coffee: A
The Penrose Diner serves locally brewed Lacas coffee. It was brewed hot and fresh, and the waitress refilled it often. I have no complaints, and it was great.

Penrose Diner Food: B
We arrived around breakfast time. The Penrose Diner menu serves everything from breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There are a lot of interesting dinner options like crab cakes I want to try.

Since it was breakfast time, I ordered the steak and eggs. I didn’t order the “T-Bone” but instead the regular steak and eggs. (The T-Bone was 16 ounces). My meal came with steak, two eggs (I ordered scrambled), toast, and potatoes.

The meal was good. I ordered my steak rare, but it came out a little bit more cooked than I preferred. That being said, it was a typical diner meal: plenty of food. I was happy with my choice.

Penrose Diner Service: A
Our waitress was friendly, and our food came out fast. She made funny remarks like: “you guys are splurging for breakfast.” We had both chosen steak and eggs, the most expensive breakfast option.

Penrose Diner Cost: $
For my steak and eggs, plus coffee, it was $20. It was a lot of food.

Overall Thoughts/Would I come back to the Penrose Diner?
I liked the Penrose Diner and would go back. I’m interested in trying dinner.

Atmosphere: A
Coffee: A
Food: B
Service: A
Cost: $10-20
Overall: A

You can see all diner reviews here.

Questions for you:
What’s your favorite breakfast?
How do you like eggs?

DeLuca’s Diner (Pittsburgh)

July 14, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: breakfast, brunch, coffee, Diner, diners, food, pennsylvannia, pittsburgh, review, salad

DeLuca’s Diner (Pittsburgh, PA)

Recently I was in the greater in the Pittsburgh area, and I wanted to try a new diner. A quick google search found the DeLuca’s Diner.

DeLuca’s Diner Atmosphere: A
DeLuca’s Diner is located in a large shopping center. The inside is brightly painted with the solar system. There are plenty of booths, tables, and a small bar as well. It is stereotypical of a diner.

DeLuca’s Diner Coffee: A
The coffee was brewed hot and fresh, and the waitress refilled it often. In all, I have no complaints. While the mugs given were not personalized, they have many options for sale.

I ended up purchasing a personalized coffee mug (which the proceeds go to a local animal shelter!). How awesome is that?

DeLuca’s Diner Food: A
There are plenty of menu options from all-day breakfast and lunch.

Here are a few DeLuca’s Diner menu options that interested me:

Mancini raisin toast and marbled rye toast (nowhere has marbled rye)
Soft tortilla filled with refried beans, tomatoes, onions, and hot peppers.
House salad

All-day lunch isn’t something you find everywhere! From the tables around me, everything looked delicious.

I decided to order a breakfast sandwich. It came with meat, cheese, and an egg, all on a homemade piece of bread. It was a great sandwich, and I have no complaints.

DeLuca’s Diner Service: A
The waitress was friendly, and our food came out quickly. I couldn’t have asked for better service.

DeLuca’s Diner Cost: $
For my sandwich and coffee, it was $10.

Overall Thoughts/Summary of DeLuca’s Diner:
I enjoyed Deluca’s Diner, and if I’m in Pittsburgh again, I will be back. The pancakes at a table nearby looked amazing, and I want to try those next.

Atmosphere: A
Coffee: A
Food: A
Service: A
Cost: $7-12
DeLuca’s Diner Overall: A

You can see all diner reviews here.

Questions for you:
What’s your favorite breakfast sandwich?
Have you been to Pittsburgh before?

Lyndon Diner (York, PA)

June 23, 2019 By Hollie in Diners Tags: blt, bread, breakfast, brunch, coffee, diners, food, menu, pennsylvannia, review 3 Comments

Lyndon Diner (York, PA)

While traveling through PA (the first time?) of my summer driving, I stopped at the Lyndon Diner in York. They have two locations in York and Lancaster. The Lyndon Diner has been on my to-do list for a while now, but the timing never works out.

I was excited that the timing worked out.

Lyndon Diner Atmosphere: A
The Lyndon Diner looks like a stereotypical diner. The outside is built with chrome and is a big, shiny, metallic, exterior.

The inside of the Lyndon Diner has plenty of booths, tables, a full-length bar, and dessert case. It’s a picturesque diner in all of the best ways.

Lyndon Diner Coffee: A
The coffee at the Lyndon Diner was brewed hot and fresh. Plus, the whipped cream is homemade. The waitress brought plenty of refills. In all, it was one of the best coffees I’ve had in a while.

Lyndon Diner Food: A
The Lyndon Diner menu has everything you would want and need in a diner. From all-day breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

A few of the Lyndon Diner menu options that stood out:

Canadian bacon
potato skins
crab cakes
breakfast specials like hash browns with shredded cheese

It was hard to choose! I decided with the BLT.

First, the meals came with a bread basket with pumpkin bread. It might be the best pumpkin bread I’ve tried. It seemed odd to have pumpkin bread in May, but I won’t complain because it was delicious.

I also ordered the Greek platter, which came with pita bread, hummus, olives, grapes leaves, lettuce, and tomatoes. It was huge and worth it.

The BLT was packed full of meat, bacon, and diced tomatoes. Plus the unpictured cole slaw.

It also came with a mixture of nuts and sweetener (I think). I still don’t know exactly what it was or what it was for, but it was delicious.

I also ordered sweet potato fries, which I think were the best fries I’ve had. They were crunchy, and you could taste the sweet potatoes.

My meal was delicious, and I would order it again.

Lyndon Diner Service: A
The waitress at the Lyndon Diner immediately introduced herself, and she said she was new. Truthfully, I would have never guessed if she never told me. She refilled our beverages fast, our food came out quickly, and she was friendly.

Cost: $
For my coffee, Greek platter, and BLT, the cost was $16.

Overall Thoughts/Summary of the Lyndon Diner:
I liked the Lyndon Diner, and I’m glad I stopped. I would love to go back, and it was a positive experience. I highly recommend if you’re going through Lancaster and York.

Atmosphere: A
Cost: A
Food: A
Service: A
Cost: $8-17
Overall: A

You can see all diner reviews here.

Questions for you:
Do you like pumpkin bread?
What’s your favorite bread?

Hiking Tuscarora Mountain

June 21, 2019 By Hollie in hiking Tags: fitness, hike, hiking, nature, pennsylvannia, spiders, sports 1 Comment

Tuscarora Mountain

On the way home from Indianapolis, my husband and I decided to stop at the Tuscarora Mountains for a 2-hour hike. I’m not someone who road trips very well (meaning about 5 hours is my limit for sitting still, and I need to use the bathroom every couple of hours.) The weather was perfect, and we thought it would be a good stop. Since my husband grew up in the area, he knew Tuscarora Mountain well.

The Tuscarora Mountains are an accessible destination to get to if you’re in central PA and Franklin Counties. Many main roads like the Pennsylvania turnpike come within minutes of the trailhead for Tuscarora Mountain. There are a few hiking trails that reach the summit of Tuscarora Mountain, but you can also park at the top of the big mountain and admire the view.

We saw a few deer as well as a few giant spiders at Tuscarora Mountain. This was a little to close for comfort.

The trail at Tuscarora Mountain is one of the more overgrown trails we’ve been too recently. Some spots have a calf-length grass. I advise you to wear long pants (even if it’s hot) and use bug spray. The public health major in me, says that Lyme disease is most prevalent in PA so be protected.).

There are a few rocky spots, especially to the summit of Tuscarora Mountain, but for the most part, it’s an easy trail. It’s 4 miles out and back (8 round trip), but if you feel like that’s too overwhelming, you can park at the top of Tuscarora Mountain and walk down then back up.

The trail at Tuscarora Mountain is well marked, and unless you decide to go bushwhacking, it’s next to impossible to get lost.

The top of Tuscarora Mountain is worth the climb and even if you want to make a pit stop and just drive to the top, it’s beautiful. It’s one of my favorite summits of hiking so far. Since we have family around here, it would be a fun stop to go back. It looks like there are plenty of trails.

You Can See More Hikes Here.

Questions for you:

Are you a fan of road trips? How long can you sit in a car?

Do you like hiking?

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Hiking Wissahickon Creek Gorge Loop Trail

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Penrose Diner (Philadelphia)

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Lyndon Diner (York, PA)

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Hiking Tuscarora Mountain

Tuscarora Mountain

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Tuscarora Mountain

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