Handbook: Pennsylvania

Rolling hills covered in farmland and forested mountains comprise most of the Keystone State.
When mining and manufacturing hit, most of Pennsylvania’s small towns dwindled away to nothing, but places like Erie, Pittsburgh and Ohiopyle are still interesting, thriving destinations. Lititz, historic Gettysburg and Philadelphia, on the other side of the state, will immerse you in our nation’s history. State parks and even a national forest provide plenty of opportunity to get into nature and camp, too.
Featured Articles on Pennsylvania
Chasing Autumn: Small Towns, State Parks and National Forests in Pennsylvania

Touring the best Pennsylvania has to offer come the changing of the leaves.
Pittsburgh, PA

A brief history of Pittsburgh followed by a gallery of unbelievable images of the city by local and indie photographers.
Ohiopyle, PA

White water rating in this town with a population of less than 60!
More Articles on Pennsylvania
Getting around in the ‘Burgh

From inclined planes to bicycle lanes, how to get around Pittsburgh
The Southside

A walk through Pittsburgh’s Southside neighborhood.
Coca Cafe & Lawrenceville

Our favorite breakfast spot in Pittsburgh, Coca Cafe is as funky and offbeat as it’s neighborhood, Lawrenceville.
Crazy Mocha for Coffee

A local coffee shop that began small and took over the city. Free Wi-Fi, good coffee, all over Pittsburgh.
Dinner in the Strip District

A bustling outdoor market by day, elegant nightlife hotspot when the sun goes down.
Market Square

Pittsburgh’s downtown park in a castle made of glass.
Shadyside & Harris Grill

A look at Pittsburgh’s oldest “trendy” neighborhood, Shadyside.
Pittsburgh, PA

Links to articles about our favorite neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, PA.
Bike PGH

An interview with Scott Bricker, Executive Director for Pittsburgh’s bicycle advocacy non-profit, Bike Pittsburgh.
The Mattress Factory

A reminiscing on the bewilderment that is Pittsburgh’s Mattress Factory, an installation museum and mind fuck.
A Bicycle Route Through Three of Pittsburgh’s City Parks

The story of a bike ride through Pittsburgh, a guided tour of sorts, from Shadyside, up the Squirrel Hill, through Mellon Park, Point Breeze, Homewood Cemetery, into the heart of Squirrel Hill, and onto Schenley Park…and then wherever else you’d like to go!
Pittsburgh, a Music Scene. A Guided Tour by Local DJ Ian Friend

Ian Friend, local DJ, walks us through Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods and their music scenes, from Southside to Lawrenceville, Bloomfield and Polish Hill.
Blog Posts About Pennsylvania
Greetings from Western Pennsylvania

The changing of the leaves in old steel country.
Greetings from Atop the Inclined Plane in Johnstown, PA

They tell me, it would have been bigger than Pittsburgh…
Chasing Autumn through the Alleghenies of Pennsylvania

A burning tinge of stained wine and golf leaf spots the endless rolling countryside of rural Pennsylvania while we all linger in the moments between a faded summer and any length of time we might be afforded before colder climes appear.
Pennsylvania Lessons in Distracted Driving

Lessons on keeping your eyes on the road…
Greetings from Ohiopyle, PA!

The hippest little mountain town in PA. Whitewater rafting, hiking and rolling green hills galore.
Nostalgia, Finding Beauty, and Pennsylvania

We’ve been to places so full of cool stuff, I can remember certain times when we’d think things like, “Yeah, it’s okay,” about a monumental vista or gorgeous waterbound sunset. I’m thinking of Utah, where two weeks in Zion National Park was spectacular enough to leave us feeling like Bryce Canyon was just okay. Then […]
Updates from our Life: the Road
Leaving New England, and as we passed through what New York had left and exchanged $10 / pack cigarettes for the Pennsylvania Wilds, heading back to Pittsburgh via the PA Grand Canyon and all of it’s splendor, it certainly feels like we’re finishing one trip to embark on another. The next stretch, through Ohio and […]
Day One: Pittsburgh
A first day on the road brought a gorgeous walk through my former homeland of Pittsburgh, PA. Riverwalks along the Allegheny and bridges a’plenty remind of how this city sits on par with modern day well known bastions of popular urban dwelling like Austin and Portland. If you find yourself in the fortunate graces of […]
The Second Chapter
A week spent in the heatwave that is a muggy Central Pennsylvania June brought some renovations to the old Bus as we gear up for the second season of our outting-as-a-lifestyle we call living in our 1978 Riviera Campwagon Champaigne Edition VW Bus. After leaving our lovely coastal home of Manzanita, OR, where we wiled […]
Two Paths You Can Go Back, but in the Long Run
As we hopped state lines like schoolyard jump ropes these past few days, I was continually drawn to memories of the passing Pittsburgh summer mixed with the anticipation of West Coast adventure. Originally, this roadtrip was to be a reunion of my old high school skate crew; two of them still living close to home […]
A Fourth of July in Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh PA loves it’s fireworks, and the locals can show you the best of times…um, kind of.
Timezoning
Another day of grandiose Interstating as we dodged dinosaurus rigs and managed to cross the Missouri, the Great Plains and all but 15 miles of Colorado. The speeding pace has me thrown off a bit and the laggy drag that is Kansas by I-70 wasn’t exactly splendiferous, but the rewards of a Rocky Mountain sunset […]
Statehoppers
After an all-star 4th of July romp in my beautiful hometown of Pittsburgh PA, my friend Phil and I hopped in a rental car, Western-bound for the blue waters of Lake Tahoe. While taking it slow is the name of the game in the RV, for this countrywide jaunt we’ve hopped everything between Pennsylvania and […]
Riding American Rails, Part 4: Of A Homeward Persuasion
The season of mashed potato sandwich leftovers and reminiscing over family dinners is two hours away from being past tense. Only moments ago we finished quite the dinner with the Zabielski’s, Tristans favorite grandparents with a Pittsburgh address. The Church Brew Works, an historic landmark and former Catholic church turned brewery/eatery, was kind enough to […]
A Campers Motto
The night sounds in these Pennsylvania Wilds certainly live up to their name. The campsite we’re living in for the week is a wonderfully spacious place, and we’ve found a particularly out of the way spot that comes with more of a tent camping feeling to it than anything. In fact, aside from the faint […]
Pulling on the Yellow Lines Again
Tristan and I up and down through the mountains of the Pennsylvania Wilds as we begin a week-long stint on PA’s infamous Route 6, and then up into New England for an Autumn drive.
20 Days in Ebensburg, PA
Ebensburg Pennsylvania has all of the outward qualities of the perfect small American town, from big grassy yards to quaint brick roads and gazebo strewn parks. Of course, they have no local businesses because everyone shops at Walmart, the only restaurants are pizza places (bad pizza), and they frown upon people hanging out in the parks. But other than that, I’d keep on moving…
Somerset County Carnival
Climbing down and crawling up these mountains we found ourselves back on the road today, and the road was curvy windy through cattleyards, them grazing in their apple tree shade, and long and steady like a hot engine uphill. Being in motion is slower these days, but it leaves more time for the mind to […]
Death Wishes of a Western Pennsylvanian
“I’ll die up in them woods,” and his face reminds me of so many old friends who might’ve been named Cliff or Rob. He heard me tell the conductor I was headed to Johnstown and so we were destined to sit next to eachother on the Amtrak from Pittsburgh, me to Johnstown. Flood City, he […]
Camp Supreme 2008: Ohiopyle, PA
7:25am and the telephone’s ringing straight into a Saturday morning. And it’s Flood. For those of you unfamiliar with teh man’s particular charms, he’s a vibrant and full on young man who is always set t maximum. We were scheduled to leave at 10am, but he’s been up all night itching to go, laying in […]