Virtual vacation deals that aren’t for the birds

 By Christine Haines

Whether you want to visit Pennsylvania Dutch country, go skiing in the Laurel Highlands or Poconos, or explore the Pennsylvania countryside, www.visitpa.com is one of the best places to start.

This state-government sponsored tourism Website provides plenty of tools for planning a trip to any section of the state. More importantly, it has declared January “Cabin Fever” month and it lists hotels, inns and bed and breakfasts that offer stay one night/get one free deals good in January only.

As I’ve noted in previous columns, I hate traveling in the winter because of questionable road conditions. But I also love a bargain and a quick weekend get-away is always welcome.

One year my husband and I decided to head to Pittsburgh for a weekend, instead of just taking a quick day trip. Our hotel (remember, one night free) offered a swimming pool and free cocktails (non-alcoholic options available) and a fitness center among its amenities. It was also close to one of our favorite restaurants, which, not coincidentally, offers discount coupons on www.restaurant.com.

We spent the next day at the National Aviary on Pittsburgh’s North Shore (it was just the Pittsburgh Aviary on the North Side when I was growing up.) It was great. The weather that year really wasn’t that cold for January, but it was still January, with the colorless landscape that an area filled with deciduous trees has in the winter.

That wasn’t the case inside the aviary. We quickly shed our coats and cleaned the fog from our glasses as we entered room after room of tropical treasures. Exotic birds and lush green plants surrounded us and the dreariness of winter in a northern state disappeared. We also had a chance to see some of our favorite raptors up close.

 

I’m not sure which Cabin Fever discount site we’ll select this year, if any, but there are some wonderful options,  like the Inne at Watson’s Choice, with an in-depth tour of Fallingwater, or Angelspring Farm Wellness Center, with it’s massage therapy options.

It could be a great opportunity to stay at some of the more unusual offerings in the state at deeply discounted prices, such as the Artist’s Inn and Gallery and a tour of nearby Amish quilt shops or the Lancaster Arts Hotel, which each room has been decorated by a different artist.

At the Dog and Pony Inn in Crawford County you can even bring your own dogs or horses for a modest fee (we have neither, but like both.) There are also numerous bed and breakfasts located on Pennsylvania farms among the Cabin Fever offerings. It could be a tough choice this year.

Send me your favorite vacation experiences and photos by e-mailing chris@howyouspinit.com.

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Four museums, one great vacation

By Christine Haines

After more than 15 years of historic reenacting and decades of visiting historic sites as a tourist I thought there was little new for me to see at an old site. Then I visited Old Salem.

Two of my nieces attended Salem Academy in Winston-Salem, N.C., which is adjacent to the Old Salem historic site.

Given our tendency to visit historic sites for vacation one would think my husband and I would have gotten there while they were still students and served as volunteers at Old Salem. So of course I went the summer after the youngest had graduated and headed north for college.

Salem was founded by a group of Moravian missionaries in 1766. Many of the structures in Old Salem are the original construction.

Costumed staff members still practice many of the crafts done by the original tradesmen in the 18^th and 19^th centuries.

 

The gunsmith/blacksmith can be found at his shop carving gunstocks and fitting the hardware for custom rifles. Baked goods are made fresh daily in a huge, wood-fired bake oven. They are outstanding in any century.

Visiting the tinsmith we saw something we had never seen at an historic site before: a high-intensity candle lamp, created by focusing the light through a globe of water.

I wish we would have had time to tour all four museums at Old Salem, but we had only allotted one day, so we limited ourselves to the visitors’ center, the town of Salem and the Toy Museum. Not having any young children with us we would have passed on the Children’s Museum anyhow, though those with youngsters should definitely include it. The Children’s Museum takes the concepts of the 18^th and 19^th century crafts and puts them into formats young children can experience and understand.

I am so glad we allowed enough time to experience the Toy Museum. Some of the toys date back as early as 225 A.D., though most are from the 19^th century. There are tiny tea sets, completely furnished dollhouses, even entire zoos and circuses. An early forerunner of animation, the zoetrope, is one of the many optical toys. The detail and care put into the design of the toys is amazing.

There just wasn’t time to add a tour of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA). MESDA is like a life-size dollhouse, featuring 24 fully furnished rooms with all of the accoutrements, plus six galleries. The museum features early Southern furniture, artwork, textiles and ceramics in a variety of styles.Check http://www.oldsalem.org for more information about Old Salem, including photos inside the museums where photography is not generally permitted.

Please e-mail your favorite vacation information and photos to chris@howyouspinit.com.

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