Living in South Central PA is a great place to live. You are a day's drive to many destinations whether it's to the shore, mountains or to a number of cities. Some local sites of interest are Hershey Park, Hershey Gardens. If you like the outdoors you may want to visit Mount Gretna during the summer. Mount Gretna has an outdoor theatre, and don't forget to visit the jigger shop for ice cream.

Lancaster County Dutch

To tour Lancaster County's Dutch country go to www.800padutch.com this web site will give you information on not only the Amish but also on Lancaster County has 28 covered bridges, and one is on the way to Paradise, a small village east of Lancaster City. Built in 1893, the Paradise Bridge is supported by the Theodore Burr arch and crosses over the Pequea Creek on Belmont Road.

Intercourse is the hub where the Amish and local folks do their business and host thousands of visitors each year. The beautiful Amish farms surround the Village, which is located on the Old Philadelphia Pike (Route 340), earlier known as King's Highway, in Eastern Lancaster County. Intercourse is in close proximity to all Lancaster Country attractions and, in particular, our sister Villages of Bird-In-Hand and Strasburg. The Village stands as a clear reminder of our traditional American heritage as people live by a simpler way of life.

Lancaster County has just about as many unique shops as they have horse shoes! Many of the products sold here are also manufactured here: Amish quilts, indoor and outdoor furniture, toys, household goods, and more. Plus, our local craftsmen have developed a reputation for superior quality.

Pennsylvania's only President James Buchanan and was elected the 15th President of the United States at the age of 65. For more information go to: www.wheatland.org

Historic

There are a number National Historic properties and districts in South Central PA. One is located in Annville Pa, Lebanon County, and close by in the town of Cornwall the Cornwall Iron Furnace is on the National Historic Register. For more information about Historic locations go to www.nr.npg.gov

Agriculture

Residential growth has been moving along at a good pace yet there still remains a lot of beautiful farmland in the area. If you are interested in agriculture go to the PA Farm Show held every January in Harrisburg PA. Here is the web site: www.farmshow.state.pa.us Another source for Pennsylvania Ag, is: agmap.psu.edu/

Local Sports and More

For the sports enthusiast South Central PA has three minor league baseball teams: Barnstormers in Lancaster: http://lancasterbarnstormers.com Senators in Harrisburg: http://senatorsbaseball.com Reading Phillies in Reading PA: www.readingphillies.com

My son loves baseball and now more than ever baseball has become a year round sport since Campbelltown is home to an indoor sports complex called In-The-Net. Full Count is locally owned and operated and has partnered with In-The-Net. Full Count also has great outdoor baseball fields. For more information about Full Count go to: www.fullcountpa.com

Hershey Bears play Hockey in the Giant Center next to Hershey Park. For their schedule go to: www.hersheypa.com/events/hershey_bears

The Giant Center also has concerts, and many other events for detailed information go to: www.hersheypa.com/events/giant_center/

For the golf enthusiasts you will find many golf courses in South Central PA. To obtain information on Hershey Golf courses www.hersheylinks.com or go to http://pagolftrips.com for local golf package offerings. Every October the Antique Auto Club of America holds one of the worlds largest auto shows at Hershey.

If you're into skiing close by is Ski Roundtop. At Ski Roundtop they offer snow tubing, paintball a ropes course, and much more, Web site: www.skiroundtop.com or go to: http://skicentral.com/pennsylvania.html to learn more about skiing in PA.

Theatre

If you enjoy the theatre and the Arts you will find many venues. As I mentioned earlier Mount Gretna has an out door theatre in addition there is the Timbers Diner Theatre located in the beautiful majestic and peaceful surroundings. The Whitaker Center for Science and Arts is a great place visit for children, concerts and performances. Web site: www.whitakercenter.org

Dutch Apple Theatre in the heart of Lancaster County consistently provides top quality productions, award-winning food and exceptional service to over 150,000 guests annually. The theatre seats 380 and is located in the heart of the Amish Country in southeastern Pennsylvania. It features a simple yet sophisticated charm you won't find in many theatres. Web site: www.dutchapple.com

Don't miss the Beautiful Hershey Theatre located in downtown Hershey, Pennsylvania, this magnificent theatre has established itself as the area's premier performing arts center, presenting the finest in touring Broadway shows, classical music and dance attractions, and world-renowned entertainers. Don't the Spotlight Tour, a one-hour walking tour of the theater each Friday at 11 AM! Experience the tour that takes you behind the scenes of "The Most Impressive Theatre in Pennsylvania". Web site: www.hersheytheatre.com

Colleges

If you're thinking about college you have a number of choices: Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Lebanon Valley College in Annville, F&M College in Lancaster, Millersville College in Millersville, and Lancaster County Bible College in Lancaster and HACC Harrisburg Area Community College in Harrisburg PA. To learn more about PA. Colleges and universities go to: www.univsource.com/pa.htm

Local Schools

Start here: www.personal.psu.edu/ekd1/schoolsp.html to learn more about the schools in South Central PA Covering Lebanon, Dauphin, Lancaster, Cumberland, Perry Counties and more.

Amusement & State Parks

Hershey Park has what you're looking for whether its wooden or steel roller coasters, water rides, rides for children, shows and more. Web site for Hershey Park: www.hersheypark.com

Knoebels Amusement Resort. Knoebels has been owned and operated by the Knoebel family since 1926. Located in Elysburg, PA, the park is situated in a beautiful pine and hardwood forest. At Knoebels you can pay per ride or get a pass for more detailed information go to: www.knoebels.com

Pennsylvania has many lakes and state parks in the region. If you like to hike, cannoning, fishing, camping go to: www.dcnr.state.pa.us

Memorial Lake State Park is surrounded by Fort Indian Gap, a Military reservation North of Annville. The park consists of 230 acres in scenic Lebanon County near the southern base of Blue Mountain.

Little Buffalo State Park is located in Perry County which is north west of Harrisburg PA. Here you can enjoy boating, swimming, boating, hunting. During the winter you maybe able to ice fish, skate or cross county ski weather permitting.

Pine Grove State Park. Steeped in natural and historical features, 0ver 600 acre Pine Grove State Park is in a beautiful mountain setting located in Southern Cumberland County.

Gifford Pinchot State Park has over 2000 acres in Northern York County. The main attraction is the 340 Pinchot Lake.

To learn more about Pennsylvania's State parks go to: www.dcnr.state.pa.us

Transportation

South Central PA covering Lancaster, Lebanon, Harrisburg areas are close to major highways. If you're driving from Philadelphia the best road is Route 76 Pennsylvania Turnpike Coming from Maryland to Harrisburg region you will want Route's 83, 81 or 15 north. If designation is Lancaster you may want to look at using route 83 then using route 30 east. Coming from the north you will most likely use 81 South or any combination of routes 22 / 78 to get to Route 81. If you are coming from west of the Susquehanna River then Route 11/15

Traveling by Air the closest air port is Harrisburg International Airport. Web site: www.flyhia.com two other airports that are used are Philadelphia international airport or Baltimore / Washington international airport, BWI. BWI and Philadelphia are about a 1 ½ hour drive to the Lancaster, Harrisburg / Hershey / Lebanon region.

Here is an interesting Web site, how to book a train travel from New York to Harrisburg. www.ehow.com/how_2023134_train-new-york.html

To travel by train to Hershey, www.hersheymeetings.com/location/train.php

For Bus travel this web site will give you many options, www.superpages.com/yellowpages/C-Bus+Charter/S-PA/T-Harrisburg/

If you traveling from out of the area and need a motel / hotel go to: http://haveanicestay.com

Pennsylvania Wines

Looking for Pennsylvania wineries use this web site, www.allamericanwineries.com/AAWMain/ResultsPA.htm. For the wineries and breweries in PA Dutch Country, Lancaster this link will be helpful www.padutch.com/mem-wine.shtml The winery in West Hanover Township near Hershey is a great one to visit: www.westhanoverwinery.net.

Antiques

Looking for antiques, then you hit the jack pot here in South Central PA. Adamstown is well known for its abundance of antique dealers. Adamstown is close to the Pennsylvania Turnpike at exit 286. Some of the antique dealers are RENNINGER'S ANTIQUES/COLLECTIBLES MARKET, STOUDT'S BLACK ANGUS ANTIQUE MALL, ADAMSTOWN ANTIQUE MALL, HERITAGE ANTIQUE CENTER, and many more. For more information and directions go to: www.antiquescapital.com/index.asp

North of Hershey Park is the ANTIQUE AUTO MUSEUM. When you visit the AACA Museum, you'll see 85-100 vehicles on display in a state-of-the-art facility. Collection vehicles range from an 1895 Chicago Motor Benton Harbor, to a 1924 REO Funeral Hearse, to a 1977 Chrysler Cordoba with fine Corinthian leather seats! Here is the Web Site: www.hersheypa.com/attractions/in_hershey/aaca_museum.html

Another local antique location is in Columbia PA. The building was once the town's local hardware store. Take a few minuets and check this out, www.burningbridgeantiques.com

Here's a web site that provides information about antiques in the Carlisle area, www.carlisle-antiques.com

On Route 743 midway between Elizabethtown and Hershey is ZIEGLERS ANTIQUES their website does not provide much information but it is worth your time to stop by. Their web site is, http://zieglersantiques.com

While you're in the Hershey area stop by OLDE FACTORY ANTIQUES AND CRAFTS located in Hummelstown the web site is very helpful in that it shows you what to expect, and they also offer baskets. Here is the Web site: www.oldefactory.com

For antiques in Pennsylvania go to, http://iantiquesguide.com/dealers/PA.HTML