Hawk Mountain
Yesterday, Beth and I went to Hawk Mountain. We didn't see any hawks (though we did see a bunch of migrating robins), but it's a really beautiful area, even when its raining.
The Hawk Mountain trails are pretty different from most nature trails I've been on. At first I couldn't quite place it, but then it occurred to me that they're far less finished than state parks I've been to. I don't know whether it's because Hawk Mountain is a privately run organization, or because this is rural Pennsylvania or what, but parts of the trails are rocky, with offshoot trails that have signs on them which say, "the [name] trail requires scrambling on rocks". It was great!
As much as I enjoyed the trails themselves, the views were amazing. Every few hundred to few thousand feet, there would be a bunch of big rocks off on the side of the trail where you could go stand on them and look out over the valley and stuff (the rocks kept trees from growing below and getting into your way). We even saw a rainbow! (pictures at the bottom of the post).
On our way back, we stopped a Sonoco where Beth got some hot chocolate. It may have been because we were cold and rained on but happy, but that was tasty hot chocolate! Afterwards we had dinner at Buca di Beppo which is — to say the least — an interesting restaurant. The food is good, and not as expensive as, say, the Olive Garden (conveniently located across the road from Buca in Whitehall), but the really striking part is the wall decorations. The walls are absolutely covered in tasteless, italian themed stuff. Pictures make up the majority of it, but there are also statues and the occasional 3d-ish-picture (not quite a hologram, it still produces a 3D appearance, I think by compositing two pictures at slightly different angles). It's impressive how tasteless and in some cases offensive the pictures are.
Still, the food is really tasty and they have fabulous garlic bread (and bruschetta).
Pictures from Hawk Mountain:
The Hawk Mountain trails are pretty different from most nature trails I've been on. At first I couldn't quite place it, but then it occurred to me that they're far less finished than state parks I've been to. I don't know whether it's because Hawk Mountain is a privately run organization, or because this is rural Pennsylvania or what, but parts of the trails are rocky, with offshoot trails that have signs on them which say, "the [name] trail requires scrambling on rocks". It was great!
As much as I enjoyed the trails themselves, the views were amazing. Every few hundred to few thousand feet, there would be a bunch of big rocks off on the side of the trail where you could go stand on them and look out over the valley and stuff (the rocks kept trees from growing below and getting into your way). We even saw a rainbow! (pictures at the bottom of the post).
On our way back, we stopped a Sonoco where Beth got some hot chocolate. It may have been because we were cold and rained on but happy, but that was tasty hot chocolate! Afterwards we had dinner at Buca di Beppo which is — to say the least — an interesting restaurant. The food is good, and not as expensive as, say, the Olive Garden (conveniently located across the road from Buca in Whitehall), but the really striking part is the wall decorations. The walls are absolutely covered in tasteless, italian themed stuff. Pictures make up the majority of it, but there are also statues and the occasional 3d-ish-picture (not quite a hologram, it still produces a 3D appearance, I think by compositing two pictures at slightly different angles). It's impressive how tasteless and in some cases offensive the pictures are.
Still, the food is really tasty and they have fabulous garlic bread (and bruschetta).
Pictures from Hawk Mountain:
