Almost six years ago I left Pennsylvania behind in favor of new adventure, yearlong warm-ish weather, and a chance to start over. I had grown weary of Pennsylvania, disillusioned by the small-town mentality where I was living, the lack of decent jobs/wages, and a dating pool that I felt was more like a cesspool.
It’s taken me most of those years away to realize how much I love my home. Now I get increasingly excited to go back to Pennsylvania, no matter the time of year. I’ve missed the seasons, the feeling of familiarity, being close to friends and family, and all the back roads that lead to some of the coolest discoveries ever.
On Wednesday I’m heading home for a week and I can’t wait. The ridiculous part is that I was just there a week and a half ago for a couple of days, so it’s not like it’s been a long time since I’ve stepped foot in the state.
Summertime in Pennsylvania is gorgeous and I forget how green and lush it is until I fly in every summer. And then I find myself in awe of the towering green trees, the bright blue skies, and fluffy white clouds. When I was home just a week and a half ago, a friend of mine and I went on a little makeshift adventure after my flight to Austin was canceled. On the way back to York from Harrisburg, we decided to take a little detour to Gifford Pinchot State Park.
Pennsylvania has a whopping 42 state parks boasting loads of beauty and things to do. On this trip to Gifford Pinchot, we just drove around to various parts of the park, parked the car, and got out to walk around and check things out. You can easily spend a day exploring like that, or take full advantage of everything the 2,238-acre park and 340-acre lake offer. Gifford Pinchot offers a lot of opportunities for camping, fishing, swimming, cooking out, biking, hiking, boating, and more.
Pennsylvania State Parks are a great way to see all the beauty that the state has to offer. In addition to Gifford Pinchot, there are seven more state parks within 30 miles of it, so if you haven’t had your fill quite yet, you could head over to Samuel S. Lewis, Codorus, or any of the others close by.
I Love Pinchot Park! My family used to have picnics there all the time :)
Karisa recently posted..Why You Should Never Go to Taiwan- A Hilarious Guest Post by OCDemon
We did too! We had a big family reunion there about two years ago too. It was quite lovely!
So gorgeous. I always like getting a peek at states I’ve never been to or seen pictures of. I had no idea what Pennsylvania would look like, but it looks pretty. Your post also prompted me to google how many state parks my home state has. I just know that info is going to help me out in bar trivia one day!
Jill recently posted..Hahndorf: A cool escape from Adelaide
Yeah, Pennsylvania is a really beautiful state. Definitely worth checking out. Pretty much every season there is really lovely and worth taking a visit to see. :)
Hahah, how many state parks does your home state have? ;)
187!
Jill recently posted..Port Elliot: A Beach Escape from Adelaide
I love the last two photos. Pretty clouds, pretty boats, pretty lake — I definitely wouldn’t mind spending an afternoon there.
Pinchot Park looks gorgeous! Amazing shots as always.
Christopher James recently posted..Reviewing 3 of the best
Thanks! :)
I always find it so funny we’re from the same small town in Pennsylvania! To see something so normal from my childhood (we also went on picnics and field trips here) written up in a travel blog is so funny to me. Who would’ve thought 15 years ago this would be our new norm!
Edna recently posted..The 5 best things I ate: Melbourne and Sydney