Nittany Lions!
Went out to State College, PA to visit a friend. Flew on United through Dulles Airport to State College University Park Airport. With my short layover, I was happy to see that Dulles had an ATT hotspot. Most airports seem to support Boingo or T-Mobile. Being an ATT wireless and DSL customer, it came in handy as I bypassed the internet access fee and surfed the internet while waiting for my little prop plane. Having never been to this part of Pennsylvania, I found State College airport similar to other college town airports. Small but serviceable with people who are super friendly and helpful.
After a quick shower and walking around 30 degree weather, grabbed brunch at The Original Waffle Shop. A three store chain, it is wildly popular with the local college crowd. I had the banana pecan waffle and it was made very well. No soggy parts anywhere, it was all crisp with plenty of nuts. :)
A word of advice, alot of places are cash only in this small town and no major banks are in the area. So bring cash before getting here. Either find a local ATM with reciprocity with your bank. Credit unions and Citibank were the only ATMs I could find that was in the area that I could access.
After that meal, drove around Penn State University and saw some of the campus. Luckily the campus is accessible via roads as the weather didn't invite me to wander around on foot.
Later that night, had dinner at Herwig's Austrian Bistro. I was feeling rather reminiscent of my trip to Munich and thought some Bavarian food would be nice to try. The menu looked very authentic and the german customers in the restaurant was a good sign. I shared the Butcher's Delight which is an assortment platter featuring roast pork, bratwurst, grilled smoked pork (kassler), sausage-of-the-day, sauerkraut and bread dumpling (knödel). So much food and received a razzing from the restaurant folks for not finishing. :)
Afterwards, went to the famed Berkey Creamery at PSU. Of course! I tried the raspberry fudge torte and the flavor was rich with quality and plentiful in size. The prices were so cheap, reminded me of thrifty ice cream prices when I was a kid. They have a big following as they will ship ice cream nationwide....although too pricey for my blood.
The next day, headed out to Hershey and visited the Hershey Story Museum and Chocolate World. I didn't go through the museum but rather looked from the outside. The museum is a two story building with collages of the history of the town and the Hershey family. They also had interactive sessions where you can see where and how chocolate is made. I wandered to the Cafe Zooka and tried the chocolate tasting. If you feel like trying melted chocolate, this is for you. Even sharing, I couldn't finish half of the five shots of chocolate given.
At Chocolate World, it was like Willy Wonka on steroids. There were 3D Movies, trolley tours, chocolate lab and the biggest retail store of Hershey I have ever seen. I did enjoy making my own chocolate bar, I opted for the milk chocolate with toffee, rice krispies, and chocolate chips. The attraction included a personalized cover which I thought was fun to watch happen.
After doing some retail work in the Hershey store, wandered over to Houlihan's for dinner. The restaurant had a "Houston's" feel and the food was good. Went in during happy hour time and was able to get the appetizer salad for $2 and the Fritos Spicy Burger was good. I can't turn down Fritos...finished with two scoops of their homemade ice cream and brownie. In general, the food prices around here have been super reasonable and the food was relatively good even at this chain restaurant.
Headed home the next day. Since I was starting my trip in a small airport, it didn't take long to check my luggage and get onto my plane. At Dulles Airport, I grabbed a takeout order of burger and fries from Five Guys. Primarily an East Coast chain, I've read about the In N Out vs Five Guys comparison and was curious as to what the talk was all about. I will say that I think In N Out is better (and this comes from not being a huge fan of In N Out, there are better burger chains in my opinion). The fries were a little soggy for me and too thick, it just didn't have the crispness I expect from typical fries. The burger was a typical burger but I felt it was a little bland even though I had almost everything on it.
After a quick shower and walking around 30 degree weather, grabbed brunch at The Original Waffle Shop. A three store chain, it is wildly popular with the local college crowd. I had the banana pecan waffle and it was made very well. No soggy parts anywhere, it was all crisp with plenty of nuts. :)
A word of advice, alot of places are cash only in this small town and no major banks are in the area. So bring cash before getting here. Either find a local ATM with reciprocity with your bank. Credit unions and Citibank were the only ATMs I could find that was in the area that I could access.
After that meal, drove around Penn State University and saw some of the campus. Luckily the campus is accessible via roads as the weather didn't invite me to wander around on foot.
Later that night, had dinner at Herwig's Austrian Bistro. I was feeling rather reminiscent of my trip to Munich and thought some Bavarian food would be nice to try. The menu looked very authentic and the german customers in the restaurant was a good sign. I shared the Butcher's Delight which is an assortment platter featuring roast pork, bratwurst, grilled smoked pork (kassler), sausage-of-the-day, sauerkraut and bread dumpling (knödel). So much food and received a razzing from the restaurant folks for not finishing. :)
Afterwards, went to the famed Berkey Creamery at PSU. Of course! I tried the raspberry fudge torte and the flavor was rich with quality and plentiful in size. The prices were so cheap, reminded me of thrifty ice cream prices when I was a kid. They have a big following as they will ship ice cream nationwide....although too pricey for my blood.
The next day, headed out to Hershey and visited the Hershey Story Museum and Chocolate World. I didn't go through the museum but rather looked from the outside. The museum is a two story building with collages of the history of the town and the Hershey family. They also had interactive sessions where you can see where and how chocolate is made. I wandered to the Cafe Zooka and tried the chocolate tasting. If you feel like trying melted chocolate, this is for you. Even sharing, I couldn't finish half of the five shots of chocolate given.
At Chocolate World, it was like Willy Wonka on steroids. There were 3D Movies, trolley tours, chocolate lab and the biggest retail store of Hershey I have ever seen. I did enjoy making my own chocolate bar, I opted for the milk chocolate with toffee, rice krispies, and chocolate chips. The attraction included a personalized cover which I thought was fun to watch happen.
After doing some retail work in the Hershey store, wandered over to Houlihan's for dinner. The restaurant had a "Houston's" feel and the food was good. Went in during happy hour time and was able to get the appetizer salad for $2 and the Fritos Spicy Burger was good. I can't turn down Fritos...finished with two scoops of their homemade ice cream and brownie. In general, the food prices around here have been super reasonable and the food was relatively good even at this chain restaurant.
Headed home the next day. Since I was starting my trip in a small airport, it didn't take long to check my luggage and get onto my plane. At Dulles Airport, I grabbed a takeout order of burger and fries from Five Guys. Primarily an East Coast chain, I've read about the In N Out vs Five Guys comparison and was curious as to what the talk was all about. I will say that I think In N Out is better (and this comes from not being a huge fan of In N Out, there are better burger chains in my opinion). The fries were a little soggy for me and too thick, it just didn't have the crispness I expect from typical fries. The burger was a typical burger but I felt it was a little bland even though I had almost everything on it.
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