Road Tripping

I love road trips!  I love the adventure, sometimes you don't know where you're going, even if you do know, you might get lost.  (My hubby hates GPSs.)  You never know what little gem of a town you're going to find or what interesting roadside wonder you might find.

On our way back from our honeymoon, we took Route 6 for a little while.  It's a great road with lots of small towns and nature.  I did a little research when we got back and it turns out you can travel across the United States on Route 6.

It's probably no surprise that I want to do that...."Do 6."

It's probably also no surprise that I have had a longtime goal to "get my kicks on Route 66", either.

Recently, I had a custom order for the Route 66 pendants, and it has inspired me to add them to my line.

Route 66 Black and White Glass Tile Pendant

Route 66 Color Glass Tile Pendant

Route 6 Color Glass Tile Pendant

Route 6 Black and White Glass Tile Pendant

So, whether you want to "Get your kicks on Route 66" or "Do 6," I have the pendant for you!  Want a different route?  Contact me and I'll make it for you!

New Map Jewelry!

New Map Jewelry is available in the B.B. Bellezza shop now! 

Custom Map Jewelry:

If you would like a specific area, I can accommodate some special requests for areas, but please contact me to see if I have what you need. I especially am able to do locations in Dauphin, Perry, Lancaster and York Counties in Pennsylvania, in addition to the other pendants I have listed in my shop.

Fun at th Schaefferstown Farm

Over the weekend we traveled across the Lancaster County line into Lebanon County to check out the Schaefferstown Farm.

There were all sorts of artisans making soap,

dying hand spun yarn,

and hand making everything in between, including hand carving tombstones.

We toured the buildings, including the springhouse.

One of my favorite parts was the garden.

It was also a little traumatizing for me to see a sheep get sheared.  I have seen a sheep sheared before, so I'm not sure if it was the actual old fashioned shears that freaked me out. 

We were hypnotized by the harps for awhile.

It ended up being a beautiful day in a lovely environment.

Halloween Road Trip

Today we took a break from house-hunting, working, making things, etc. and went on a road trip.  We often do take road trips, but we haven't really had a lot of time recently to just go.

Molly Maguire Park

The photo below is from what might possibly be the strangest memorial I've been to.  (And I have seen a lot of strange things in my travels....)

(I didn't know how to pose.....I smiled, but didn't think I should smile....it was very confusing....)

Jim Thorpe, PA Old Jail

Then we headed to Jim Thorpe, PA.  I think Jim Thorpe is one of the most adorable towns and it's in such a beautiful area.  We went for a different reason than the natural beauty, though.  We went to the old prison.  In this prison, some of the alleged Molly Maguires were hanged.  The strange thing about this, however, is that one of the people who was sentenced to be hanged, Alexander Campbell, exclaimed on his way to the gallows that he was innocent and put a handprint in his cell claiming that the handprint would never disappear as a sign of his innocence.  

The hand print is still there.  It's been cleaned, painted over and even part of the wall removed, and it's still there!  There have been scientists in to investigate and no one can come up for a logical explanation of why the hand print remains.

For more information about the Molly Maguires and the Old Jail, check out their website.

I was sort of sad that we couldn't take a photo of the actual hand print - it's copyrighted.

Spontaneous Stops

One of my favorite things about taking a road trip is finding cool things along the way that you didn't even expect.  We found this awesome cemetery on our way home.

For more photos of our trip, check out my flickr photostream.

Road Trippin'

If you've read the blog for a while, you probably know that my family and I love to take road trips.  Basically every weekend.  Usually to outta the way locations that are abandoned, historical, haunted, or inexpensive.  

This past weekend we visited St. Peter's Village, Pennsylvania.  St. Peter's Village is an awesome place to visit - there's water to wade in, rocks to climb on, shops to visit, restaurants and a vintage arcade!  

Jim and Delissa (my boyfriend and step-daughter) wrote a post about St. Peter's Village over on the Outta the Way blog, complete with a video by Jim.

It's always sunny in Gettysburg

This photo is from the National Cemetery in Gettysburg, PA, when we visited March 6, 2010, for a birthday road trip.  (My birthday actually lasted an entire week this year and encompassed 2 weekends.  I'm spoiled!)

What is weird is that every time we visit Gettysburg, the sky is this pretty shade of blue.  I was transferring these photos and giving them nice little labels and realized our last trip to Gettysburg was just as gorgeous!

This photo was from our previous trip

(this photo is available as an ACEO in our Outta the Way Etsy Shop, by the way...)

Have a beautiful day, even if you aren't in Gettysburg!

Weird Road Trip Sighting

 

You never know what you're going to see on a road trip.  Keep your eyes open even when you stop for gas!

Covered Bridges

Covered Bridge 3, originally uploaded by B.B. Bellezza.

I love covered bridges. It may be because of the history of them or the romantic clickity-clack of going over them. I also think they are so pretty architecturally-speaking. And, of course, I do love all things old.

They have been here for times when things were simpler, before cars and before computers. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all the modern amenities and I would be completely lost without my computer; but I love thinking about simpler times, too.

This photo is from a road trip we recently took to Maryland. It's the Jericho Covered Bridge and it is believed to be haunted. It is right before you get to the sweet Village of Jerusalem Mills in Hartford County Maryland, which is preserved as it was years ago with old buildings.

It's amazing to think about how many covered bridges are still standing, especially in my county of Lancaster, PA. To think that now we have bridges made of concrete and steel that are built to withstand harsh rains and floods. Sometimes these concrete and steel bridges don't even last. I am grateful to still have these historical beauties all around.

Don't forget to make a wish as you pass through one!

Old Buildings

As some of you may know (although many of you may not, I am realizing), my boyfriend and I love to go on road trips to weird and historical places. We also write a zine about our adventures (well, my boyfriend writes it, I do everything else, though!) called Outta the Way.

I love old buildings, especially those with a history behind them. I also love to take photos. Usually I have more than 100 (usually more like 150-200) for every road trip. Honestly, they are not all gorgeous pieces of work. Many are for reference - we were there, this is what we saw - that sort of thing. But, sometimes we take really beautiful photos.

I took the photo used in the pendant above. It's of the Star Barn in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. I think it is a nice photo but mainly because of how beautiful the sky was that day. Also, the architectural of the old star barn is simply stunning.

I have started, and plan to continue to make pendants from my photography. They will most likely be featuring old buildings, cemeteries, etc. from the places we visit.

I really like to try to use recycled pieces in my jewelry as much as possible, but the glass pendants such as what you see here is not. However, in this piece, for example, I am featuring a photo of a building that is trying to be saved from the wrecking ball. I think that is important, too. I think that it can start a conversation and spread the idea that we don't have to tear down every old building to make yet another strip mall. Or even just "hey look at this cool building" and then people won't want it to be torn down.

Just in case you are interested, this piece is listed in the Outta the Way Etsy Shop.

The Bridges of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

My boyfriend and I write a zine "Outta the Way." This month we take you on a tour of the Covered Bridges of Lancaster County. The zine has a driving tour of the covered bridges that takes you through Lancaster County Amish farms, historic downtown and gives you a great taste of the county, as well as the historical background of each bridge.

For a couple of the zine, check out the Outta the Way Etsy Shop, or check my booth BUiLDiNG CHARACTER at 342 N. Queen St., Rear Warehouses, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Weekend In Photos

Vacation Mode

I seem to be on vacation mode here. Actually, it's partially working very hard mode and not having time to get a decent blog entry together, and partially spending lots of time with my family on the weekend mode.

This photo is from Ringing Rocks park in Bucks County. It is amazing. When you hit the rocks with a hammer, they ring like bells. We spent the entire day Saturday in Bucks county doing various adventures, (See my flickr photostream for all the photos!) and most of Sunday recovering.

Now it's back to business!

New Blog

(photo is from a trip to New Hope, PA)

My boyfriend Jim and I just started a new blog (and soon to follow zine):

Outta the Way!

There's an introductory post over there and I would love if you would all check it out. Right now it is very basic, but it will soon be filled with lots of photos and content about places to travel and ways to travel on a budget.

Most of our trips and what we will be writing about will be in Pennsylvania and Maryland, basically places you can easily get to from Lancaster, PA; however, we will be throwing in tips about how to take road trips inexpensively and how to find cool places, so it will have value even if you don't plan to come to Pennsylvania.

Thanks for checking it out and we will be posting more to it soon!

Tiny World

Tiny World , originally uploaded by B.B. Bellezza.

This Saturday my family took a road trip to Tiny World in Shippensburg, PA. Tiny world was created by Ernest Helm for his cats in his backyard! There are lots of miniature houses, a barn, a mill, a gas station, fire station, train station, restaurant, school, courthouse and log cabins. The buildings are all about waist-high. Most of the buildings are decorated inside to very great detail. One house seems like it was specifically for his cats to go in, while the others would appear to not be cat-proof. There are more photos in my flickr photostream of Tiny World, just click on the photo above.

Although Tiny World was built for his cats, we didn't actually see any cats on Saturday, but it was icy and snowy, so I don't blame them for not visiting.

Tiny World was all decorated for Christmas (which I understand to be a pretty permenant situation), but it was kind of nice with the snow.

This is the article that got me interested to begin with in Tiny World.

The address is 6720 Rice Road, Shippensburg, PA, and you just make a donation to visit. There is a parking lot beside Tiny World.

The Littlest Church

Littlest Church , originally uploaded by B.B. Bellezza.

The Littlest Church was a bit of an obsession for me this past summer. We were driving around Chester County, Pennsylvania with our trusty "Weird Pennsylvania" book. Frankly, I don't remember where we were going, but we were on a goose hunt. Then we started to realize everything in the area was called somethingorother "Creek Road."

Along the way on our goose hunt, we read about The Littlest Church. It wasn't in our schedule for that day, but the book stated it was on Creek Road on the outskirts of Marsh Creek State Park. Well, I just knew it had to be somewhere close because everything we were driving on was somethingorother "Creek Road." Unfortunately, we didn't find it that day.

But, then my boyfriend did some research and We Found It! I was so thrilled.

Now, this church is now on private property, so we respectfully took photos from the road. I was just thrilled to find it.

I think it is so quaint and lovely. It has such a quaint and lovely story to go with it.

According to "Weird Pennsylvania", Cannella, an immigrant trying to earn money to bring his family to America, vowed to God that if He would provide him with a means to bring his wife to America, he would attend church every day.

Winters are harsh in the area, which made it difficult to him to make it to the nearest Catholic Church. So, he built his own church on his property. The church only has enough room for an alter and 1 or 2 people. He went there any day he could not make it to the Catholic Church in Dowingtown.

The same family still owns the property on which the church still stands.

(Information from the book "Weird Pennsylvania" by Matt Lake. Our road trip handbook this past summer.)

Tuesday Thrifty Travel Trip and Mini Road Trip

Thrifty Travel Tip of the Week: Your Own Backyard

Sometimes we read and learn about and get excited about all these great places that are in other states or even other countries and we forget about the great things in our own neighborhood. There is so much history everywhere you look.

I drive by this great big gigantic Shoe House all the time that's not that far from my home. I have never been there. So we stopped and it was really cool. Maybe your local pet store has an interesting feeding show. These are just examples of what I am talking about. Sometimes you should check out the road MORE travelled. Just look at it with new eyes. There is something else really cool in your town. Seriously, there is. Go and find it! And tell me about it! :)

Trip Recap: York County, Pennsylvania

We didn't have our usual abundance of time for our typical trip this weekend, so we stayed close to home. (Actually, I was off last week, so I do have another day trip to tell you about another time that was a little further....another day)

We were really interested in seeing the sting rays get fed at our local pet store. This pet store has a "touch tank" with creatures that you can touch. Among these creatures are sting rays and little tiny sharks. Well, they feed them a few times a week and have a little show. This show is free and quite entertaining! I will try to upload a couple little videos I took during the show on my flickr photostream.

I am actually from Lancaster, PA, but my significant other is from York so it is our backyard, too. And it's just the next county over.

In the Weird Pennsylvania book that I refer to quite often they mention the Shoe House. I also have seen the Shoe House from the highway all the time and have wanted to stop by before, but just never did. Until Saturday, that is.

The Shoe House is exactly what it sounds like. It is a house that is in the shape of a shoe. This shoe maker had this shoe build as an advertisement. He was quite generous, though, too and would have newlyweds and senior citizens stay in the house and provide them with a maid and a driver and even give them free shoes. Everything was on him.

You can take a tour of the house, which is pretty fascinating, really, to see how everything fits into the house. They also serve ice cream and have a little shop.

If you haven't been there and are in the area, it's definitely worth your time to at least stop in for some ice cream and check it out. The tour cost $4 for adults. I am glad I took the tour, but I wouldn't need to do it again. I think it is interesting if you haven't seen the inside previously.

Next we went to this gorgeous park in York County. Apparently it is the highest point and there is this gorgeous view. It is called the Sam - Something-or-Other (I can't remember!!!) park. It's along Route 462. The photo above shows a view of the Susquehanna River and it was all misty at the time.

I would really recommend this spot for a scenic picnic and definitely bring your kites because it is the perfect spot for it. You can put a quarter in one of those machines to get a closer view. It was beautiful.

We then went for a little bit of spookiness and went on our way to find the Rehmeyer Hollow Hex House.

According to the legend, Rehmeyer was killed because his assassins believed that he put a hex on them.

This site shows a picture of the house back when the murder happened and some information. You cannot tour it right now, but I think that the family is trying to make it into a museum of sorts. I hope so because I would love to check it out.

We then did some driving around, otherwise known as a "Goose Hunt," a/k/a wild goose chase, and ran across some other cool things that I didn't know where around.

For example, the railroad station where Lincoln stopped to give a speech - Hanover Junction - is preserved as a museum now. The railroad is actually a walking trail (also extremely cool). The museum was closed when we got there, but we did take a look around.

This cool sculpture was there, too:

Also in our travels we found this old abandoned tower, the remnants of a building and what looked like a barn that was falling down. After we got home Jim did some research and found out it was the Foust Distillery. Very cool looking.

So, as you can see, you can find some very cool sites right near your own home. Sometimes you can plan them, but other times you just happen to come across them and uncover treasures you never knew you would find. For more photos, check out my flickr photostream, I am uploading them now.

Now get out there and discover your own backyard!

Fricks Lock, Pennsylvania and more...

This weekend we traveled to Fricks Lock, PA. There were all kinds of No Trepassing signs and Camera Surveyence signs, so we decided not to chance it by going in. But we got a few shots from the gate.

The abandoned town is near a (I think) PECO power plant. There are lots of farms around. Jim took the top photo, which I really love.

We have found out since that as long as you aren't causing a problem, you probably won't get in trouble or the local police office will allow you to visit if you ask first. So if you would like to visit, just call the police station first.

This town was build and booming back in the Revolutionary area when a set of locks for the Schuylkill Canal were put in. Eventually railroads started to supercede canal traffic. They filled in the canal and the railroad arrived. Then the railroad declined as well.

When PECO finished building the nuclear power plant, they bought the residences in the area. There are conflicting stories about how much notice the residents were given and how forced they were, but the result is that all the buildings were boarded up and abandoned.

We could see just a couple buildings, but there are about 10. Many of the buildings date back to the 1700's.

Of course, vandlism is a problem there, which is a shame. I would love to see it restored. I think that we might go back again, but ask permission to go on the property.

DEVIL'S ROAD:

We went back to Devil's Road as well. (Cossart Road in Chadd's Ford, PA) It was not freaky at all this time....there were no black SUV's and it didn't scare me at all. It just seemed like a cute little road - with some vandalism - with strange trees.

The trees: (you can click on any image to make it bigger)

Devil's Road supposedly has a cult house on it somewhere, which any number of things did or did not happen there... we haven't found the house. There are houses along the road, but we can't figure out which one is the alleged cult house. The terrible things that happened in the house is the supposed reason the trees grow away from the road in spots along the road. Maybe you want to do your own research? By the way, Cossart Road does not have a street sign...which kind of makes it stand out more.

We also were on a sort of "goose hunt" (as my step-daughter says) trying to find the "World's Tiniest Church." We didn't set out to find it, but it was in the Weird Pennsylvania book and all of there was Creek Road, which was the road this church was on. We subsequently found out that in Chester County, basically EVERY road is named Creek Road or some form of it and after driving around a bit with no direction, we gave up.

Actually, I am going to go and do some research to see if I can find out where this church is. Anybody have any idea?

Blob Blog

Okay, total cheese, I know. My boyfriend and I have been joking about me blogging about our Blob adventure....

This year is the Blob's 50th Anniversary, I know, you didn't know....no one did, or no one I know. I wasn't necessarily a big Blob fan, however, I have seen it. Saturday for a lack of anything else, and in honor of the 50-year anniversary of the Blob, we found it in the free movies section on demand. I laughed my head off and thoroughly enjoyed it! We tried to watch the 1988 version, too, but fell asleep.

Then we realized that it was actually filmed just down the road from where we live! It was filmed in Downingtown, PA, which is less than an hour away. Sunday we needed to get out of the house and decided to go for a drive. Jim secretly looked up directions and found out that the diner and the theatre still exist, and got directions.

The theatre is actually in Phoenixville, PA, which is a few miles away from Downingtown. I was sort of surprised about how cute this town was. The best is that Blobfest is next weekend. From what we can tell, they do a reenactment of the scene from the movie with all the people running out.


(you can click on the images to make them bigger)

Then we went to Downingtown to see the diner. We got a treat at Rita's across the street, you know, so we didn't look so silly taking the photo. lol

This crazy guy was there, too....elsewhere...nothing to do with the Blob, just a crazy guy. Actually he was in Phoenixville.

If you need something to do, Blobfest at the Theatre in Phoenixville is this weekend, I think the 11th and 12th, according to sign on the theatre.