Going to Pennsylvania? Here are the Top Things you Won’t Want to Miss Out On

If you want to go traveling and see the world, then you will be glad to know that this is now easier than ever to do. In fact, if you follow this guide, then you will soon find that you can not only make the most out of your trip, but you can also make sure that you are not missing out on some of the top sights that the state has to offer. Pennsylvania is a great travel destination, especially for those interested in history.

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Independence Hall

This is one of the most historic areas in America. It is also home to the Independence National Historical Park. This is a central attraction, and it is known for being the place where the Declaration Of Independence was signed. In the area, you will find a number of historical buildings, including Congress Hall, the Old City Hall, and various museums. You will also see the Ben Franklin Museum and even the Jewish History museum. Make sure that you do not overlook this as an option if you want to make the most out of your travel experience.

Hershey Park

If you have a family, then they will certainly love an outing at this amusement park. It is very closely associated with chocolate too. One thing to know about this park is that it has 90 acres of rides, and the entertainment is second to none as well. There are options for kids and adults, not to mention that there are also a lot of roller coasters for everyone. This park was actually made so it could be a recreational area for the workers over at Hershey’s, but since then it has expanded and now it is open to people all over the world. Some of the attractions there include a lot of midway games as well as a lot of video games. Next to the park, you will find ZooAmerica too. There you will see over 200 animals that come from a range of habitats. If you want to make the most out of your experience, then be sure to sign up for the experience where you can actually go behind the scenes and see how the animals are cared for too.

Gettysburg National Military Park

This is actually located at the site of the Gettysburg Battlefield. This civil war battle was responsible for a total of 51,000 casualties in three days. Hundreds of monuments now grace the park. Some of the main highlights you will see here include the Seminary Ridge. This was actually the primary Confederate position for the second and third day of the battle. Oak Ridge was the site of the opening day battle as well so you will not want to miss out on this if you have a keen interest in things such as this.

Presque Isle State Park

This is easily one of the top parks in the state of Pennsylvania. This park is actually on a peninsula, and this means that it curves out into Lake Erie. This creates Presque Isle Bay. The park is open all year and it has so much to offer. You have 11 total miles of beach, and you also have a lot of hiking trails too. Of course, as well as sunbathers and swimmers, you will soon see that a lot of people go to collect the sea glass that often washes up ashore. People who love to fly kites often travel to this area as it is a great way for you to take advantage of the strong winds. If you want to get a bird’s eye view, book a flight with Lancaster Balloon Rides.

Museum of Art

If you want to have the best time when out travelling, then why not visit the Museum of Art? This museum hosts one of the biggest collections of art out there and you will also see that it is one of the most iconic buildings within the city as well. The front steps are actually featured in the famous Rocky movie, and you also have a great view of the surrounding landscapes too.

Falling Water

This is easily one of the most famous buildings in the state. It was designed by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright and he is known for creating architecture that helps to harness the natural world. This is a very popular day trip so make sure that you leave yourself plenty of time if you want to pay a visit to this location. You won’t regret it at all, and it’s great for the family.

Cool Facts About Halloween

Halloween is my favorite holiday, like how people love Christmas, that's how I love the spooky season. I want to watch all the movies, see everyone's awesome costumes, and walk around and check out yard decorations. Think you know everything about Hallowe'en, like how to spell it correctly? This infographic will test your knowledge or teach you things you didn't know.

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If the thought of carved turnips amuses you and you want to see something hilarious or truly terrifying, check out this article or Google "carved turnips Halloween". I'm actually impressed, because turnips are not even that easy to cut into, so this has to be some sort of art, even if it's horrifying. 

What's your favorite part of Halloween?

Tom Devlin's Monster Museum

While we were in Las Vegas in July, we had the chance to drive out to Boulder City. If you haven't been, it's cute little town right outside of Vegas (a 30-minute drive), that's right on the outskirts of Hoover Dam. We were also able to drive the short distance to overlook Lake Mead. I've been excited to visit Tom Devlin's Monster Museum, right in the heart of the city, for a long time.

Tom Devlin is a make-up effects artist for movies and has been in the business for over 20 years. He's worked on a ton of films, including Butcher House, Mega Piranha, Puppet Master: Axis Termination, and Camp Twilight. Sure, you've probably never heard of these, but that doesn't make him less impressive. 

Tom strives to preserve the art of special effects throughout history, in order to teach others the history of them and how to improve upon current techniques with things that may have worked well in the past, but by also trying new things in the ever-evolving industry. 

Let's head inside! The Monster Museum opened 5 years ago and is a must for anyone who loves horror, thinks make-up effects are awesome, or really just wants to see some cool movie memorabilia. If you are not good with the dark, lifelike figures, or small spaces, this might not be the museum for you, since you walk into this hallway:

Now, you probably already know that I'm afraid of haunted houses and the dark, so this would not have been a museum I would have gone to alone. I may have felt differently if there were most people there, but were the only ones inside when we arrived. The first part of your self-guided tour is devoted to the classic monsters and those that portrayed them, like Lon Chaney. 

I have a terrible overactive imagination when it comes to things like this, so the low lighting kind of freaked me out, thinking that I saw figures move, but I can assure you that it was eyes playing tricks on me, because everything inside is static. There aren't any people dressed up waiting to jump out at you, or animatronics waiting for you to walk past to be triggered. You might worry about that same thing in the rooms that have Ghostface and the all the iterations of Jason from Friday the 13th.

Past the classic monsters and actors, you get into the amazing horror movies and monsters from the 80s. When we visited Vegas last year, we visited a movie memorabilia collection called Cineloggia that had props and costumes from several movies, including some little heard of horror flicks, but also from the Hellraiser series. 

Cineloggia didn't have complete mannequins, just costumes, but Devlin has recreated the whole make-up effects of the Cenobites that are on display, complete with Pinhead and the Lament Box in an alcove that gave Hellraiser II vibes. 

There was a whole long hallway case with 80's movie props that were actually used in the films. Some movies I'd heard of and some I hadn't. Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead is now on my list of movies to watch. Last year I came away from Cineloggia with the need to watch a terrible-sounding movie about a killer turkey called ThanksKilling, which was so bad it was good. We then watched ThanksKilling 3, because there is no second movie. (It's a whole thing.)

I'm always impressed by what people can do with latex and how amazing even bad masks can look with some aging and creative coloring.

We both realized we'd never seen any of the Puppet Master movies, so that was one of the first movies we watched this Halloween season. It's exactly and also completely not what you expect it to be. I'm looking forward to watching the sequels at some point. All of the dolls in this case murdered someone in the first movie.

There are more of the newer movie monsters here, too: Freddy, Michael Myers, Beetlejuice (if you consider him a monster), Gremlins, Chucky, Ghostface (he was the header to my previous blog post), and Leprechaun. I will say the lighting could be a lot better - or worse, I suppose - as it's very difficult to take any sort of decent pictures in most cases. This isn't a fancy museum. It's strictly there to showcase the make-up and appliance work. Some rooms have great backgrounds and props and others are just blank black walls with plaques telling you about the movies. 

Once you've survived the many small rooms, you come out at the gift shop (surprise!), where you started, and you're given the opportunity to go have a sit-down in their little theater that shows documentaries about other make-up artists and effects work. We watched a film about the people who were the main prosthetics and appliances for the Planet of the Apes franchise. Learning the tips and tricks of those that came before is imperative to effects artists now in developing new techniques, but falling back on tried-and-true methods that can look just as good and also save time and money.

Tom Devlin's Monster Museum is right on the main street when coming in Boulder City. They have signings and meet & greets with horror icons like Cassandra Peterson (who plays Elvira), and you can even book a tour with Tom himself for less than expected, which I hope to do in the future. Regular admission is just $20 per person. You can totally make a whole day out of a visit to Boulder City, NV between this, visiting Hoover Dam, or even just Lake Mead, and doing a walking tour on your own around town, while also checking out all the cool statues along the streets.

If you enjoy horror movies or even just cool make-up effects, what movie has some of your favorites?