Over the river and through the woods...
So, yesterday we traveled down to Penn State/ State College PA.
When my hubby and I were dating... it was our old "stomping grounds" ... as he was getting his undergraduate degree there. I love the town. I love the campus. It's awesome.
We wanted to show our daughter around... and it seemed like a good time to "get out of town" and do something. Little did we know that the night before we would have a snowstorm... and it would still be "freakin' cold" out... but alas... we went anyway.
It reminded me of why I love living near a college town (Albuquerque had a similar vibe with UNM downtown). Lots of coffee shops, book shops (used and new)... pastry places... International foods... music... entertainment... well... you get the idea.
Now, don't misunderstand. I am thoroughly enjoying living in a small town again. But it's nice to have something a little more urban to go to sometimes.
So. We went to a local used bookstore/ records/ vegetarian eatery... known as Webster's.
We had a great time enjoying some delicious organic sandwiches, coffee and tea... as well as some local made vegan pie (YUM)... Plus, we got to peruse thousands of fabulous books (and bought several). We were there in time to hear two speakers in the gallery area... one talk on "eating healthy"... and another by author John Dixon ... who wrote the book "Phoenix Island" .. which in turn, inspired the hit TV show "Intelligence." We were fortunate enough to not only hear his talk.... but also to be able to chat with him afterwards. WoOt!
From there... we went to Tattoo Mark's Studio Two; where I was able to get my ear's pierced (for the 12th time. Long story short; I heal oddly and my piercings close up and scar too easily... which forces me to have them re-pierced). I got some fabulous steel gauges and chatted with a great guy named Jake; who did my piercing... and I love the new look.
Then we went to Comic Swap, Inc... a place that was in business way back in the 80's when the hubby was going to State College... and it's still going strong. They've been in business since 1976... and it's just an awesome bunch of people that work there. Plus... the selection is really cool. We picked up a few things... and moved on... wandering the Calder Way shops and such.
We stopped in at Herwig's Austrian Bistro! Where we all shared some kick-ass Kaesespaetzle; which took me back to when I lived in Germany (delish!).
From there... we wandered a bit in and out of shops, looking at window displays, and made a final stop at W.C. Clarke's ... a fine roasted coffee and cheese shop. Totally, my kind of place... where we were able to get some organic Guatemalan coffee and some Brie and fine Blue cheese.
All in all; we had a wonderful day in State College... and look forward to our next visit.
Hope you are all having a great weekend as well... and see you on Monday!
