Leap-the-Dips, Altoona, Blair County

My apologies to anyone who missed a post last week. I had entirely too much happening at one time and I just couldn't give the blog the attention it deserved. Things are a bit calmer this week, though, so let's head back to beautiful Blair County. You might remember that I was there in July to celebrate my husband Kevin's birthday. 

Kevin is a big fan of roller coasters. I am not, mostly because I'm prone to motion sickness and I also have chronic pain. But Altoona happens to be the home of the oldest roller coaster still operating in the world, and said roller coaster happens to have a historical marker, so I said "Happy birthday, dear," and off we went.

Fort Norris, Kresgeville, Monroe County

"Pennsylvania in October is so beautiful it breaks your heart."

My best friend Andrea and I went on a trip to Monroe County yesterday in order to gather some more markers. We stopped for lunch at the Chestnuthill Diner in Brodheadsville; while at the table by myself, I was gazing outside at the trees and admiring the changing colors, and that was the thought which went through my mind. It was a gorgeous day, perfect for the purpose. I'm fattening up my hoard of markers for the coming winter, so that when I'm snowbound (as I'm likely to be at some point) I can still keep sharing the commonwealth's history with you.

Today we'll take a look at the story of Fort Norris. I mentioned this one in a few other fort-related posts; it was one of the 'chain' of forts commissioned by Benjamin Franklin to defend Pennsylvania's settlers from Native American attacks during the French and Indian War.

St. James Episcopal Church, Lancaster, Lancaster County

I'm going to start today's post with my super exciting news of the day, which is that the lovely folks at the Columbia-Montour Visitors Center have graciously given me space in the autumn issue of their quarterly magazine. And when I say they gave me space, I mean they gave me three full-color pages. This magazine is chock-full of interesting things to read and discover about those two beautiful counties, and I'm very honored to be included in what they do! You can find it on the web here, and consider subscribing to receive it in your email.

The remnant of Hurricane Ian has been dumping more than a little rain on my area for the last four days, and I've been hurting an awful lot. (My longtime readers know that I'm one of those "my body is a barometer" people. Worst superpower ever.) So this post is going up later than planned because I just haven't had the energy to put it together at the usual time; but I'm looking outside at some sunshine for the first time since Friday, which is very encouraging. Meanwhile, let's take a virtual trip to a place that's always sunny in my mind, if not in fact - beautiful Lancaster.