Labor Day 2009: A Visit to the Pennsylvania Great Lakes Region - Part 1

Summer was coming to an end, and with the stresses of life hitting as they usually do when summer comes to an end, I needed a place to escape to just for a bit. However, I didn’t want to travel for the sake of traveling. I needed to go someplace specific:

• I wanted to be able to relax, but didn’t want to be just lounging around.
• I wanted something that could be educational, but wasn’t only educational.
• I wanted something that was away from the grind, but not away from the human race.
• Oh, and if it wasn’t too expensive, that would be ok.

A friend of mine suggested the PA Great Lakes Region. Now, he is a bit biased (he does some promotional work for the region), but he said it was the exact kind of place I may be looking for.
I decided to give it a shot. Why not? It is only three days, and if I get bored, I know how to get home.

However, it became clear early on that three days was far too little to see everything I wanted to see…


The Drive
I drove from Harrisburg on Saturday, leaving as the Penn State game was starting because I knew I would be driving in that direction and I wanted to avoid all semblance of traffic that usually comes with a home game.

Driving towards Beaver Stadium. Penn State was winning 31-0 at this point

It was about a 3 ½ hour drive up to the northwest region, and one of the easiest 3 ½ hour drives I have ever done.

Much of the trip was on Route 322, which spans a large majority of Pennsylvania. I have traveled on parts of 322 in a number of different counties in Pennsylvania, and I must say that Venango County has some of the prettiest strips of the route I have been on.

I set up my homebase in Cranberry, a nice town that is home to the Cranberry Festival (being held on September 19th and something I'm going to be sorry to miss based on the agenda). Plus, it wasn’t too far from any of the spots I wanted to visit.


Oil City
After getting to the hotel and getting caught up on football highlights, I headed out to do some exploring. Oil City, being only 8 miles away, was my first trip. Oil City’s heritage is pretty well documented, so I won’t go into the history that I learned, but the place is like a blast from the past. Crossing the bridge over the Allegheny River into the historic district, it was like entering the back lot of a movie set, with train tracks that ran through the town like Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. I took a nice walk around and enjoyed both the architecture and art while enjoying the afternoon turn to evening.

A quick collage I call "Sunset in Oil City"

Franklin
Too early to head back to the hotel, so I followed signs to Franklin, which I had also heard good things about. Unfortunately, it was too dark to take quality pictures, so you are going to have to trust me when I say that the Main Street of Franklin is quite intriguing, again, with many retro-style storefronts, as well as a beautiful park.

One thing I did want to highlight was the meal I had. At the suggestion of a colleague, I was told to try out Bella Cucina, a fine dining establishment - serving everything from seafood to steak - right in the heart of town. I decided to sit at the bar and enjoy their chicken caesar salad (a house specialty I’ve been told) while talking with some locals about the area. A tremendous meal with tremendous atmosphere.

Clearly, by the number of people there, it is a favorite of the locals, but if I wasn’t looking for it, I probably would not have noticed it. Unfortunately, they don’t have a website, but for more information, you can email them here.

By this time, I had no trouble calling it a night. I had a full schedule the next day and I wanted to be ready for it….