Hi everyone, I just wanted to give some love to the city after spending about a week in Harrisburg.
Coming from a massive city, I was ready for some small town life and being able to walk to destinations without needing a vehicle.
The historical district was such a delight for us! My wife had been to the Midtown Bookstore before and really wanted to go for a second visit. The place was charming and very cozy. There was a great selection of books to choose from, and it having a coffee/tea/bakery inside was welcoming to guests, inviting them to stay a while and enjoy the atmosphere and their purchase! I wish there was this kind of store within walking distance of our home!
The Broad Street Market was charming with all of its eateries inside! I didn't even know there were places to get food in the big white tent until my wife wanted to go inside. There were so many choices and things to see! The coffee at Elementary Coffee Co was given a big thumbs up by everyone who drank coffee, and I really enjoyed the empanadas Ougi's Cocina. I wish I had gone back a few more times, but the hours of all the establishments really caught me off guard! Seriously, how do these places stay open with such short hours?!
Millworks was good, I wish we had more time to explore the shops individually, but due to our schedule and the hours of the stores, it just wasn't in store (eh? ehh?) for us. Though, we did pick up a super cute ceramic rabbit and rabbit t-shirt from the shop that houses items from all of the stores throughout the building! The concept was really cool and the vibes we relaxed! I'd definitely hang out there to do some work (especially cause the hours of the eatery were visitor friendly).
I liked being able to walk around and even did some water coloring of some trees before leaving Harrisburg. The river was beautiful to view and the way the sun hit the leaves during those cool Fall mornings was quite refreshing to experience!
Oh! And the diner on Keystone Restaurant was so cute and very down to Earth! I loved their breakfast.. except the Scrapple. It was.. fine, the waitress said you either loved it or hated it, there was no in between. I suggested adding a spicy version with some peppers or maybe even ground up onions, something to add flavor to the grey mystery inside of its crunchy exterior!
Note: I also learned about grilled muffins. I'm going to be throwing them on a grill with some butter when I get the chance!
Anyways, I just wanted to say our visit was quite nice. We didn't get a chance to explore downtown at all, but I do have some questions for the locals!
- Do y'all hate street lights? Seriously, there were nary a street with any semblance of light. I always saw public works out doing things, so it feels like the community is maintained and looked after, I'm just curious as to the lack of lighting!
- The hours make it pretty difficult to explore the area if you're not a local, how do these businesses survive? Also, they're mostly closed on Sundays! Perhaps I'm spoiled for choice coming from a place with hundreds of early morning breakfast joints, but seriously, even the Keystone place was closed. I was devastated when I walked up thinking they'd be open! (Special shout out to the Salted Buttery Bakery! They had a great selection of baked goods, and suggested Elementary Coffee when I asked about options in the area).
- How do y'all handle the street parking? I couldn't imagine having to wonder if I'd be able to park near my home at the end of the day. We were lucky that the AirBnB had a garage, but it was a few blocks away and we needed to make the trek a few times to get our rental.
- Oh my god, does everyone drive slow or is it just the highway speeds that I'm used to tainting my experience of small town living? Seriously, and what's with people stopping on entrance ramps when they have their own lanes? Hahaha, it was driving me nuts!
