We’ve all made pivots over the past 15 months in order to keep our careers on track. I was able to parlay my 20-plus years of writing about Lancaster County into penning a travel guide as a result of answering a post on an online job board. Now, armed with suggestions regarding the people, places and things I either forgot to mention or were eliminated during the editing process, I could probably write Volume 2.
The view from afar shows Pennsylvania as tale of two cities, Philadelphia in the east and Pittsburgh in the west. While the draw of one-stop vacationing in the bigger cities may be tempting, PA—the only state commonly known by its abbreviated initials—is home to hundreds of small-town wonders as well. To uncover these lesser-known gems, TravelMag asked more than 100 seasoned adventurers, travel writers, photographers, and industry professionals to name their top three most charming towns and small cities with populations of less than 100,000 people in Pennsylvania.
The barrier island, home to the Virginia town of Chincoteague, is nestled between the mainland and Assateague Island National Seashore and gets its name from the Gingo Teague tribe of Native Americans who hunted nearby. Built on the blue-collar traditions of fishermen and women, Chincoteague is renowned for its oysters, which thrive in the salty bays. But bivalves are not the only creatures that lure hundreds of tourists to the island every year.
At any given time on Lancaster County back roads, a driver can spot as many plates from states like New Jersey, New York and Maryland as those from Pennsylvania. It is an understatement to say tourism plays a significant part in Lancaster County’s economy. According to analysts at Tourism Economics, nearly 8 million visitors came to Lancaster County in 2013, spending more than $1.9 billion while here. And while it is easy to give the credit for a massive influx of tourists to the plain sector, Tourism Economics reports: “The fundamental motivation driving a visit to Lancaster County … is the destination and the overall experience the area has to offer.”
Brightly colored houses. I’d seen them on film and maybe in books as a kid, and I had forgotten about them; when I caught my first up close glimpse of Bermuda the deck of Grandeur of the Seas those island homes flooded back into my mind. I was immediately more excited to come ashore.
