In the comments of my ill-fated existential-blog-crisis, Lisa Williams (of a million and one interesting projects, like H20town.info, a catalog of Place Blogs, and a great series of Podcasts for the Center for Citizen Media) notes that she’ll be in Harrisburg next month:
>I’m going to be in Harrisburg the 19th and 20th.
I’ll have the afternoon and evening of the 19th to kill in Harrisburg — so what should I do? Where should I eat — you know, nothing I have to dress up or take out a mortgage for. Burgers?
I’ve been out of town for nine months, and was a bit of a homebody when I *did* live there, so hopefully more people will contribute to this thread.
If you only have one afternoon to spare, There Is Only One Lunch, and it is called The Cowboy Crunch. And it is Good.
For Dinner, I’m fond of Ed Rendell-favorite Da Pits, Kokomos, Firehouse, Appalachian Brewing Company, and Zephyr, and Jonathan always has great things to say about Jackie Blue. I can vouch for the general affordability of all but the last.
As far as stuff-to-do goes, the state capitol building is worth taking a look inside, The Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts is pretty cool, but I’m not sure how different it is from other “discovery”-style museums that every medium-sized city seems to have, including the requisite IMAX Theater.
If it’s a nice day you should cross the walking bridge at walnut street and take a stroll around City Island.
There’s some controversy about whether buying the artifacts for The National Civil War Museum was an appropriate use of public funds, and why exactly such a thing should be built in a city that never saw a battle, but it’s otherwise very well-done and worth the admission.
Hershey is only a short drive away, I’m not sure if you’ll find the “simulated factory tour” of Chocolate World very interesting, but the town itsef might be worth some investigating, as (nearly?) the last remaining Company Town. Milton Hershey School, the orphanage/boarding school started by Milton and Catherine Hershey and recieved the bulk of his fortune and assets after he died (and my alma mater), has guided tours.
Of course, I’m pretty boring. Hopefully some better suggestions show up in the comments ;)
