Chocolate Café (Linglestown)
Name: Madeline
When: Friday, August 22; 6:30pm
Been Before: Nope
Ordered: I ordered grilled Salmon that came with a dill sauce. This came with the choice of either soup or salad and one additional side from their menu. I ordered their lobster bisque and a grilled zucchini and yellow squash mixture. For dessert, I chose the chocolate molten lava cake.
The Food: The lobster bisque was out of this world and really set the standard for the rest of the meal. I was definitely not disappointed with the salmon and dill sauce. The salmon is a little plain on its own but the fresh dill sauce really brought the dish together. Anyone who loves chocolate would walk away happy after indulging in the warm chocolate lava cake. It is sinfully good and with a name like the Chocolate Café, I would expect no less.
The Ambiance: For what used to be the inside of a church, I think they did a very good job. The large windows let a great amount of natural light in which works well with the punchy interior colors.
Company: My best friend from high school.
Did Others Like Their Meals: Yes.
Cost: I did not order any alcohol, so with dessert, it was between $20-$25 dollars a person.
The Service: Very good.
Notes: Their little deck seemed like the place to dine on such a nice night. I was surprised at the lack of a crowd on a Friday night.
Recommendation: Yes, it would be a good choice if you are looking for a nice, simple and relaxed night out.

Raspberries (Downtown Harrisburg)
Name: Dave B.
When: Friday, August 22; Dinner
Been Before: Yes, for a casual lunch.
Ordered: Steak, wine, shrimp salad, child’s chicken fingers.
The Food: For me, probably like a 9-out-of-10.
The Ambiance: Very casual, very nice families (there was a special event going on in one of the banquet halls), service could have been slightly better---but, I’m only judging our individual server, and not the entire restaurant; I think she was either new or just having a bad day—and we had an especially comfortable booth for a very private dining experience.
Company: My hot girlfriend and my beautiful daughter.
Did Others Like Their Meals: Unfortunately, my hot girlfriend wasn’t too pleased with her shrimp salad; but, she was compensated with another meal of her choice.
Cost: Approximately $22 per person, including glasses of wine.
The Service: Good overall.
Notes: Great location, very affordable, very multi-cultural and very much a fine example of the energetic Harrisburg experience.
Recommendation: Of course.

Carrabba’s Italian Grill (Mechanicsburg)
Name: Katie
When: Sunday, August 10; Dinner
Been Before: Yes
Order: Chicken Marsala – it has very good grilled flavor and you can cut it with a butter knife, the chicken is that tender.  You get a nice amount of mushrooms and the sauce is so good I have to resist licking the plate after the chicken is gone.  Also, you can get spaghetti as a side and the sauce has a spicy kick and small chunks of prosciutto in it.  Yes, it’s every bit as good as it sounds.
The Food: 9-out-of-10. My meal was delicious, but the salad could have been a little better. You also get awesome awesome bread you dip in olive oil and spices.
The Ambiance: Relaxing atmosphere with Italian music.
Company: Husband and his Grandparents
Did Others Like Their Meals: Yes
Cost: $12-22 per person - most dinner meals include salad and at least one side.  Alcohol is $4-9 per glass of wine or mixed drink.
The Service: 8-out-of-10. The staff was knowledgeable about menu choices, but we waited for more water for a while.
Notes: So yummy and perfect for a date or just a night without cooking and doing dishes. Go hungry, the portion sizes are huge and you’ll end up eating more bread than you should.
Recommendation: Yes! Go tonight for dinner. Forget Olive Garden ever existed. The pasta is always al dente. Need I say more?

I’ve got to say, when I go to Isaac’s I usually forgo one of their bird-inspired creations in favor of a simple corned beef sandwich with lettuce, tomato and onion. I think that makes me the only person under the age of 50 who eats corned beef. Anyway, even if you weren’t born in 1983, find someone who was, and go get a sandwich. You didn’t feel like cooking tonight anyway.

Saturday, the Yorkfest Arts Festival opens in downtown York. It is York County’s biggest outdoor art festival, and it runs through Sunday. If your zip code is between 17000-17999 (that would presumably be most of you) you can also get a nice discount on Renaissance Faire tickets all weekend. With the discount, adult tickets are only $19.95. Plus it’s Pirates weekend! If you’re looking to stay closer to Harrisburg, it’s Dog Days (the furry things, not hot days in August) at Ashcombe nursery, there is a Madden ’09 tournament at The Coliseum and the Central Penn Piranha have a home game.

Sunday, there’s more Yorkfest, more Renaissance Faire and more baseball. Ski Roundtop is also holding an open house for its ropes course, and you can use selected high elements, the climbing walls and the zip line for one low price. Sunday night, Rascal Flatts and Taylor Swift will invade Giant Center. I don’t get Rascal Flatts, but whatever. Frankly, I still have no idea what I’ll be up to this weekend, but I hope you all find something to keep you entertained. Have fun kids.

CHECK OUT MY PICTURES FROM THE PERRY COUNTY FAIR ON FLICKR

After looking over the schedule of events for each day of the fair, I had decided that Wednesday night was going to be the best night for me to go. There was pony racing at 6:00, which was intriguing. Also, the Miss Perry County Fair Pageant was at 8:00. I figured that was probably one of the marquee events of the fair.

The pony racing turned out to be something of a disappointment, mostly because I couldn’t find the betting window. The real problem was, that none of the races we watched ended up being all that competitive. No one else at the fair really seemed to be paying too much attention, so we figured that we probably shouldn’t bother either.

The show barn, on the other hand, was an absolute mob-scene. I have a completely irrational fear of farm animals that weigh more than I do, and I felt absurd watching small children handle these humongous beasts so confidently. We watched a little bit of the animal judging, but I really have no idea what separates a blue ribbon winning sheep from the rest of the pack. I assume that the animals are judged against a breed standard like at a dog show, but I could be completely off-base there. I’m also assuming that a blue ribbon is the best kind to get, but there were about eight different sizes and colors of ribbons hanging from stalls all over the barn. Had I planned better, I would have arranged to bring someone along that could have been our guide to the fair. Again, my complete lack of knowledge and my fear of embarrassment kept me from asking one of the many friendly 4-H’ers in attendance what the hell was going on. In the end, it was too packed to move around anyway, so we decided to come back later.

After walking down the main drag of carnival games and food stands, we mingled with the crowd and picked up some outstanding pulled pork sandwiches. I’m no vegetarian, but I have to admit, I was a bit unnerved eating pulled pork less than 100 yards away from prize live pigs. In hindsight, I really hope there is a clear separation between the show barn and the food area. After taking a quick spin through the tractors, looking in the arts and crafts barns and talking to a very friendly fellow who wanted me to blow 100 dollars on a raffle ticket that would win me a gorgeous Harley (They were only selling 300 tickets so my odds were good, and even if I didn’t want to ride it, it would make a nice living room decoration, he told me. He was joking. I guess. Maybe), we headed back to see the crowning of Miss Perry County Fair.

Little did we know, that we took up our positions about an hour and a half too early. The pageant consisted of four pretty, elaborately dressed-up girls who had recently graduated from area high schools. The winner of the pageant took home $500 and the first and second runners up split $500 more, so really, I’m not sure how the field wasn’t closer to 40 or 400. Had I been a 16-20 year old girl, I couldn’t have signed up to be Miss Perry County Fair fast enough. With a wig and a forged birth certificate I might still sign up next year. Then again, in addition to being pretty, a few of the girls evidentially could pull their weight in the barn, and all three were involved in a laundry list of high school activities. That’s a big o-fer in three key categories for me. Four if you count actually being a “Miss.”

After the initial round of on-stage interviews, it was clear to Evan and I that there were really only two legitimate contenders for the title. The first girl was an excellent public speaker, and had a very prim and proper stage demeanor. She was going to college to study to become an obstetrician, which obviously gave her a leg up in the judging. The second girl was bubbly, and funny and clearly had the backing of the crowd. She was going to college to be an elementary school teacher.

The final test was a randomly selected question that each girl had to answer on the spot. Entering the final round, Evan had his money on the future obstetrician and I had the bubbly elementary school teacher. Miss-obstetrician was asked how she would improve the Perry County Fair, and she gave a very polished answer about expanding the show barn. Bubbly elementary school teacher was asked what she would tell girls to encourage them to enter future fair pageants. Unfortunately she faltered a bit in her response, but I still had some hope that her charisma would win over the judges.

We all waited anxiously while the judges tallied their scores. We waited some more. Then the emcee told a joke about a dead horse raffle. We waited. Then a lady came on stage and sang two songs. We waited for a while. Then the pageant organizer talked about the importance of the pageant. The crowd began to grow impatient. Then the emcee gave us bios on each of the judges. The men in the audience started looking at their watches. Then the 2007 Miss Perry County Fair talked about how being the Fair Queen had been the experience of a lifetime. All the while, a teenage couple sucked face ten feet from the right of the stage. We waited some more, tried to ignore the tangled teens and finally, the emcee told us that the 2008 Miss Perry County Fair was… Miss Obstetrician. A deserving winner I’m sure, but I was disappointed. As expected, Miss Elementary School Teacher was first runner up.

After that, we walked around a little bit more, bought some cotton candy (I know, I’m like, six), and went back to the show barn. Things had calmed down a bit, and I actually got to look at some of the animals. In the end, the parking lot had cleared out a lot by the time we left around 10:00. It seemed like everyone went home happy.

As I thought about the fair on the 20-minutes-longer-than-I-would-have-liked ride home, the thing that impressed me the most was the general spirit of community it obviously engenders among the population of Perry County. I liked growing up in Cumberland County, but I really don’t take any particular pride in saying I’m from there. Sure, I’m proud of my hometown, but my county? I certainly never thought of it as a unified whole. Perry County is obviously different. The fair was a celebration of that, and if it was a bit foreign to me, oh well, it wasn’t for me in the first place. That didn’t mean I didn’t have fun though.

Will I go back next year? Maybe. I might even petition them to select a Mr. Perry County Fair. As always, I took some pictures. You can check them out on Flickr.

In all honesty, the article is a good reminder about how far Harrisburg has come in the last 20 years. I know when I was younger, there was no reason to come into the city. That’s not the case anymore. Regardless of how you feel about what’s going on downtown, getting a positive mention in one the three American newspapers that remain nationally relevant (NY Times, The Post, USA Today) certainly can’t hurt. 

The interior of Bayou is small, quite comfortable, and uniquely decorated. I think that lighting is the single biggest factor in the ambiance of any space, indoor or outdoor, and the lighting in Bayou was perfect. The place had a laid-back, yet sophisticated vibe. I’ve gathered that Bayou is kind of known for their seafood pie appetizer, so Meg and I split one. Delicious. The andoullie sausage had a nice kick, but didn’t overwhelm the crawfish, shrimp or cheese sauce. I was afraid when I first saw the dish that it might be a bit too much puffed pastry for me, but the pastry was nice and flakey and didn’t dry out my mouth.

For my entrée, I had barbequed spareribs with baked macaroni and cheese and braised collard greens. The sauce on the spareribs fit my taste perfectly. It had a bitey, vinegary flavor with a peppery pop. The macaroni and cheese and greens were also prepared very well. Meg had jambalaya and said that the saffron infused rice in it was delicious. Our server was attentive, but not overbearing. My water glass was kept full, which is oh so important.

While we were there, the restaurant was fairly empty, and I hope that’s not the norm for Saturday night. So many people in Central Pennsylvania talk about wanting a variety of unique restaurants in the area, and to me, this is one of the good ones. I know you shouldn’t judge a restaurant after only one visit and I’m well aware that I’m no Tom Colicchio or Anthony Bourdain, but Bayou is definitely one of my new favorites.

The four horses in the race ended up being Palumbo’s, 2nd Street Pizza, Mama’s and Two Brothers; the four places nearby that serve pizza by the slice. Preparing for this highly scientific experiment involved me running from place to place and trying to get samples of all four pizzerias back to the office before the first one got cold. By the time I hurried into the fourth and final location with three pizza boxes already in tow, I was getting some pretty strange (and might I say, suspicious) looks from the hired help at the counter.

Once I got all the slices back to the office, I set up a blind taste test for the guinea pigs who had volunteered, lured by the promise of free food. Honestly, I expected the results to be fairly lopsided. Honestly, I turned out to be completely wrong. Someone had something nice to say about each of the slices. I’ve included some selected thoughts below, because my co-workers took their analysis very seriously.

1.) Second St. Pizza
Votes For Favorite: 2 (D.J. & Jason)
“This piece had a very pleasant spice that seemed to be garlic.  This seasoning blended very well with the cheese, which also seemed to have a different texture from the other slices.  I believe both the cheese and the crust had a more creamy texture.” — Jason

2.) Palumbo’s
Votes For Favorite: 2 (Dori & Jim)
“Flavorful cheese; nuanced tomato sauce; medium crust with little bubbles like NYC bagels.” — Dori

3.) Mama’s
Votes For Favorite: 2 (Fran & Winton)
“The cheese on Palumbo’s had a great flavor, but was slightly more greasy than Mama’s. Both had remarkably great tomato sauce flavor. When I get hungry for a pizza, either of these slices would “do it” for me.” — Fran

4.) Two Brothers
Votes For Favorite: 2 (Jeremy & Me)
“Nice even flavor, not too saucy or too cheesy.” — Jeremy

So there you have it. What did we learn? Apparently all the pizza places in downtown Harrisburg are created fairly equal. Or everyone just likes different things out of their pizza. Or out of life in general. Deep. If you have a favorite, let us know below and help break the tie. Have a great weekend, guys.

Events-wise, Friday night is all about music, or at the very least, musicals. The Whitaker Center has the feel-good fem-rock musical Girls Night, and their own description of the show tells me that it’s the “perfect treat for women of all ages.” Sorry guys, you’re not invited. The show is about a group of forty-something women out for a night of karaoke.

If that doesn’t appeal to you, you could always actually go out for a night of karaoke. Or go watch either Hoots and Hellmouth at Gullifty’s or The Juice at the Abbey Bar. Hoots and Hellmouth plays gritty, rootsy music that definitely has a place on my iPod. The Juice is a jam band, and though I don’t have tons of knowledge about their brand of music, they remind me a bit of the Disco Biscuits.

Saturday marks the beginning of Chivalry and Romance weekend at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire, so take that special someone to Mount Hope to do all kinds of mushy stuff. Or if you don’t have a special someone, go yourself and enter the wooing contest. Who knows what you’ll come home with if you win. Also on Saturday is the Kids and Kritters benefit at Jackson’s Junction, which features tons of live music including the Brit-pop outfit The Tamboureens, who I absolutely love. If you have a lot of hair and need a trim, you could also stop by the Locks of Love Cut-a-Thon at the Capitol City Mall. If you don’t have that much hair and love peaches as much as I do, don’t miss the Peach Festival at New Hope Church in Harrisburg. Millions of peaches, peaches for me, millions of peaches, peaches for free.

On Sunday, an absolutely brilliant bluegrass band from Alaska named Bearfoot(pictured) will be playing in Fort Hunter’s Sunset Series. Seriously, seriously beautiful music. Parisian string jazz quintet the Gadjo Playboys will also be playing outside as the latest installment in the Italian Lake Concert Series. As for me, I’ll be packing Friday night, moving during the day on Saturday and hopefully checking out a new restaurant and a new bottle of wine when all the boxes are empty. Have fun kids.

Bishop McDevitt H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Big Spring H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Boiling Springs H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Camp Hill H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Carlisle H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Cedar Cliff H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Central Dauphin H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Central Dauphin East H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Chambersburg H.S. website—schedule not yet posted
Cumberland Valley H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Dauphin County AVTS website—no sports teams; DCAVTS students participate at their “home” school
East Pennsboro H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Halifax H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Harrisburg Academy website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Harrisburg H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Hershey H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Lower Dauphin H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Mechanicsburg H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Middletown H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Millersburg H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Milton Hershey H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Newport Junior/Senior H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Palmyra H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Red Land H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Steelton-Highspire H.S. website—schedule not yet posted
Susquehanna Township H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Susquenita H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Trinity H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
Upper Dauphin H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule
West Perry H.S. website—Varsity Sports Schedule

There was another line in Chilly Willy’s grand opening press release that I found interesting:

“Soon, the new establishment, called Chilly Willy’s, will also begin offering a full range of beverages and, with a state liquor license, will serve Irish coffees, aperitifs and crème de menthe parfaits as after-dinner treats for patrons of all nearby restaurants.”

Needless to say, this did not happen for one reason or another. As a former ice cream slinger (Hershey’s Ice Cream Freezer Class of ’05, baby) and a devoted lover of Cookies ‘n Cream, this makes me a bit sad. It’s amazing to me that with all of the midday foot traffic in Harrisburg, an ice cream parlor can’t make a go of it.

CHECK OUT MY PICTURES FROM THE TRIKE DRAGS ON FACEBOOK OR FLICKR

Early on, it looked like the Patriot was going to pull it out again. They cruised early and cemented their spot in the finals less than 45 minutes into the festivities largely on the strength of the absolute dynamo who raced in their anchor slot. Commerce, on the other hand, had to fight back from the B-Bracket (losers bracket) just to make it to the finals. Even once they were there they had to beat the Patriot twice in a row to secure the title.

The crowd was firmly behind Commerce by the time the finals began. Just remember newsies, everyone gets tired of the dynasty after a little while and you’d become the New England Patriots of tricycle racing. After Commerce took the first race to set up a win-or-go-home final heat, the contingent from Capital Blue Cross even started a “Comm-erce Bank” chant. It was very Rudyesque. In the end, the last heat wasn’t even that close. Commerce blitzed the Patriot on the first leg and held on for the victory.

This was my first exposure to the Trike Drag, and it was interesting to say the least. I had no idea that people could get so fired up over adults in goofy helmets riding machines made for kids. You can check out my photos from the event on Facebook or Flickr. Fridays, huh? Have a good weekend all.

For Oenophiles (the wine crowd)...
Hunters Valley Winery—wine with bold, beautiful taste at a price that anyone can afford
Mount Hope Estate & Winery—home of the PA Renaissance Festival; since 1980, Mount Hope has produced award-winning wines for all occasions, even a line of berry wines, all from Pennsylvania-grown fruit
West Hanover Winery—more than 14 years in business and 45 years of experience makes for some very fine wine

For Animal Fans...
Lake Tobias Wildlife Park—a reptile room, a petting zoo and a safari tour all in one convenient place with a super reasonable price tag
Mister Ed’s Elephant Museum—surround yourself with more than 6000 elephants from all over the world, made from just about every substance known to man
Boyd’s Bear Country—food, fun and stuff to buy, like adopting a baby bear cub at the Teddy Bear Nursery, making your own Boyds Critter from start to finish or sitting for a fun portrait or bear-style snapshot

For Nature Nuts...
Ned Smith Center for Nature and Art—a tranquil outdoor experience, with a hardwood forest, stream, more than 12 miles of trails and stunning views of the Susquehanna River from the mountaintop. The land provides habitat for the wildlife Ned Smith immortalized—deer, bear, wild turkey, grouse, fox and many species of smaller animals
Colonel Denning State Park—hike, picnic, swim, boat or just take in all the peace and quiet of this 273-acre preserve
Benjamin Olewine III Nature Center—a great place for kids and adults alike to learn about nature and conservation

For Chocolate Cravers...
Hershey’s Chocolate World—of course, there’s the free tour-like ride, a new 3-D Show and choco-shopping galore
Matangos Candies—hidden gem, best known for its venetian mints, chocolate-covered pretzels and pecan & cashew patties
Wolfgang Candy—offers a free factory tour; known for milk-chocolate-covered animal crackers and dark-chocolate-dipped berries
Wilbur Chocolate—provides free admission to their Candy Americana Museum; known far and wide for their beloved Wilbur Buds

For Hopeless Romancers...
Berry Patch Bed & Breakfast—a quaint, private place to relax with your significant other; ask for a room with a two-person Jacuzzi tub
Union Canal House—this charmer stays true to its historic roots without choking you with period design; don’t miss its highly regarded restaurant and noteworthy wine list
Milestone Inn—enjoy an impeccably appointed room with a view of the River, close enough to downtown Harrisburg to make it perfect for a night out on the town and a short cab ride or long riverside walk
Allenberry Playhouse & Resort—a lovely, relaxing setting with amenities aplenty, you can’t go wrong spending an overnight or two with your love at this classic retreat
Hotel Hershey—ultimate pampering from the spa to the service to the views to decadent dining; if money is no object, this is the place to hang out and enjoy some chocolate indulgences

For Shop-Til-You-Droppers...
Crossroads Antique Mall—filled to the rafters with rustic furniture, primitives, pottery, glass, dolls and toys, including an impressive collection of china porcelain and local collectibles
Outlets at Hershey—manageable size with expected outlets plus big names including Coach, Gymboree, J. Crew, Pfaltzgraff, Disney Store, Ralph Lauren and White House/Black Market
Philadelphia Premium Outlets (bit of a hike, but great stores)—my favorites are Cole Haan, Kate Spade, Le Creuset, Lucky Brand Jeans, Neiman Marcus Last Call and Timberland
Rockvale Outlets (Lancaster)—impressive collection of stores including 10 for shoes, 20 for the home (Pottery Barn & Restoration Hardware) and 8 just for kids (European Pampolina is new); also notable, a Philadelphia Eagles gear outlet
Shoppes at Susquehanna Marketplace—Plum Bottom shoe boutique rocks (Joe knows shoes); Ann Taylor Loft, Banana Republic, Coldwater Creek, Eddie Bauer, J. Jill & Talbots are notable; Children’s Place, Clark’s and Williams Sonoma round out the other favorites; take a break at Romano’s Macaroni Grill for a bite or a glass of wine
VF Outlet Village (Reading)—you may get lost in more than 450,000 square feet of retail space, including VF brand names Vanity Fair, Lee, Wrangler, Nautica, JanSport and Lily of France

For Sports Fanatics...
Williams Grove Speedway—rev your engines at Williams Grove’s weekly sprint car racing (now through October), with appearances by the World of Outlaws; it’s a family atmosphere where prices are more than reasonable
Skyline Sports Complex—if you haven’t been to City Island, it’s a perfect family spot, with batting cages, mini golf, an arcade, riverboat rides and, of course, professional sports events
Adventure Sports in Hershey—great for families with go-carts, an arcade, ice cream and batting cages; miniature golf also makes for a fun (albeit competitive) date

For History Buffs...
Antique Auto Club of America Museum—now featuring period-correct motorcycles intermingled with over 100 historic automobiles in a timeline exhibit spanning eight decades
The National Civil War Museum—now through August 30th, see “Escape from the Peculiar Institution: Slavery, Abolitionism & the Underground Railroad”
State Museum of Pennsylvania—current Art of the State exhibition features 166 works by 160 artists from 28 counties across Pennsylvania, selected from a record 2,442 entries

Around lunchtime today , another story appeared on Pennlive which said that professional rabble-rouser, political showman and activist Gene Stilp was standing in front of Spice in support of Turner and Burkholder. The story did not include a picture [UPDATE: it does now], so I moseyed over to Spice to shoot one and ask Stilp what was up.

Stilp’s antics generally amuse me to no end, and he assured me that he wasn’t trying to get passerby, many of whom stopped to chat, to boycott Spice. Instead, he wanted them to tip the wait staff especially generously and simply ask management to reinstate Turner and Burkholder.

“We’ve got to take care of our servers and bartenders,” he said.

I stopped by about 12:45, and he said that he hadn’t heard anything from Spice management except for a request to move away from the front door. All in all, it seems like the situation has been handled in a pretty genteel manner by both sides. Anyway, figured I’d take a picture for those of you who prefer them to words, but I really don’t have an opinion.

CHECK OUT PICTURES FROM THE GAME ON FACEBOOK OR FLICKR

Harrisburg, who won the USL-2 Championship in 2007, scored three quickies and basically held on from there (aided by an absolutely bonkers save by goalkeeper Danny Cepero on a penalty kick), but even when the action on the field lagged a bit, the antics of the “Sons of Ben” in the crowd kept things moving. The S.O.B. are a group of die-hard Philadelphia soccer fans who started supporting their city’s MLS team before it even had one (the still-unnamed franchise will start play in 2010). They occasionally take field trips, and they took one to Harrisburg Saturday night.

The conduct of European soccer fans would seem more than a little bit out place in an American football basketball, baseball or hockey arena. Soccer fans aren’t content to just be loud. They sing original songs, bang on drums, throw streamers, wave banners, etc.; if you’re not a big soccer fan, check out Liverpool F.C fans singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” their club’s de facto theme song, to get an idea of what I’m talking about. On Saturday night, the “Sons of Ben” brought a little bit of European passion and fanaticism to City Island.

Some of their songs and chants were about the team. Others were pure brilliance. After Harrisburg torched Bermuda goalkeeper Tim Figuriedo for three goals early, the Sons of Ben borrowed from Mary Poppins and came up with, “tim timmery, tim timmery, tim tim tarooo, you let in three before minute 22.” The rest of the crowd wasn’t quite as enthusiastic, but in general, the atmosphere was a lot of fun.

As always, I look pictures. You can see them on Facebook or on Flickr, whichever you prefer. If you want to check out a game yourself, Harrisburg’s last home game of the season is this Wednesday, but depending on the results of that one, they may have a playoff game at home. After Saturday night, I’m going to do my best to get out. Ohhhhhh Islanderrrrrrsssss…

I got to HACC for my 7:00 match really early and nervously waited for my opponent to show up. As I watched the other matches in progress I noticed a few players that I felt like I could beat. I also noticed a few that players that probably would have eviscerated me with a tennis ball. In the end, my opponent, an extremely friendly middle-aged guy named Mike, was somewhere in between the two extremes, but he was still too much for me to handle.

Mike said it was the seventh or eighth time he’d played in the Harrisburg Open and it showed. He took advantage of my complete lack of match experience by continually pressing me at the net and forcing me to try to beat him down the lines. Sometimes I did. More often I didn’t, and he ended up winning 6-2, 6-0. The score line looks ugly, but honestly, I felt fairly encouraged by my effort.

I told Mike my situation before we even started playing, and after the match was over, he assured me that I had nothing to be embarrassed about.

“For only playing for a month, you’re doing great,” he said. “Your athleticism is a big asset. You should stick with it.”

Maybe he was just being friendly, but I do think I’m going to stick with it. I know that I’ll be in the field again next year without a doubt. At the very least I’m guaranteed another t-shirt. If you like tennis at all, the tournament would actually be fun to watch. It runs all weekend, so if you are in the neighborhood of HACC, stop by and pick a player to pull for. Have a good weekend everybody.

Also on Friday is First Friday in New Cumberland. It features DJ group Thing With Two Heads, extended hours for downtown stores, food, art, demonstrations and Irish music and dance (that’s two Irish dance events in two weeks, odd). If the free sausage at Oxford Hall Celtic Shop doesn’t fill you, I suggest dinner at Molly Brannigans (someone explain to me why there is no apostrophe there).

This is completely unrelated, but if you or your children are into the Twilight Saga books, you probably know that the fourth and final book Breaking Dawn comes out at midnight on Friday night. What you may not have known is that Barnes and Noble is having a release party.

If you weren’t into my Irish suggestions for Friday, you might be interested in a Caribbean Saturday. You could do the Reggae Festival in Reservoir Park in the afternoon, have dinner and drinks at Spice in the early evening, then hit the City Islanders game against Bermuda at night (I know that’s not really Caribbean, but close enough).  BYOB Blues Festival (I’m intrigued), The Lost, The Found & the Dearly Departed also takes place Saturday at the Harrisburg Postal Employees Picnic Grounds. In addition to the music, you can take a dish of your own to share and enjoy pork BBQ, fried catfish, chicken, fresh cut fries and more. If you’re into the food but couldn’t really care less about the blues, there is a chili cook-off in Duncannon and a lobster and corn boil in Millerstown.

Sunday there is a John Phillip Sousa concert at the Carlisle Theater, and American roots band Red Molly continues the Italian Lake Concert Series.

As for me, on Friday night, hopefully I’ll be playing in the second round of the Harrisburg Open. Saturday I’ll be going to the footy game and maybe grabbing something to eat downtown. Other than that, it’s all up in the air. Have fun kids.

Being that IMAX movies are displayed in a much larger format than your normal movie theater, I recommend arriving early to pick your seats. I sat in the middle of the theater and I wish I had been a few rows further back. If you are late, be prepared to sit in the front row and leave with a sore neck. The first couple of action scenes were a little bit overwhelming where I was sitting, and I imagine that if you had been sitting in the very front it would have taken a while to get comfortable. There’s just so much happening visually that it’s hard to take it all in. Everyone in the theater just sits there wide-eyed.

As for the movie itself, The Dark Knight was an excellent addition to the other Batman flicks. From Heath Ledger’s amazing portrayal of the Joker to something as small as Batman’s new gadgets, the movie has got something for everyone. I’d still recommend seeing it even if you are new to Batman all together, because there is no prior knowledge necessary. If you love Batman, you are in for a special treat.

Overall, I would highly recommend checking out The Dark Knight at the Whitaker Center. You could always go see it in a regular theater, but I’d make the extra effort to catch it in IMAX.”

If you’d like to take Winton’s advice, you can get tickets online here.

I think both MySpace and Facebook could help Spotobeings see who else is using the site, which in and of itself is kind of cool. Beyond that though, both pages have some other benefits. On the Facebook page, I would really love to see Spotobe fans begin taking pictures when they go out and posting them in the “fan pictures” section. One of our loyal readers was kind enough to post some pictures from the Billy Joel concert a few weeks back, and that’s awesome. We want Spotobe to be as open as possible, and anything you are willing to share with our community only adds to the experience as a whole.  If you are feeling super generous, you could also click on the “share this” option, and stick a link in your profile.

As for the MySpace page, it’s pretty freakin’ nifty looking, isn’t it? On there, you can send us messages and see a lot of the bands whose gigs we list every week. Both pages are still works in progress, and if there is any application that you think would be useful on either, let us know, either in the comments section here or on one of the pages.

Now get out there and have yourself a weekend.

Friday night you could also take the kids to see the Jonas Brothers and Avril Lavigne. Doesn’t this seem like a strange career choice for Avril? Three platinum albums and she’s opening for a boyband created by the Disney hype machine? Not that I’m saying there is anything wrong with the Jonas Brothers, they are probably the most famous band that I have never heard a single song from. If you are looking for a more local flavor, The Underwater is at Gullifty’s. If you’re looking for a different flavor entirely, the Greater Harrisburg Concert Band will be in Camp Hill.

Saturday night, you can watch the movie “Hairspray” live in Reservoir Park. For those of you who prefer live musical theater to filmed musical theater, the Rose Lehrman Arts Center is putting on a production of flirty, summery, softball musical “The Boy Friend.” Also on Saturday night, Lakeherst will be celebrating the release of their latest album with a show at the Whitaker Center. They’re good, the album is good, check it out. Brad Paisley is at the Giant Center too, making it two big concerts in two nights in Chocolatetown.

Actually, three big concerts in three nights (depending on how you feel about teen power pop, country and radio alternative) since 3 Doors Down will be at Hersheypark Stadium on Sunday with Staind and Hinder. All in all, it should be a fun weekend if you are trying to drive around the Hershey area. Sunday also features two outdoors community events, a Multi-Cultural Latino Picnic in Steelton and the latest installment of the Italian Lake Concert Series.

As for me, I’ll be at the beach. Have fun kids.

The weekend arrived. Dad, his friend, my husband and my sister’s date set out for their outing in the sweltering heat, as we ladies tried to reassure them that it would be cooler up in the mountains. Wishful thinking.

They survived the round, losing every ounce of excess water weight, not to mention quite a few balls. Naturally, they headed to the 19th hole for some re-hydration. This is where it gets good. Turns out, the Grille at Felicita has a deal that you pay just 1 cent per stroke for your post-round drinks. The guys were happy to show their scorecards—all were drinking for less than $1 a beer—and, not sure if the bartender was supposed to extend the deal past one drink, but apparently they enjoyed a few pints for less than $20 including a generous tip.

So there you have it, a challenging course on a weekend at a fair price with practically free drinks to help you forget the agony of the game. My kind of deal...provided I wasn’t pregnant! Give me five years—I’ll be back out there getting serious about golf.

I don’t know if I was good enough in my prime to even qualify for “washed-up” status now, but during my school years I did play three sports with varying degrees of success. I consider myself to be a lousy baseball player, a decent basketball player and a pretty solid soccer player. Nevertheless, I am in unequivocally awful shape. I play soccer and basketball occasionally, but I do both with as little expenditure of energy as possible.

Still, for some reason when I saw an ad for the Harrisburg Open on some flier from the City of Harrisburg earlier this summer, I felt compelled to enter. My plan was to take my loyal readers (all three of them) through my preparations for the tournament. That hasn’t really happened. As it stands, the tournament is a few weeks from now, and this is the first I’ve mentioned it.

My third week of tennis lessons starts tonight, and I have definitely made some progress. At this point, I’m probably an above average player, but I still have the sneaking suspicion that my opponents in the Open will be more above-average than me. My coach, Tom, keeps reminding me that it’s just for fun, which is probably his way of telling me I shouldn’t really plan on winning. The beautiful/horrible thing about an open tournament is that it all comes down to the draw. I could end up playing you in the first round, and you might totally stink. I could also end up playing your friend in the first round, and he might have played a little bit of tennis in college. Seeing as how I am chronically competitive, I’m quite nervous.

The only reason that I’m mentioning it at all at this point is because I’ve found the process to be extremely cathartic. I miss preparing my body to compete. This site is all about getting out and doing things, and this is a thing that I am getting out and doing. I realize that I might end up getting my butt kicked, but I’m okay with that (if any of you are interested in witnessing said butt kicking, I’ll let you know when my first match is as soon as I find out.) This was kind of a spontaneous thing that I decided to do on a whim, and I’ve found it really fun. My sense is that most everyone is stuck by random urges like this from time to time, and in the past, I’ve rarely acted on them. I’m not sure why I did this time, but for what it’s worth, I’m glad I did.

If I were going out, tonight I would probably consider checking out French Canadian proto-punk band Les Breastfeeders (charming name, I know. That’s them up there in the picture) at Spy Club. Or I might have gone to the Harrisburg Italian Festival for the homemade spaghetti dinner. Only $7 per person. Seriously, if you’ve ever waited an hour and a half for a table at the Olive Garden, it’s crazy not to go to this. Homemade bread!

The Festival continues Saturday with a bocce tournament, which I would love to play in. I consider myself to be a formidable bocce player. Also Saturday is the Fort Halifax Music Festival, which is headlined by Beatlemania Now. If you’re looking for something a bit unique, the 4th Annual McGinley School Feile will be at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg East. It’s an Irish dance competition, and I can almost guarantee you’ve never been to one of those. The City Islanders are also at home against Western Mass.

Sunday, is the Whitaker Center Wedding Showcase, so, um, that should be fun, right? There’s also a flower walk at Wildwood Lake for those who love to be outside, and the Downtown Comi-Con for people who don’t. Juuusssstttt kidding, it looks like an awesome event. As for me, I don’t care what I do, but I need Mexican food and I need it now. Random craving. Have fun kids.

Alright, drum roll please. (Seriously? That’s all you’ve got?) And the winner is… 13 year-old Miranda B. of Harrisburg! Hopefully Miranda and her friends will enjoy the four passes to Hersheypark. She was gracious enough to say she would take some pictures to share when she uses the tickets.

Miranda’s guess of 1,872 balls was off by only nine. There were, in fact, 1,863 balls in the eight-foot tall container, and if you don’t believe me, YOU come count them. Thanks to everyone who participated. Remember to keep checking www.spotobe.com/artcontest to vote for the winner of the Art Contest. The finalists will be posted in the coming weeks.

To explain this, I have to recount a painful amount of personal information, but I trust you Spotobeings out there not to judge. First, I went to school in Virginia, with a lot of people from Northern Virginia (which, for those of you not familiar with the area, is its own state within VA, affectionately known as “NoVa"). So, naturally, when it came time to find my first job and first apartment, I migrated with my new friends to NoVa, where I found a job in advertising, a relatively cheap townhouse to share and a great ratio of singles. This suited me for about 18 months, at which time, I started to yearn for something less conservative, less political and less materialistic. So I moved to South Florida, near Boca Raton, and satisfied two of my three wishes (Boca is practically the capital of materialism!). I loved the weather, which I took further advantage of by buying a convertible LeBaron, and liked the freedom that freelance writing afforded. I partied with some super cool people—from Muhammad Ali to C-list celebrities, dabbled in about a dozen different enterprises from TV production to modeling to software marketing, and got to experience Fantasy Fest in Key West first-hand. Unfortunately, all this fun comes with a price and my gigs did not begin to cover it.

Needing to dig my way back out of debt, I reconnected with my boss in NoVa and took a job there in marketing and advertising again. I lived with a high school friend there for a pittance (nice friend!) and starting paying back a monumental IOU to my parents (nice parents, though I did pay it back with interest). While this was a pleasant arrangement, there was a glitch. You see, I’d fallen in love with a guy who lived in NYC, and as an actor, was not moving to NoVa for me. The allure of the big city was too great, especially since I had a “guardian” and a place to stay. So off I went, without a job, but with more freelance writing connections than ever.

This time, I was able to make some money and live within my means (even with the huge monthly nut to my parents). However, before long, I fell out of love and opted to get my own place. Cost of living was now a bit steeper. For example, volleyball cost me $150 a month, plus the cost of the required social eating and drinking that always followed games. Still, I was in my element, for the first time in my adult life, and I loved everything about living in NYC—cost of living be damned. It was a great place to be single and social. I threw myself a huge 30th birthday party at Turtle Bay, got myself invited to the Hamptons a few times, tracked down sample sales, dated some rich guys, dated some not rich but way hotter guys, finally found myself in love again (thanks, Match.com) and then found myself reeling from the after-effects of 9-11. My employer at the time was based in NoVa (I kid you not) and needed to downsize, so I either had to move back there or lose my job. I chose the latter. My man (and future husband) refused to live in Manhattan and convinced me that a move was in order. We found a rental in Greenwich, CT (one of the wealthiest ZIP codes in the U.S.) and I got a new job in marketing in the Nutmeg State. We then bought a townhouse for an exorbitant sum in Stamford. About two years later, we sat down with a financial consultant to map out our investment strategy and, instead, learned that we could not buy a house and have a second kid at our current pace, let alone make any investments. Now, we both worked full-time at good jobs, pulling down six figures each. That’s a respectable amount of change some places, but not in the New York Metro area.

We looked at each other and realized we were ready to exit the rat race. We weren’t single anymore. We had nothing to prove to anyone (if ever we did?). My husband hated his commute into Manhattan, which he’d been doing for 11 years, and I was game for a change, too. We started bandying prospective cities about and quickly recognized that we wanted to be near family now that we had a baby. We were living near a lot of family and friends (his and mine) where we were. Thus, our options were limited to Las Vegas; Ft. Lauderdale; Montgomery County, MD; Kansas City; and Harrisburg. We ruled out Las Vegas for lots of reasons, Ft. Lauderdale for lack of culture, Maryland for its high cost of living and Kansas City for being too far from an ocean. I could not believe we were seriously considering a move back to Central PA. But the facts were right in front of me: super reasonable housing prices, good schools, doting grandparents as well as lots of other family and friends nearby, proximity to major cities, healthy job market, not susceptible to tsunamis, mudslides or earthquakes. 

We decided to test the water and see if we could get any job interviews. We had some bites and made a few trips to meet with prospective employers. On our second trip, we started house-hunting, unofficially, to see what our money could buy. We were delighted to realize that we could get a big brand new home for what our townhouse would fetch. But, to us, the new homes felt really pre-fab, with hollow doors and contractor-grade cabinets and basically the cheapest materials they could muster from top to bottom. Even the lots themselves were less than inspiring, most with few trees and lots of construction going on all around. We weren’t feeling it. Then we got wind of an old house that came on the market in my parents’ town. It was not exactly what we were looking for, but the price was half of what we were seeing in new homes, so we hurried to see it before we headed back North.

Built in 1915, it was a Prairie Foursquare style house on a tree-lined avenue with just the right amount of land. The woodwork was amazing, with hardwood floors throughout, a partially finished basement, a fully finished attic and only 1.5 baths, the half being in the pantry in the kitchen. Ah, old houses. We were in love. We made an aggressive offer and found out one week later that we were proud owners of the old house in my old hometown. Holy smokes—what had we done? Neither of us had a job and we still owned a townhouse in another state. Our parents thought we were crazy. My friends were in a state of shock. I was “the last person” they ever thought would move back.

Fortunately, my husband landed a great job in IT less than five miles from our house. We were able to do a little work on the house before we moved in, but it all happened really fast. We closed on our townhouse about a month later, just before the market fell off, making a pretty penny on that transaction. I was able to freelance for my former employer through the end of that year and soon found myself in talks with andCulture. In short, everything fell into place like magic. And, though we had friends and family here looking out for us, we got the jobs totally on our own. The hardest part of the move was finding a new childcare solution for my son, since the in-home situation we had in CT was so fantastic.

Now that we’ve been here for almost two years, I can honestly say that I never appreciated this area while growing up here. Sure, I visited the State Museum, went to Pinchot Park, walked wide-eyed around the Farm Show, craved Roberto’s Pizza and had a season’s pass to Hersheypark. But there is so much going on here that I never experienced. Seeing it through a transplant’s (my husband’s) eyes helps. Having grown up in Chicago, Tampa and the NYC area, he appreciates being within three hours of Baltimore, DC, Philly and NYC; but more than that enjoys being close to great hiking trails, free concerts, ethnic-themed festivals, public golf courses, semi-pro sports and lots of colleges, and being surrounded by down-to-earth people who understand the meaning of “community.”

Best of all, we get a lot more for the money here. Check out the economics: The house we bought here would be easily five times the cost where we used to live and, combined, we took only about a 30% paycut. Our other major expense was daycare, which costs less than HALF of what we paid in CT. That’s an extra $700 a month in our pocket right there! Of course, our car payment is the same, insurance and taxes are comparable and groceries are no cheaper. Dining out, however, is a lot more reasonable, even at the nice places. We used to travel almost 40 miles a day by car, plus pay $350 for my husband’s monthly transit pass and parking permit. Here, we travel 20 miles roundtrip (10 if we can carpool) and our out-of-pocket for parking is $70. At today’s gas costs, we’re saving about $375 a month in commuting costs, not to mention the time savings.

Spotobe has opened my eyes to how much this area has to offer. I’m still learning and checking out new restaurants, parks, venues and museums, and I’m happy to be working with people who feel the same way. Kudos to MSN and their analysts for letting the ‘burg out of the bag.