Everyone wants to do new things and explore the world, but what about exploring where we live? We live here and sometimes think there isn't anything exciting or fun to do, which is why most vacation out of state. But I am here to tell you, there are adventures right here in Pennsylvania.
1. Skydiving
This is on my to-do list and I plan on doing before the end of next summer. There is just something thrilling about jumping out of a plane and cascading down, while admiring all of Pennsylvania's beauty. My brother just recently went skydiving and I am beyond jealous of him right now. He went with Skydive Happy Valley which is ten to fifteen minutes from my house, and I will more than likely end up doing the same. There are many different skydiving places to go, just check with the areas around you. Depending on your area, be sure to have at least $150-$295 with you. There are gear rentals, pictures and video ops, group discounts, military, and student discounts available.
2. Parasailing
If you aren't one for jumping out of a plane thousands of feet in the air, how about jumping off the top of a mountain and parasailing instead? There is a mountain that many of these adventurers use called Jack's Mountain and it is the mountain to get from Belleville to McVeytown or vice versa. Fall is right around the corner and what better way than to parasail through the sky and experience an aerial view of all the trees changing colors? I have never jumped off a mountain top to parasail, but I have parasailed over an open ocean during shark week once, and I would much rather know that there isn't anything at the bottom that would eat me if I landed in water.
3. Hot Air Balloon Ride
This is also something I want to do, and I have seen hot air balloons before around State College and other areas, like Lancaster. I didn't think there were places that offered rides to the general public, but there are! I was surprised by how many hot air balloon services there are located all over Pennsylvania. It's cool, yet scary, that you are floating around Pennsylvania in a basket. Really, it's mostly cool!
4. Zip lining
With all the mountains in Pennsylvania one would assume there is zip lining, and correctly so. I went zip lining before in Hawaii and it was truly an amazing experience to glide on a skinny rope through trees and admire the nature surrounding me. There is a zip lining service in Lancaster and seems to be reasonable priced from $50-$80. If you're interested, check it out.
5. Visit abandoned hospitals, highways and cemeteries.
With fall approaching and Halloween quick to follow, what better way to scare yourself shitless than to visit an old abandoned hospital, highway or cemetery? Like Centralia with the abandoned highway I visited earlier this year, it was cool to experience infrastructure that no longer serves a purpose to those in the town, but makes a great site to visit. Try Philadelphia's penitentiary, it's a great place to get chills and thrills. If you visit opacity.us, a website by Tom Kirsch, it shows various different places that anyone can visit throughout Pennsylvania and other states. This website offers you photos and information on different sites to explore.
I am sure there are a lot of other thrilling adventures to experience in Pennsylvania, but I feel like these five are good places to start. I didn't even realize that Pennsylvania had so much to offer until one day I thought to myself, "Why would anyone visit Pennsylvania?" Once I asked myself that question, I decided to look on the Pennsylvania Tourism site and found so much to do right here at home.
