Pennsylvania coaster weekend

This past weekend I took a trip up to central Pennsylvania to attend CocoaCon, a coaster enthusiast event at HersheyPark. I flew up Friday evening, and went in to downtown Harrisburg, which was surprisingly happening. There was a free Jazz festival, so many buildings and shops were open late, and lots of people were walking around. I popped in to a few buildings before having dinner at Millworks Brewery and some ice cream at Nittany Scoops. Both were great!

Harrisburg has some nice old buildings.

New mural going up.

Another cool building.

Surprisingly good urban form in this part of the city. Great for pedestrians.

Watching some jazz inside the 1893 Central Trust Company building.

The Broad Street Market.

The Midtown Scholar bookstore.

Inside the market.

Looking at part of the market building that caught fire and is being restored.

Trying the lager at Millworks.

Pretty good pizza!

Great vibes in downtown Harrisburg.

Local ice cream at Nittany Scoops to close out the night.

The next morning I arrived at HersheyPark around 8:30AM to check-in to the event and meet up with my coaster friends Kyle and Ron. I've been to HersheyPark before, but not since 2014, so there were three new coaster credits for me. We started with a quick ride on Candymonium before a walkback for the first ride of the day on the new Wildcat's Revenge. It was a hot (upper 80s and humid) and crowded day at the park, but luckily we had fast passes which helped out with the lines. It was also forecasted to rain, but luckily it didn't other than a slight sprinkle in the late afternoon. The day ended with some exclusive ride time in the dark on Wildcat's Revenge. An exhausting but great day!

Welcome to HersheyPark!

Getting ready to ride Wildcat's Revenge.

It's a fantastic new ride.

Great Bear looping next to the water.

SkyRush's criss-crossing tracks.

Fahrenheit is another photogenic coaster.

The next morning I drove north to Knoebels, one of my favorite amusement parks. It's a family-operated park that is kind of in the middle of nowhere, tucked into a forested valley. The park is free to enter, and there isn't even a fence around it. They have a wide variety of immaculately maintained historic rides, and just a generally fantastic atmosphere. Phoenix is my favorite wooden coaster, and was running in top form. I only had three hours at the park since it didn't open until noon and I had to drive 90 minutes to the Harrisburg airport for my evening flight out, but I managed to ride each of the coasters at least once, plus several of the other main attractions. I also hit a big milestone - Kozmo's Kurves was my 900th roller coaster credit! It was again forecasted to rain, but luckily it didn't start raining until I left and was driving to the airport.

Welcome to Knoebels!

The park map shows a bunch of rides just tucked into the trees.

Hanging with Kozmo!

Ron with Kozmo.

Ticket for the amazing Haunted Mansion, celebrating 50 years.

Knoebels buys and restores historic rides - this one is from Joyland in Texas, which closed last year. 

My 900th coaster!

Roller coasters in the trees.

Did I mention Knoebels is charming?

The unique Flying Turns coaster - the world's only wooden bobsled coaster.

Phoenix is another moved and restored ride - it came from Playland Park in the mid 1980s.

Yay, Phoenix!

There are lots of fun little things all around the park.

The park floods on occasion.

The stream runs right through Knoebels.

A mosaic in the floor of the airport.

Thank you, I did enjoy the middle!

Pennsylvania is a great coaster destination, with 59, more than any state except California, Texas, and Florida. HersheyPark and Knoebels are both top notch, and I was glad to also have a little time in Harrisburg. Can't wait to come back!