It all started with a slice of pie. Shoofly pie to be exact. Apparently, I am the only person on the planet who had never tasted this sticky sweet confection of molasses and brown sugar with a crumb crust.
A Pennsylvania Dutch staple, each bite of Shoofly pie made me realize how very little I know about the Keystone State (aka the Quaker State or the State of Independence). Sure, I can rattle off some Philly trivia (Benjamin Franklin, Brotherly Love, cheese steaks, the Liberty Bell, Patti LaBelle) but Philly is just one city in a state of more than 12,000,000 people. Energized by the sugary goodness of the Shoofly pie, I was determined to learn more about Pennsylvania. If my list below inspires you to visit PA, log on to www.PAStories.com to enter a sweepstakes to win one of 12 fantastic Pennsylvania vacation packages.
1. Wine - Who knew that Pennsylvania had more than 100 wineries? With approximately 14,000 acres of grapes, Pennsylvania ranks 8th nationally in the production of wine. There are several wine trails you can visit, including the Groundhog Wine Trail, Brandywine Wine Trail, and the UnCork York Wine Trail.
2. Beer - Not only is Pennsylvania home to Yuengling,the oldest brewery in the United States but it also has six breweries that pre-date prohibition - more than any other state. Today there are more than 50 brew pubs and small breweries in Pennsylvania.
3. Art - The Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh is the largest museum in the world dedicated to the work of one artist. Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural masterpiece, is located in the Laurel Highlands just an hour away from downtown Pittsburgh.
4. Snacks- Being the home of iconic brands like Hershey's, Heinz, Frito-Lay, Herr's and UTZ have secured Pennsylvania's position as the "Snack Food Capital of the World." Klondike Bars, Whoopie Pies and Shoofly Pie were all invented in Pennsylvania.
5. Scenery - Pennsylvania has 17 million acres of forest and 83,000 miles of rivers and streams. National Geographic named Route 6 as one of the top 10 scenic drives in the country.
To learn more about Pennsylvania, visit www.VisitPA.com.
