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This week on SaraBozich.com

Aloha from not-so-sunny or warm Indiana! We were planning to be out on a boat on a lake today, but cooler temps may say otherwise. While we look for alternate plans, here’s what the week was back home:

From PennLive/The Patriot-News:

My “Weekend Picks” featured weekly on The River 97.3:

Official blog of the Hershey-Harrisburg Visitors Blog:

CATEGORIES: Travel

Shop Local: A Guide to Farmers Markets

Memorial Day weekend is practically synonymous with backyard cookouts and barbecues. That means many of us will be heading to the store to pick up the ingredients for every snack, entree and dessert imaginable. This year, instead of running to your local grocery, consider hitting up a local farmers markets.

apple basket

 

Farmer’s markets are great for small business and provide a wealth of items from spices to fruits and vegetables to homemade breads and more. I’m obsessed with the Broad Street Market now that I live in Midtown, but there is a market in almost every neighborhood these days, so grab your tote bag and hit the streets.

PennLive recently did a rundown of local markets, but here are a few of my favorites.

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Weekend Roundup 5/23

With just a few days since I’ve been off-the-grid in rural Virginia, I’m heading back on the road this weekend to Indiana (the state) to see one of my best friends — and I cannot wait! Looking forward to wine by the fire pit, Saturday on a boat and overall catching up.

It’s Memorial Day weekend — so two quick important reminders:

  1. Artsfest in downtown Harrisburg will wreck your travel into the city. Be prepared, and for goodness sake, look out for pedestrians. 
  2. Don’t drink and drive; don’t text and drive. There will be approximately everyone on the road. Be patient and keep your head straight. Cell phone companies are asking you to pledge not to text and drive ever. Be smart — nothing is that urgent. Pull over before texting/emailing and use hashtag #itcanwait to show your support.
Hersheypark Happy!

Hersheypark Happy!

Now, back to the fun stuff! Hersheypark (Friday) and The Boardwalk (Saturday) open for the season, full-time this weekend! I checked out some of the newer slides and water fun earlier this week. Our favorite? The Whirlwind, a two-person waterslide that shoots you into a giant “whirlwind flume.”

As always, your best bet is to buy tickets at Giant, where you get a $15 discount plus free parking.

How are you spending your Memorial Day Weekend?

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8 Easy ways to fit in a workout on vacation

I realize many people like to use their vacations and weekend getaways as a chance to completely relax and unwind, and I totally get that.

flowatbeach

However, I am someone who needs to sweat a little, and I honestly enjoy getting a good workout in before I begin my day whether I am headed to the office or the beach. I typically cut back on exercise when I’m away, but one of my favorite things to do when in a new place is to explore by foot.

Here are some tips if you’re looking to get moving when you’re traveling.

  1. First – and most importantly – pack your workout clothes. If you waste suitcase space on sneakers and workout gear, chances are you’ll be more inclined to use them.

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CATEGORIES: Fitness, Running, Travel

Giveaway: SaraBozich.com Booze Cruise {#sbhh}

Well, folks, this is one of those rare occasions where procrastination can be an advantage.

In just a couple weeks, we’ll host the second annual SaraBozich.com Booze Cruise aboard The Pride of the Susquehanna. We had a great party last year, so we knew we had to do it again.

boozecruise2

The Booze Cruise kicks off at 5 p.m. on June 5 with a pre-party on the Overlook Deck on City Island featuring free beer and booze samples, light food from Arooga’s, music and a bunch of free stuff.

We’ll board the boat a little after 6 p.m. and cruise the river for two hours, entertained with island-inspired music from DJ Geoffro. This year, we’ll have two bars on-board – the full service bar inside the cabin and a beer-only bar on the top deck for your convenience.

The after party will be held at Arooga’s Downtown, where it’s wing night — but check your swag bag for special cruise-only coupons!

We have just a handful of tickets left, so if you don’t like to leave your fun to chance, you can order yours here.

Or, you can leave a comment below to enter to win a pair of tickets to the SaraBozich.com Booze Cruise on June 5.

For extra entries (you must leave a separate comment for each extra entry in order for each to count), you can:

Enter early and often. One winner will be selected at random at the end of the week.

Please note: You may do each of these items only once per giveaway. All repeat entries will be discarded.

CATEGORIES: Harrisburg, SBHH

Sunday School: Viognier & Floral IPAs

This weekend we’re writing from the lovely Commonwealth of Virginia, where we’ve traveled for few days of rest and relaxation. In addition to the normal R&R routine, which will consist of fishing for Nate and lots of reading for me, we will also take some time to visit a handful of the state’s five distilleries, 40 breweries and 200 wineries.

viogniersVirginia has a rich history of viticulture; Thomas Jefferson had two vineyards at his Monticello home and today the state boasts a surprising number of great wineries. We probably won’t make it to a few of my favorites (Boxwood, Chrysalis and Linden), but we will make it over to see the incredibly friendly folks at Desert Rose and the wonderful Rappahannock Cellars.

I likely will leave most places with a hearty bottle of cab franc or a meritage blend, but I’m also planning to purchase a bottle or two of viognier, a white wine with a golden hue that is so popular that in 2011 the Virginia wine board named it the state’s signature grape.

The resurgence of viognier is interesting, especially considering that the French grape was almost extinct 50years ago. At the time, there were only three acres of viognier in the world. Fortunately, viognier was saved from extinction, and today is grown in several regions, including in Virginia, where it grows particularly well.

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This week on SaraBozich.com

The New Old Fashioned at the Garlic Poet.

The New Old Fashioned at the Garlic Poet.

Just finished printing our Commonwealth of Virginia fishing licenses (5-day Freshwater license for $21/each), Andy’s packing up the truck, and we’re about to head out for a long weekend by the Shenandoah River. An updated forecast looks much like rain, so we’ll tour wineries and possibly even a local distillery. Also on tap: finding a tavern to watch The Preakness.

While we’re en route to a weekend in rural Virginia for some R&R, let’s just dive right in:

From “Out with Sara” on PennLive/The Patriot-News:

PLUS:

  • My top weekend picks – shared each Friday morning as a guest on The Rock’n Roll Breakfast with Glenn Hamilton on The River 97.3.

CATEGORIES: Travel, Wine

5 Ways to Pinterest success

Are you on Pinterest? The addictive site attracted record users when it began, but it’s had its downfalls.

In fact, there is an entire blog devoted to the failures of those being a little overly ambitious on Pinterest. But while many people delight in sharing their Pinterest fails, I’ve found that many ideas I’ve lifted from the site have been quite successful from decorating ideas and especially recipes.

I’m here to reassure you that some things are incredibly doable. Here a few great incredibly easy ideas pulled straight from Pinterest that you can try at home.

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CATEGORIES: Home

Weekend Roundup 5/16

I’m pretty excited to be headed to Shenandoah National Park in Virginia this weekend, for two and a half days of fishing, reading, wine trailing, eating s’mores, drinking beer by fire and general relaxing. I’ll try to check in.

The scene from last night’s “6yearup” #hbgtweetup. Photo by David Farre.

In fact I’m traveling the next three weekends, two of which are long weekends out of state. Expect a harried Sara next week, let’s just say that.

My timing isn’t exactly on because I hate to miss PA Greek Fest, which runs Friday through Sunday this weekend, and I’m also missing a friend’s surprise baby shower, as well as loads of other great events, which of course you can read about after the jump.

Keep in mind it is also American Craft Beer Week, and you’ll find lots of related events. Drink local for the holiday! I recommend heading to Liquid Hero or Bube’s Brewery for their collab Black IPA. Or go to Pizza Boy (Al’s of Hampden) and try a refreshing Blue Collar Lager or something wilder like the Mayan Hopocalypse. (Just don’t forget a D.D. if you’re drinking the latter.)

I’d also like send a shout-out Happy Anniversary to Level 2 — Can you believe it’s been five years? I can’t wait to see what’s next.

What are you doing this weekend? 

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34 Local summer races from 1 mile to Half-Marathon

It’s hard to believe, but it’s already time for the summer race roundup! Get those miles in, and pick a few local races to run this summer.

image from www.runningday.org

Below is a list of many nearby races taking place over the next few weeks — This list isn’t inclusive, so if we missed one, please share it in the comments!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or advanced runner — you’ll find distances from as short as a mile to as long as a half marathon.

What’s on your summer schedule?

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