Lehigh Valley InSite

To-do-list-sticky

As I tried to figure out what to write this blog post on, I realized it’s time to make a to-do list. Not only will a list motivate me to go do something in Lehigh Valley, but if I share it with you, I’ll feel a sense of responsibility to follow through with it. (I did it once before and it worked out pretty well.)

If you’re ever looking for things to do in Lehigh Valley, the Lehigh Valley Map & Guide is a great starting off point for ideas. I paged through the proofs for the new Lehigh Valley Map & Guide (which should be here in two weeks!) and found five things I now plan to do during 2011:

Foulkin around at foulkers

If you’ll remember, I’m a bit of a pool player. And I’d much rather go out, support a local restaurant, and have someone else cook for me. There are many places around Lehigh Valley where people like me who enjoy these two things can go for a night out. One of my favorites is Foulker’s at the Blue Ridge in New Tripoli.

I spend most of my time at Foulker’s because of their two pool tables, which are typical 7′ x 3 1/2′ bar table (75 cents a game). What’s NOT typical is the balls, cue sticks and linen felt are in great shape compared to most places.

Billys Downtown Diner

I first heard about Billy’s Downtown Diner in Bethlehem a couple years ago, but I’d never been there … until recently.

I love breakfast food, so when Jamey called one Saturday morning to see if I wanted to meet for breakfast at Billy’s, I quickly said yes. We got there around 11 a.m. and immediately saw the line starting to spill out the front door (a regular sight on weekends). Yet, we were seated almost immediately.

2010 Allentown Fair Demo Derby - credit Jamey Holben

Last Monday, I was seriously in the mood to crash my car into every vehicle I passed. I wasn’t in a bad mood or anything. After nearly three hours at the J&J Demolition Derby, the last big hurrah every year at The Great Allentown Fair, I was so psyched from watching cars ram each other, I couldn’t help it! Lucky for everyone driving through Lehigh Valley, I didn’t give in to the urge to use my Subaru as a battering ram.

My buddy Jon and I arrived about a half hour before the demo derby was scheduled to begin. Seating at the derby is first come first serve and, by the time we got there all the good seats (the ones closest to the center of the grandstand) were filled. Armed with a Flip video recorder and a digital camera, we were on a mission to get some great shots of this event anyhow, so we didn’t mind standing on the walkway between the grandstand and the track, where the cars and trucks were “performing.”

Sublime With Rome

I arrived at Sunday’s Sublime With Rome concert at Musikfest’s RiverPlace stage just as the first opening act, The Movement, was finishing up so I didn’t pay much attention to them. (For my thoughts on the venue itself, check out the first part of this two-part blog post.)

The second opening act, The Dirty Heads, sounded similar to Sublime With Rome so I could groove along with their set even though I’d never heard of them before. It was during their set I was introduced to Rome Ramirez, the lead singer/guitarist of Sublime With Rome who replaced the late Bradley Nowell, when he came out to sing a song with The Dirty Heads.

The crowd at RiverPlace stage, Musikfest 2010.
Photo credit: Glenn Koehler

Last year was the first time I went to Musikfest in over 10 years and I had a pretty good time. Sunday night, I returned to the annual Lehigh Valley event for some of that tasty food (Abe and I ate $32 worth of food between the two of us, the highlight being the Aw Shucks corn) and for my first ever Musikfest concert at the Sands RiverPlace stage to see Sublime With Rome.

The RiverPlace stage is located on Sand Island at the southern end of Musikfest. Apparently, because of being surrounded by water, it can get a bit buggy there, but Sunday night it was cool and drizzling without a bug in sight. I’ve heard some people complain about how muddy this stage can get, but honestly, since it was raining for most of the day, most of Musikfest was a tad muddy; it wasn’t like Woodstock ’94 or anything, people!

Jads-corn

One of the things I really enjoy about the summer months is the fresh produce that can be found throughout Lehigh Valley. There is something to be said about an in-season piece of fruit or veggie. There are a few places that I must head to each summer to find the best-of-the-best and I really don’t think they are too much of a secret. Word seems to travel fast around the Valley when there is good food!

For example, if you say to someone, “Have you had any good corn-on-the-cob this summer?” one of the answers is going to be “Oh my God, you have to go to Newhard Farms Corn Shed?” Trust me, the corn there is out of this world. Some other answers might be Graver Farmstead in Bath. And I am sure you will get another one who says, “Have you tried Aw Shucks?” I am a diehard fan of Newhards though, so that will always be my first response.

Haak's school house

There are plenty of places in Lehigh Valley to get a good cheesesteak. Up in my neck of the woods, people rave about the cheesesteaks at Haak’s School House. Friday night I went to Haakie’s with my dad, my cousin, a friend of my dad’s and his wife so I could finally try out one of these infamous cheesesteaks.

I parked in the field across the street and waited for the tractor driving down the road to pass before crossing the street. I walked in to find my dad and cousin already at one of the four tables. Good thing, because at 6pm on a Friday, the place was already full – but that doesn’t take much since it’s a pretty small place to begin with.

Tubing

Here in Lehigh Valley, we’ve been slammed with a nasty heat wave, so I grabbed a buddy and headed southeast to Delaware River Tubing.

After parking, we wandered up to the large crowd of people, assuming that’s where we paid. Between waiting in line to pay and for the free bus that took us and our tubes to the launch point, I’d say we waited close to an hour. However, I don’t fault the folks at Delaware River Tubing for that – it was July 5. And once we splashed into the 80-degree Delaware River, it was totally worth it.

Marty Nothstein speaking to WFMZ at DLV press conference

For two years now, I’ve worked for Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau, the organization in charge of promoting Lehigh Valley as a tourist destination. Even though I’ve lived here for the majority of my life, before I started working there I didn’t even know the Convention and Visitors Bureau existed and never thought of the place I call home as one that people from New Jersey or New York would be interested in visiting. I mean, growing up all I thought there was to do here was