All's Well in Wellsboro

Lisa and I got an early start this Friday to head up to Niagara Falls. Our intended route was to go through Williamsport to Wellsboro, and visit the Pine Creek Gorge / Grand Canyon of PA, and then to Letchworth SP in NY to see the “Grand Canyon of the East” (I know, which one is the REAL Grand Canyon?), and then on to Niagara Falls by twilight to see some illuminated falls.

I think we may have found our next homestead. Wellsboro. Its really cute, and they have events like the Laurel Pageant/Parade, and the “Dickens of a Christmas” event, where everyone dresses in period garb for a town-wide Christmas event. The homes are all old Victorian homes, and the main street is lined with oil-type lamps along the grassed median. When you see people on the street, they actually smile first. Amazing.

After a mandatory pancake breakfast at the famous Wellsboro Diner, we went to find some tourist information. One lady that we spoke with at the Chamber of Commerce also owns a B&B, scrapbook store, and if you combine the two, she also holds weekend-long scrapbooking retreats. Tracie, Lisa take note. You two can scrap, and I can go hiking/biking. Upon further discussion, we found out that there are no big box stores in town, and many people love to shop along the Main Street, patronizing the local department stores and restaurants. There are also not a lot of new developments around the area, unlike Quakertown. The lady we spoke with is a transplant from the Lehigh Valley, and bought a nice big Victorian house in Wellsboro for about $100k.

We will need to come back and spend more time here. This might be a place I would consider after I’m done with graduate school. Walkable community, stable Main St. businesses, tight-knit community. We have already scoped out good recreation possibilities, with local skiing, hiking, biking, camping, and even boating at a ACOE recreation area. Its about a 3 hour drive from Quakertown (I know, further into “Canada”).

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