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I started coming up to the Allegheny Forest area about five years ago, but was closer to Bradford, at Willow Bay. I fell in love with this entire area. While I agree that the city of Warren itself could be spruced up a bit, a couple years ago Warren County was named No. 2 in the country as the best rurual places to live!

Anyway, I just wrote an article about my camping experiences, one of my earliest which was at Willow Bay, and thought I'd share it with this site. Since you guys are already up there, camping at one of these state parks could be considered a "staycation" for you! But, we're still spending the money this fall and heading back to Parker Dam and World's End. I'd love feedback on this story. Thanks.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/874683/cabin_camping_in_pennsyl...

I've been driving thru Warren for the past thirty five years and I always comment on the tragic lack of city planning that could have turned this town into a star with all the recreational opportunities available....

........but with all that positives, you can't find a decent restaurant or see a fresh face being applied to the city proper. It's like the city is stuck in a time warp.

If you look at similar towns.....like Old Forge, NY......

They have people standing in line to get there for the winter season and also the summer vacationing months. The big difference is that they are set up to provide the comforts that
people expect. They don't have a main street with dirty windows.

The only thing I can expect in Warren is that the Bilo is well stocked and that I have no problem paying five dollars extra
for every case of beer.

Bob O'Connor won't come to Warren. What does that mean to Warren, PA? Of all the talk of tourism & such, does this mean we as a city have failed? Within the first two paragraphs, he outright dismisses Warren as a tourist destination. Hasn't he done his research? Didn't he find anything appealing about Warren? Or is it simply a failure in Warren's part to get the name out there more properly?

Full article below.
http://www.buffalonews.com/149/story/384714.html

A little imagination aids family vacation

Last week, a large earthquake hit Sichuan Province in China. Nowhere near where I am, but people here did actually feel a few tremors from mostly the taller 20th floor plus offices. Last week, before the earthquake, it was business as usual. Bad torch relays, French knocking over a Chinese girl in a wheelchair, Chinese boycotting Carrefour & LV. People bitch about China, and the Chinese fight back.

Since the Earthquake hit, the gov't, the int'l community and the largest mobilization of the citizenry ever has taken place here. It's actually become a whole new place. China's doing 3 days of official mourning. The Chinese Red Cross website can't even stay online anymore due to the huge outpouring of donations & people seeking to donate. And the people in general have virtually forgotten about the Torch protests. It's all about the Earthquake now.

Guess the point of this post is it only takes one major event to turn a place around. I wasn't in the states for 9/11, but I guess that would be the closest parallel I can think of, how a place can change because of one event.

http://shanghaiist.com/2008/05/12/earthquake-hits-wenchuan-sichuan.php Here's a play-by-play of the day as it happened from a Shanghai point of view.