Happy Valley

A few weeks ago my friend Ryan (who we call Sass) and I traveled to State College to visit my friend Mark before he graduated college.  We were only able to stay for about a day but we packed the day full of excitement and adventure. First we started off by hiking up Mt. Nittany!

Sass- squatch

The climb was deceiving the website said you could get to the top in 18 minutes...um yeah if you were a mountain goat!  It rained, which caused my hair to look like a bird shit on it then attacked it,  so that's why there is only one picture of me :)

climbing the rocky terrain

Happy to get to the top

Mark and Sass being mountain goats

Sass and I being mountain goats

 

the view was better in person

 After that we made Sweet Apolita's Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Buttercream Cake with a Ganache drizzle.  OMG it was sooooo good. That is an understatement. I could not get enough of it in my belly. It was time consuming but the results were so delish.  Ours did not turn out as pretty as her but I bet it tasted just as good. 

The finished product

Big ol' slice of amazingness

 The fresh raspberries in the buttercream just were offset so well with the dark chocolate cake.  I would totally make this again but perhaps as cupcakes to save on time.

After we made the cake, which was pretty much our dinner, we headed out for the night to celebrate Mark's graduation.  The next morning we got up and took graduation photos with him and the lion shrine since we could not make it up there for the actual ceremony.

Doesn't he look handsome in his cap and gown?

    We then had the pleasure of exploring the PA Military Museum. The museum itself  was mall on the inside but  the exhibits rotate frequently.  Plus if you have a military ID you get in for free!  The building itself is very cool on the outside.

there were many more military vehicles parked on the property

They have a small gift shop and then you make your way through the exhibit. 

thought this vehicle was interesting looking

someone was glad he was wearing a  helmet that day!

They then have a HUGE 28th Infantry division ( Dan's unit) memorial outside where each unit has its own statue and all of the casualties from WW2 are listed. The PA Guard actually played quite a role in WW2...there is a famous photo of them marching down the Champs Elysees. 

The memorial is so large I couldnt capture it in one photo

They also have a an Argonne forest memorial that we did not get a chance to see however I look forward to seeing it next time we are in the area.

PS for anyone who thinks its weird I was hanging out with two dudes for a weekend without my husband... Ill give you a hint...their favorite ladies are Mariah, Beyonce, Whitney, Celine, and Cher.