This is a tour that we think everyone will really enjoy.  The date is Saturday April 21, 2012.  Our destination will be Pottsville (Schuylkill County), PA.

We will meet for breakfast at 7:30 a.m. at the Midway Diner near Bethel, PA (I-78 at Exit 16).  This is a nice family owned diner that has been there since 1950.  It is mid-way between Harrisburg and Allentown.  It has a good diverse menu; you can get more information including GPS directions at the website, www.midwayholdings.com.

After we leave the diner, it will take about 35 minutes to drive to our next destination, the oldest operating brewery in the United States.  Of course, this is the Yuengling Brewery, 501 Mahantongo St., Pottsville, PA 17901.  We have scheduled a guided tour of the Brewery beginning at 10 a.m. sharp.  There is a municipal parking garage right down the street, and it is not crowded on weekends, so there will be no problem with parking.

Yuengling Brewery was established in 1829, and is still operated by the Yuengling family.  The tour is extremely interesting.  It lasts about one-and-a-half hours, and it is a real factory tour, so closed shoes are required.  The tour involves a good bit of walking, and going up and down stairs.  After the tour, we will have time to sample the merchandise and explore the gift shop.  For more information, visit the website at www.yuengling.com.  After this visit, you will know why many locals consider "Vitamin Y" to be part of their daily nutrition requirement.

When we leave the Brewery, there is no need to get in our cars -- we will walk three or four blocks through historic Pottsville to Jerry's Classic Cars and Collectibles Museum, at 394 South Centre Street.  Jerry Enders has assembled a really interesting combination of vintage cars and over 20,000 other collectibles of interest that will stir fond memories.  There are many other interesting items on display besides cars.  This museum has a lot of things that will remind us how our homes looked "back in the day", as well as local and regional advertisements and other memorabilia.  (You will see advertisements of the cars for sale at Earl Stoyer Cadillac-Oldsmobile, back in the '50s.  Unfortunately, they are not still there -- I already checked!)

Jerry's Museum does not open for the season until May, but they are opening especially for us on April 21.  For more information, visit the Museum's website at www.jerrysmuseum.com.

We expect to leave the Museum around 2 p.m. or so.  By then, we will have worked up an appetite.  We will walk a few blocks to Roma's Pizza, at 116 W. Market Street, which came highly recommended by locals who know where to get good food.  Despite the name, it is not just a pizzeria, it is a full service restaurant specializing in Italian food.  You can get a sandwich, a pizza, or a regular full meal.  We can eat, relax, and talk about the things we have seen, before leaving Pottsville to return home.

The cost (not much): 

Breakfast at the Midway Diner, and lunch/dinner at Roma's will be our usual deal where each person pays his own check -- no need to pay in advance.  The Yuengling Brewery tour costs $1.00 per person.  Admission to Jerry's Museum is $8.00 per person.

We will need a head count for this event, because both the brewery and the museum need to know how many people to expect in our group.  The brewery tour must be paid for well in advance, but instead of asking you to send checks for $1.00, the Club will outlay the money if you say you are coming.

Please notify Art Archambeault at 717-557-6974 or artarchambeault49@gmail.com, no later than April 1 if you plan to attend.

Tips for this tour:  Because we are having breakfast at 7:30 and will not have lunch until about 2:15-2:30, bring snacks if you think you will need something to eat in between.  Comfortable walking shoes are a "must", and closed shoes are required for the brewery tour, because it is a real working factory.  There will also be some walking up and down stairs.