Exciting news! This peek behind the scenes of State College life is a guest post by local writer Carolyne Meehan. We hope you enjoy it!

A few weekends ago my nine-year-old daughter, Rose, declared it to be a girls’ weekend. Her two teenage older brothers were at a soccer tournament with the Celtic Soccer Club and her soccer coaching dad was with them. We are a one car family, so with the Coach Dan Van on the road for the weekend, Rose and I were dependent on our bikes to get us around town for our mother/daughter quality time.

The challenge of not having access to a car for the weekend narrows the scope of what’s possible in our girls’ weekend and at the same time, encourages us to embrace a city living kind of lifestyle. We have found that after seven years of making it work with one car, most things we might want or need can be found just a short bike ride away. (And we have great neighbors and Uber should we find ourselves in true need of a car.)

I love the feeling of independence that comes with being able to bike or walk wherever I may need to go. It’s similar to how I feel when I am in a big city and I can get anywhere I need to go by train or foot. Living here gives my children freedom and access in their growing independence.

For the most part, we find State College to be pretty bike friendly. There are many bike paths and even a bike lane down Foster Avenue, which is just a few blocks from our house. This route provides a safe crossing of Atherton Street, which is the busiest street we need to cross in order to get to the heart of downtown State College where all the food, music and shops are.

We make our way to MLK Plaza just in time to catch some live music before heading to our first official stop on Rose’s list: Luxe Piercing. Rose has been rocking the one earring look for the better part of the last two years since her first ear piercing experience which was only 50% successful.

A tiny gold bumblebee stud grabbed my attention. Rose quickly found some sparkly studs. Had I not just gotten a tattoo a few weeks earlier, I may have sprung for getting that tiny bee somewhere on my ear.

With both of Rose’s ears sparkling, and a confident spring in her step, we walk a few blocks for some celebratory refreshment. Of all the Boba Tea places that have sprung up around town, Momatarō is our favorite. Rose orders a frosty green matcha drink and I get the classic black milk tea with bubbles. We both enjoy the textured experience of sucking the tapioca pearls through the thick straw. It is like a drink and snack at once.

Re-energized after our sugary, icy drinks, we make our way back to Allen Street to peruse The Squirrel & Acorn Book Shop. Rose loves flipping through the picture books while I search for a copy of Rick Rubin’s new book, The Creative Act, which is currently my favorite book to gift. The kind shop keeper lets me know I have already purchased this book as he is ringing me up and I promise him I am not gifting it to the same person. I decline a bag which always makes me feel like I am saving a tree and tuck the book in my lightweight back-pack.

Rose and I continue down to the block to check the sale rack at Appalachian Outdoors. A men’s PrAna shirt with some subtle splashy designs catches my eye and I think, ‘Dan would look great in this shirt.’ It’s a no brainer.

Just as we are checking out, we get a text that the guys will be home earlier than planned. They will be hungry. And I have zero dinner plan. Then, I remember the Sher Halal Gyro Grill on Pugh Street that is just a block away. This food truck is a hidden gem. We zip through Calder Alley and place an order for four lamb gyros with the red and the white sauce (trust me, you want both). And an order of chicken tenders. Each meal comes with a can of soda you can grab from the tiny fridge by the truck. The order takes just a few minutes and I stack the neatly foil wrapped gyros into my backpack and we get on our way.

Rose leads the way home and insists on taking a “new” route. We weave through alleyways and do a few more hilly sections than I would prefer, and the whole time I’m thinking about how darn grateful I am to live so close to this cozy mini-metropolis that is downtown State College.