Driving And The Local

It’s great to set plans and get away for a weekend but sometimes it is nice to just get in the car and drive somewhere without a particular schedule. This was the balance of our Saturday as we drove up the northeast extension, got off the highway just north of where we had previously looked at apartments, and meandered up and down the semirural roads just enjoying the scenery and looking around. Despite a few pockets of traffic, within a couple of hours since leaving the apartment we found ourselves sitting at another small restaurant beside the railroad tracks although this was definitely a distinctly different location than Hungry Bear Café.

The Local was chosen on a complete whim as we quickly pulled up a map of lunch spots as we crossed the line between Telford into Souderton. Sitting at a table on the old train platform it was a beautiful small town location with Main Street peaking between the sunflowers at the far end of the repurposed depot. I really wish I had gotten a picture of this to share but as we let the house just for a little exploration I completely forgot to put the camera in the car. I’ll get one next time.

The food was pretty darn good as I had eggs benedict (with extra crispy Scrapple on the side) and my wife had a veggie omelet. The coffee was surprisingly tasty as well. You’d be surprised (well, some of you wouldn’t) at how hard it is to find both a good cup of coffee and properly prepared scrapple. Eggs benedict is a fairly consistent way to measure a small breakfast spot as well. So, yes, in addition to the view, we will be returning to The Local in the near future when we continue exploring that area.

After our satisfying stop we got back in the car and continued to weave our way through the small towns as we made our way back to the highway. With the moderate August weather and the roads fairly clear, it was a nice day to be out driving without a plan especially away from the business of the main line. With the afternoon quickly passing us by, we made a couple final stops. The first was to partake in a classic summer treat (for the second weekend in a row) at Rita’s and the second was a stop to a local book store where we actually walked out empty handed.

Nearly home from our casual day, I couldn’t help but think about the ways that things will be different this time next year. With a new baby on the way, we hope to have a home of our own next summer. Where? No idea at this point as we have to restart our search in future months. I just hope that with all the changes, and another year at my current job, we have a greater sense of security and permanence in our life. That would be a welcomed change from the past few years of wondering and worrying about what was going to happen next and were we were going to end up.

Staying Local This Weekend

 

With all the driving that I have done over the past two weeks going to Scranton and Erie, this weekend I wasn’t about to sit in the car and go on another long road trip. However, we still needed to get out of the apartment so we settled on one of our nearby stand by destinations… Harvest Books in Fort Washington. And it actually worked out well as we both needed to pick up a couple cheap books to read. So, the destination was decided but we had to do something a little different so I began searching for a new place to grab lunch. After a few minutes of searching online and reading reviews, I found a place that looked pretty darn good.

We drove into Fort Washington at about 12:30 and continued down the road listening to Siri send us in the completely opposite direction. As we turned around we reloaded the directions and began heading in the right direction. With no actual store front or sign along Bethlehem Pike, we circled around the block a couple of times before blindly turning into the parking lot with the matching street address. Finally, we arrived at Hungry Bear Café.

 

It is a really small little café in the old train station building tucked along the side of the tracks but the friendly and inviting atmosphere and tasty options listed on the brunch menu more than made up for less than desirable location. After enjoying an excellent cup of coffee the food arrived at our table looking better than the high expectations set by the ingredients. Not only was the Brioche Benedict a tasty combination accented with homemade sausage and sautéed mushrooms but the pancakes we ordered on the side are, hands down, the best that I have ever eaten.

 

However, the most impressive and kind of surprising discovery was the Au Poivre Burger that my wife reluctantly let me taste. With all of the burgers that we have had in our lives, we didn’t realize such an amazing example of burger precision could be found in Fort Washington of all places. I am not one who usually votes online for various contests but I will definitely make an exception this time and vote for Hungry Bear Café in Philadelphia Magazine’s Battle of the Burger. We will be back to try more.

After lunch we headed over to our favorite book shop right down the street from the café. While prices have increased slightly, Harvest Books is still one of the best deals for those of us that still enjoy our books in a non-digital format. And there are always a few things that I discover that I can’t pass up, especially at $2.50 apiece. And it should be no surprise that I found a number of books on Freemasonry that I had to take home with me and a few that I will be purchasing at a later date (if they are still there). Of course, my wife picked up a couple of books as well so we both headed back to the apartment with some books that we will eventually find the time to read.

While it may not have been the furthest that I have traveled recently, it was still a great local day of travel and one that I was able to enjoy with my wife. Things should be back to normal next weekend, the long holiday weekend, when we will head back out on the road and explore a new Pennsylvania destination. With that said, I still have no idea where we are going to go. I guess we will have to find out next weekend.