Eating Buffalo In The Mushroom Capital

Well, the summer day trips have officially begun. Of course, that means more pictures that I will be sharing some photos of the places that we see throughout the commonwealth. Well, at least this part of the state. For the first trip of the summer, we drove down to Kennett Square to spend a relaxing afternoon walking along the main street through town.

Having slept in to recover from the long short week, we got a bit of a late start on the drive so by the time we made it there (it is about an hour away on a less than smooth road) we were ready to find a quiet place to grab some lunch. With our first mission in mind we walked by a small breakfast place with a rather large cock outside…

 

…and a more reserved looking place with spring flowers hanging from the awning, nice lamps mounted to the brick, and metal tables and chairs on the sidewalk.

 

Finally, we remembered a place that we saw on the Travel Channel just a few nights prior. With a place in mind, we made our way to Half Moon Restaurant & Saloon where I could break down one of my wife’s food barriers with a buffalo burger (highly recommended for great food at good prices).  

After an excellent meal in a nearly empty dining room we just sat there for a few extra minutes looking out the front window. It is nice to get out sometimes, go to different places, and just people watch. It’s also nice to look around at all the old buildings that line the street and the balconies that overlook the constant flow of tourists and cars.

 

With bellies full of buffalo (and mushroom bisque), we walked up and down a few of the small side streets weaving in and out of shops. While we were unsuccessful finding some inexpensive Wizard of Oz books for my wife (one store didn’t have anything old and the other one was closed by 4:00pm (Really?)) we did manage to find a nice little tea shop, Mrs. Robinson's, with surprisingly reasonable prices (and, no, we did not run into Simon or Garfunkel).  

 

Not surprisingly, we walked out with a small sample of a few teas selected from the hundreds that lined the shelves (including Carrot cake tea which should be interesting). Small splurge in hand, we slowly made our way back to the parking garage but not before taking a few extra pictures. While most of the storefronts seemed to be thriving, there were a few beautiful buildings standing there, vacant, with balconies empty, waiting to be used.

There were also a few alleys that I could imaging being packed full of people every fall for the Mushroom Festival.

 

Just before turning down the brick path to the car, I had to take a final picture of Marilyn posing in the middle of the Mushroom capital of the world.

It was a great trip for the two of us and a nice easy way to get us back into the routine of our adventurous weekends. While some of the places will be repeats there will be a few new destinations like our trip to Kennett Square. Stay tuned for more travel blogs throughout the summer as we continue our explorations of Pennsylvania. There will also be a few surprises this year!

Preparing For The Summer Travel

Some days, especially on a weekend after a long week, you just have to get out of the apartment for the day and drive a little bit. While the longer day trips will start back up again next month, now is the time to gradually get back into the routine of putting some miles on the car during our weekly days off. This is why we decided to head down route 1 late this morning to find a new place for lunch. Last weekend we had passed Hank’s Place in Chadds Ford on our way back from Lancaster. While we didn’t take much notice of the “Luke’s” looking place during our return, it immediately resurfaced in our mind when we search for new places to dine in the area.

After about a rumble strip cruse down City Avenue, and through the succession of towns, we arrived in Chadds Ford just after noon. With one spot open in the parking lot and one table just opening up as we walked in the door, it seems as though we got there just at the right time. What would have made the short trip a little better would have been if this really was the first time each of us were to eat there… as it turns out and resurfaced in my wife’s mind as we pulled into the parking lot was the fact that she had eaten there previously after a day out with one of her friends at Longwood Gardens. Fortunately, she approved of the repetition and we didn’t have to search for a new dining destination for the afternoon.

Given the clear warm weather just beyond the windows, it was no surprise that the dining room was packed. With the gardens down the street in bloom, antique stores with their doors open, and the Brandywine River lined with lush with vibrant green trees everyone was out and about for the day exploring the beauty and attractions of the area. While that was not on our schedule for the day, it will be at some point over the summer as we continue our explorations of the Commonwealth. Actually, as you may have noted in that blog/list, we will actually explore that area just over the boarder as well.

I recommend grabbing breakfast or lunch there sometime… great to be near mushroom country. As for the return trip, the drive was relatively uneventful around the area. Of course, the traffic was a little heavier than usual but that is to be expected as people are still trying to shake off the last vestiges of cabin fever. So, the driving has begun. It was a small/short trip but one that awakens our next weekend routine so that we are ready for the longer travel this summer. Especially for me as I have a couple of much longer trips mapped out for next month. But that is a subject for another blog (with pictures).