Kid Escape: New Hope, PA and Lambertville, NJ
To celebrate Melvin’s 32nd birthday along with our 7th Wedding Anniversary, Father’s Day and my 36th birthday (which all occurs in an 8-week period), we decided to do 1 big thing instead of 4 little ones so Melvin booked the Tower Suite at The Inn at Bowman’s Hill Bed and Breakfast in New Hope, PA. We stayed there from last Friday night to Sunday morning.
My mom expressed reservations about staying in our new house with just Avery and our cats when I first told her about our weekend getaway, so I was pleasantly surprised to come home to not only a very clean house, but also a very happy woman. Seems she got along just fine without us. She was understandably very exhausted at the end of her extended shift, but said she would baby/housesit for the entire weekend again if we asked her to. Don’t tempt us, momma!
Ok so anyway, we get to the B & B around 7p. We get buzzed in through the iron gates by the innkeeper, Tim, who was pleasant but quite reserved. As we drove up to the circular driveway into our parking space, I was impressed by how absolutely gorgeous the house was, large without being ostentatious. It looked like an old English cottage with a lot of history, so imagine our surprise when Tim tells us the house was only 30 years old.
Egad!
And that it was built to serve as a gynecologist’s office.
Yikes!
Part of the attraction Melvin and I have for B & Bs is the history. When we go away, we really like to get away, transporting ourselves to a time gone by. We love to hear stories about the person or the family who built the home and the interesting things in which they participated. We also love to surround ourselves with the antiques that have been collected through many years. Our B & B selection process is usually very strict, so I don’t know how this one got through. Oh I know - it’s ’cause Melvin picked it!
Anyway, here’s the rundown of our weekend activities:
Friday night - Dinner at Havana right on Main Street. Disappointing as the fare offered bore no semblance to anything Cuban at all. I guess it was my fault for assuming that their name had anything to do with the food they served. Live music was good though, and the drinks were so so.
Saturday day - Woke up to a fantastic English feast courtesy of Tim (so he says), and then did the requisite New Hope trip thing and stopped at Peddler’s Village. Too touristy for Melvin and the stores where we stopped sold only kitschy items according to him, so we only walked around for a little bit before he was ready to be outta there. Stopped to eat at The Cock and Bull Restaurant - your regular, run-of-the-mill franchise joint. Nothing too exquisite but definitely served its purpose.
We then headed off to New Hope and Ivyland Railroad to get on a real live steam train. The idea sounded great, romantic even. But the reality sucked! It was expensive ($14.50/person) for such a short ride (<45 mins), uncomfortable (hot, hot, hot!), unsafe (windows held in place by pieces of wood), and it did not go to or through any place of importance or interest. What a ripoff!
Saturday night - Melvin and I were arguing even before we got on the train, so after the ride, we decided to head back to the B & B and call it a night. We ended up just talking and ordering some takeout from Bowman’s Tavern and then just going to sleep.
Sunday day - Another English feast that was simply superb, this time served in our suite.
We were going to go straight home after breakfast, but since Melvin and I were actually getting along at that point, we decided to stay longer and venture out to New Hope’s adjoining town, Lambertville, NJ. There we visited a few art galleries and antique stores. We even picked up an Eskimo doll in furry garb for Avery because it reminded me so much of my little man, especially in this photo.
We concluded the day with a late lunch at Lilly’s on the Canal in Lambertville. Wow, loved it, loved it, loved it. I loved everything about it - the ambiance, the food, even the bathroom! The only thing I would recommend is to bring your own bottle of wine because they only serve by the bottle. Definitely a must visit again!