A whirlwind week in PA/NJ

June 10, 2010
Embreeville, PA

Whew! We've been running all week. OK, not literally, but we've been busy nonetheless and have had a good time as well.

Sunday, we visited our friends Wayne and Doris in Chadds Ford. Their garden, "Wyneden" (http://wyneden.com/, http://wyneden.blogspot.com/), is a popular spot for horticultural tours, and Wayne's done an amazing job in both design and execution. We spent some time touring the garden before a nice dinner, and ended up talking well into the evening. Merlin and Maya Lynn enjoyed the visit with Nico, their champion standard poodle, as well!

On Monday, we caught up with friends from the working days, Bob & Sarah and Dave & Sandy. After wine and hors d'oeuvres at Bob & Sarah's, we headed to a local Italian place and had another nice meal. It was great to see everyone, and we all agreed that we should try to get together more than once every two years!

Tuesday took us to New Jersey, this time to visit friends, Shelley & Felice, who were neighbors when we lived in Berlin. They have a nice house in a quiet neighborhood (keeping the rampant development at bay) and it was fun to see all the home improvement projects they've completed. Their Dalmatian mix, Oliver ("Ollie") is just a few months older than Merlin, and they've been "buds" since they were puppies. Ollie's been suffering with some health issues, and we hope his treatments are productive.  Yes, Ollie has his own chair at the table and, yes, he likes chocolate cake...

Wednesday dawned cloudy and rainy, and we ended up in New Jersey again, this time for shopping. Costco, Wegman's, and Canal's Wine Shop were all on the itinerary, and we got most everything we needed (and probably some things that weren't "on the list"). We took the pups with us since it wouldn't be too hot (especially not with temperatures in the low-60s), and they had a good day not being cooped up in the coach.

Today was our last day in the area, and we decided to hit a few local stops. Since we're right near Kennett Square, "the Mushroom Capital of the World" (says so right on the water tower!) and I always enjoy being a "fun guy", we walked around the historic district and picked up a couple of pounds of fresh mushrooms (mixed oyster, shiitake and maitake - yum). Our next stop was at Va La Winery (http://www.valavineyards.com/), in the little town of Avondale. I did some research and found this place online and was intrigued by the irreverent wit, so it was a natural place to stop. The notice in the "loo" is a good example of their sense of humor. We did a tasting and bought a couple of bottles (surprised?).

They serve each wine with a local cheese, and the tasting room manager suggested a side trip to a cheese shop. Since we had a little extra time and it was a nice day, we took the half-hour cruise up to Gap, PA, and found the place right under the clock tower. What a great find! We tasted every cheese we wanted and ended up buying six different ones. Can you say "cheese plate"? Oh, yeah.

Tonight, we used some of the mushrooms, with shrimp in a cream sauce over linguini. We're doing our normal "night before travel" stuff, so we should be able to hit the road around 8:00 tomorrow. This gives us a chance of getting through The City before the afternoon rush. Wish us luck!