Bob and Jane's Excellent Adventure

~ Retirement on the Road

Bob and Jane's Excellent Adventure

Monthly Archives: December 2018

Bucks County

23 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by Jane R Hendrickson in Travel

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We left Portland, Maine, on a gloomy morning heading for eastern Pennsylvania, about a six hour drive. Bucks County is an artsy area about an hour and a half west of New York City and 45 minutes north of Philadelphia.  While we had driven through the area on our way to other destinations we’d never spent any time there. Because of the proximity to the large metropolitan areas it tends to be a really pricey area to stay so we decided to spend two weeks there instead of our usual month. Finally after much hunting I found the perfect place in New Hope. By the time we arrived,  the sun was shining and the temperatures were in the low 70’s. Not bad for the first of November. Our VRBO abode was billed as an English Cottage and was located in what was created as a Gothic English Village by artist and architect Morgan Colt at the turn of the 20th century. 20181102_103223_hdrWhile pretty tiny it was absolutely perfect for us. It had a small galley kitchen at the end of a fairly large room that had a queen size bed and a couch, dresser, bookshelves and a television (and also a great wifi connection). 

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Our host, Eleanor, and her adult son, Kurt, live in another cottage close by.  Kurt walked us through the village that they’re trying to recreate providing us with a lot of history along the way. As we passed through huge iron gates, we came to “The Inn at Phillips Mill.” Because it was Bob’s birthday, we thought this would be a great place for dinner. Wow! We were seated in the upstairs room that held only four tables. The menu was lovely and reasonably priced. We ordered croquettes de Crabe Remoulade as an appetizer and then Bob had the steak ‘black Angus’ et Sa Sauce Au Vin and I had the Salmon Poche Florentine. Yummy! While the restaurant doesn’t have a bar, we were told that we could bring our own wine and they’d open it for us. So that’s what we did! (It turns out to be much cheaper that way, as well!)

Unfortunately we had a lot of rain during our stay.  In fact, on one of our first nights we were a bit alarmed when a tornado warning came across the crawl on our television. This wasn’t a watch but an actual warning for our location. I texted Kurt who promptly responded that we shouldn’t worry, that although they did from time to time have tornado warnings none had touched down in the past twenty years they had lived there. His response really surprised us; we are MIchiganders; we take tornado warnings seriously! I suggested in my comments on the VRBO site that they create a plan for future warnings and hopefully they will heed the request. But ah! The optimism of youth!

New Hope is located right on the Delaware River Canal which runs for 60 miles from Easton to Bristol. The canal, modeled after the successful Erie Canal in New York, first opened in 1832 and was built primarily to carry anthracite coal as well as gravel, limestone and lumber from northeastern Pennsylvania to Philadelphia. Then in reverse it would carry finished products from Philadelphia back to the northeast. The canal was the busiest before 1855 but continued in operation until the 1930’s. Because of construction on a highway bridge much of the canal closest to us had been drained temporarily.  Today the tow path next to the canal is a popular place for hikers and bikers.

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Bucks County is known for its art galleries, antiques, covered bridges, and their playhouse.  We had missed the juried art show that was right in New Hope but we learned about the MIchener Art Gallery in Doylestown, about 20 minutes away. Doylestown is the home of James Michener and in 1988 he transformed the Bucks County Jail into an art museum that features the work of the Pennsylvanian Impressionists. And while we enjoyed the art, it was the George Nakashima Reading Room that I found most interesting.

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George Nakashima was born in Spokane, Washington.  After getting a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington and a master’s from M.I.T. he travelled all over the world studying woodworking.  When he returned to the United States in 1940 he began making furniture and teaching woodworking in Seattle. During World War II he was incarcerated in a Japanese camp in Idaho. In 1943 Antonin Raymond sponsored Nakashima’s release and invited him to live on his farm in New Hope.  Although at the time Nakashima could only do woodworking as a hobby because the conditions of his release required him to work as a farm laborer. Eventually he built a home, studio and workshop in New Hope. We learned that his workshop is open to the public certain days of the week.

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Nakashima had a dream of Altars for Peace for each continent of the world, believing that these meditation centers would make the world a better place. Today these altars continue to be designed by the Nakashima business even though George died in 1990. What a serene, peaceful location this is for such work! In the workshop we saw many samples of his designs as well as the work of those who are carrying on his business. We were also surprised to find his son, Kevin, sitting on a chair and interacting with the many visitors.

Bucks County Playhouse is a place where many famous actors got their start. The playhouse, which originally was one of the Hope Mills, dates from the 1790’s.  After most of the mills were destroyed by fire, this one was saved from demolition in the 1930’s and purchased by a group of playwrights. 20181113_150324In 1963 Neil Simon’s, Barefoot in the Park premiered here starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley.  While we were in New Hope, I Hate Hamlet was playing and Elizabeth Ashley was billed as one of the stars.  I had found a groupon ticket for a reasonable price and we were flabbergasted when we realized our seats were in the sixth row. What a fun afternoon!

Adding to the nostalgic feel of the area are the covered bridges. Nowhere have we traveled where we’ve seen more than Bucks County. They even have a brochure that describes and gives directions to the 13 in the county. We set out to see a few of them.

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The four we visited were all built in the early 1870’s (although county records indicate one of them was built as early as 1832) and ranged in length from 56 feet to 130 feet long. The colorful fall leaves only added to the nostalgic feel!

Before leaving the area we decided we wanted to visit Princeton, New Jersey. We began by visiting the Princeton Battlefield State Park where the Americans and British fought on January 3, 1777. IMG_0010We then went on to Nassau Hall on the campus of Princeton University. Nassau Hall was built in 1756 and at the time was the largest academic building in the Colonies. This is where the British surrendered and where Congress congratulated George Washington on his successful termination of the Revolutionary War.  The first foreign minister to the United States was welcomed here!  I can’t imagine what it must be like today to attend class in such an historic building!20181112_133312_hdr

Albert Einstein’s house is not far from the campus.  After leaving Germany during World War II, Einstein continued his work at Princeton and lived at 112 Mercer Street from 1935 to his death in 1955. The home is presently a private residence.IMG_0020 (2)

Our final stop in Princeton was the Princeton Cemetery.  The cemetery is owned by the Nassau Presbyterian Church. Politicians, musicians, academics: so many people from American History are buried here. Among them: Stephen Grover Cleveland, (22nd and 24th President of United States) Aaron Burr, Sr. (the second president of Princeton), Aaron Burr, Jr. (vice-president of United States), Jonathan Edwards, (“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,”), George Gallup (pollster), Paul Tulane (philanthropist of Tulane University).  

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As Bob stopped to let me go exploring among the graves, I was stunned when I got out of the car. 20181112_135012_hdrThere next to me was a large monument. The family name? Hendrickson! I took pictures, just in case as we learn more about Bob’s family history some of those names show up!

Just two weeks earlier we had arrived in Bucks County on what seemed like a summer day. But now he weather forecast predicted a massive snowstorm heading across Pennsylvania on the day we were to leave so we decided “just in case” to get in front of it. Next stop:  Pittsburgh, the Steel City and home of the Pittsburgh Penguins! Can’t wait!

 

More New England Fall

09 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by Jane R Hendrickson in Travel

≈ 1 Comment

After a month in Hull, we continued north; yep, even further north for October. No we’re not crazy! We’ve driven through Maine on many occasions but we think it should be spectacular with all the fall color and hopefully, we’ll be out of there before the first snow falls! The drive along the ocean as we entered Salem was gorgeous even on a gloomy day. We had hoped to visit the Essex Museum but as luck would have it we were there on a Monday and the museum was closed.  The Salem Witchcraft Memorials were far more moving than I had expected.  They have a memorial to each person who died after being convicted of witchcraft.  I hadn’t realized that there were men among them and I also I didn’t know that they weren’t all hanged but that some were pressed to their death.

 

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I continue to be fascinated by the age of buildings.  True, it’s not old by European standards but it is given how young our country is.

 

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The tags on many of the homes indicate the pride locals feel in owning a bit of history. It’s not a long drive from Boston to Portland and even stopping along the way, we arrived at our new residence by late afternoon.  Kathryn, our host, greeted and gave us a tour of how everything worked. She lives in the front half of the house and we have the rear apartment.

 

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It has a great outdoor area and is conveniently located right in the city.  Portland’s population is only a bit over 65,000 but it lives far larger than that and we were pleased to be close to shopping and restaurants.   We usually spend our first day getting settled, unpacked and some basic groceries in.  Then we head out to dinner. We had been told by many that Portland is known for their great restaurants and boy, were they right!  Kathryn had suggested DeMillos in downtown Portland.  Wow!  What a great introduction to Portland!  Right on the water and a great menu of Maine seafood.  We could even feel the slight sway of the boat on the waves. Seafood, be it lobster, clams or crab is ubiquitious! My favorite throughout our stay was the lobster salad.  I must have had it in at least half a dozen locations as well as at home.  What a shock it’s going to be when we leave the coast.

 

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When I think of Maine, rocky coasts, light houses and lobsters come to mind. And with good reason, all three are everywhere. The iconic Portland Light was at the top of our sights to see.  About a fifteen minute drive from our apartment we found Fort Williams Park.  And the lighthouse looks just exactly like it I expected.  Even though it’s early October the weather was comfortable and we we didn’t have all the mobs of people that I’m sure are here in the summer.

 

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The shoreline drives both south and north of Portland are lovely.  We particularly enjoyed Two Lights State Park.  This park is popular with Maine residents.  There are lots of benches; a great place to read a book or just sit and reflect. And nearby we found a fabulous hole-in-the-wall restaurant, Fisherman’s Catch.  20181009_154329_HDRhttps://www.fishermanscatchwells.com/  Like so many other places along the eastern seaboard, they were just getting ready to close for the season but the day that we were there it was in the 70’s and felt more like a summer than a fall day.  I think I may have mentioned previously in this blog that Rachel Carson grew up in the same small Western Pennsylvania town as my husband’s family.  In fact, Rachel’s mother was a good friend of Bob’s grandmother.  That said, we obviously are very interested in Ms. Carson’s research and try to visit all things Rachel when we come upon them. When we saw the Rachel Carson Wildlife Refuge was nearby we knew we had to visit. Starting in 1952 Ms. Carson spent many of her summers in Maine studying the beaches and the tidal pools. The refuge consists of a small building providing visitors with a brief history of the area along with biographical facts about Ms. Carson.  There are numerous trails that lead out from there.

 

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Acadia National Park is about a 3 hour drive north.  This is one of our very favorite national parks but we’d only been there in the summer. The drive up was a bit drizzley and we weren’t sure we had made a good decision but it turned out to be a perfect day. The rain ended by the time we entered the park and the overcast skies made for some great pictures.  Even though we knew it was going to be beautiful in the fall, we still were amazed by the blazes of fall colors and the less crowded shorelines.

 

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We love Thunder Hole where at high tide the water often rushes in and out with a thundering sound so we were a bit disappointed when it wasn’t “thundering” while we were there.  Because of the distance from Portland to Acadia we decided to spend the night in Bar Harbor and the next morning we returned to the park, but still no thunder. Guess we’re lucky to have heard it when we first visited with the kids so many years ago.

 

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Closer to our Portland home was Sabbathday Lake Shaker Village in Gloucester. This is the last active Shaker village. Its meeting house was built in 1794.  And at its height it had more than 200 members.  A museum was established in 1931 with the goal of educating the public about Shaker beliefs. In the museum we saw examples of their woodenware, their tools, as well as descriptions and photos helping us understand the Shaker lifestyle.  We also met a woodworker who was carving little figures that would sell in the gift shop. We had noticed highland cattle, what were called “Hairy-coos” in Scotland, and the woodworker shared a lot of information about the farm and its history. The “Hairy-coos” we later learned, thrive in harsh Maine winters and are being raised in increasing numbers because of their healthy meat which has less fat than traditional beef and less cholesterol than a chicken.

 

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We never tire of Maine’s shoreline so we also made additional trips along the coast to visit small fishing villages.

 

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Again, we found that while we were on the tail end of summer, many sights were still open…just without the crowds.  Kennebunk and Kennebunkport are lively places just because they were the summer homes of the senior Bushes.   What a gorgeous location!IMG_0258

Within the city of Portland there’s lots to see and do as well.  We had heard about the Portland Whaling Wall which is a 950 foot mural painted (I believe spray painted) on the side of the Maine State Pier.

 

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The mural was done in 1993  by Robert Wyland as one of 17 marine murals he completed in 17 cities on the east coast in 17 weeks.  Later he went on to complete 100 murals in 79 cities in 13 countries around the world!  Really impressive!

We also got tickets for the Portland Symphony.  Isn’t it wonderful a city of 66,000 has its own symphony? They were playing Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major the night we were there! Wow!  A message included with our tickets suggested we arrive early to see the beautiful architecture of the building!

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Not only does Portland have its own symphony but it also has a wonderful museum of art that dates back to 1882.  I particularly wanted to visit the exhibits of NC Wyeth (father of Andrew Wyeth), Frederick Remington and Maine’s own, Winslow Homer. But it was the art of Ashley Bryan that most interested me.  I knew Bryan best as an illustrator and writer of children’s books. The ones I knew are based on African folklore and proverbs.  Bryan was born in 1923 and after serving in a segregated US Army during World War II he settled in Maine not far from Acadia National Park. He is also a sculptor and much of his work is created from “things cast off.”  It’s his puppets that I love most.

 

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Not far from the Portland Museum of Art, we found the Wadsworth Longfellow House and Garden. This was the boyhood home of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  It was built for his mother’s parents in 1786. The last person to live there was Henry’s sister who stayed there until her death in 1901. And what a good caretaker of the home she was.  Because the home is small we waited in the gift shop (where else?) until our group could enter. We particularly enjoyed the little “behavior reminders” posted throughout the home.

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Once in, a docent gave us a brief history and then we were allowed to go on our own self-guided tour.  In each room there was another guide who would provide us with details about what we were looking at as well as answer any questions. Bob and I aren’t big on touring homes where the furniture is replicas of the original, but here we were looking at authenticity:  the actual desk where Longfellow wrote as a child, his rocking horse, his favorite portrait. We were looking at the real thing.

 

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As I’ve mentioned in other posts, an interesting challenge we have monthly is getting our hair cut.  I often go to Yelp for some help and it’s usually a good resource.  But this time it led us to a most unusual experience.  When I began to hunt for barbershops for Bob, one jumped out at me, Forest Avenue Barbershop.  Not only did they have great reviews they also have gorgeous golden retrievers in their shop.  Definitely the barbershop for us!  What a great choice!  The dogs greeted us; they are extremely well-behaved.  Both the barbers are very friendly.  It turned out to be the most inexpensive haircut and beard trim Bob’s had in four years AND it was also the best.  This is definitely a place to return before leaving Portland!  Thank you Yelp!

 

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Periodically, our host would stop by and share some warm apple bars out of the oven or drop off some fresh flowers for the table. The night before we left, she invited us to dinner.  Just one more reason why we enjoy staying at Airbnb’s.  We get to meet such nice folks who also share with us interesting stories as well as suggest places to see in the area. Maine has been a really fun stay.  And while we have  enjoyed Portland, the city,  it’s also been a good base for exploring surrounding areas.

More interesting signs we’ve enjoyed in Maine:

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