Our first 24 hours, in Philadelphia, was spent browsing around the Rittenhouse Square Art Festival (a fine recommendation from Bond!) and enjoying the tastes and sips of The Dandelion, a location I've eyed each time we're in the city of brotherly love, but had not yet managed to catch it during business hours. The wait was worth it! Charm, character, cocktails, and cuisine! I wholly recommend it if you're in the neighborhood.
Day two brought the short trek to Cape May with Koke and Bond (my parent in-laws). If you've never been to Cape May, let me just dub it as a storybook setting. I can't get enough of that place! As my bestie Andrea always says, "I need to be near water!" and this new book espouses the benefits of water for humans, living near or on water can make you healthier and happier. The Greens have been gathering in or around Cape May each summer for fifty, or better, years. What a tradition!
The highlight of the trip, for me, is normally the family dinner night. This year we hit up Union Park, a favorite for this food fan. Bonus: it's BYOB! The wait staff here was friendly and accommodating, including going above and beyond by accepting my bro-in-law's challenge to gift me with some of the impressive wine corks seen in the restaurant's aquarium sized collection. Ask and ye shall receive, kids! Have wine corks, will craft. Or simply stow them in a vase and gaze admiringly at them.
In a tradition I've managed to hold Mr. Green to, we enjoyed lunch one day at the Schooner American, a floating eatery, literally. Atmosphere on steroids! After a delicious meal, including a seafood pizza offered on special, we visited Willow Creek Winery, an up and comer in the area as they are less than three years old. Super nice folks there, and I can't be nothing but approving of the chickens (eggs for sale, "Wicked Chickens Lay Deviled Eggs") enjoying their peaceful life in a hen cottage.
In demonstration of our small world, we learned that the "wine gal" at Willow Creek is a graduate of Saul High School. Saul is the Philly school that Bond (mother-in-law) connected me with since they have, among other ag programs, a - I am possibly annihilating the verbiage here (I didn't take ag or join 4H in high school *hangs head in shame*) lamb husbandry program. Gail Koskela teaches the program and enthusiastically shared feedback with me and my students when we asked questions about the lambs, via Twitter. See below if you'd like to sync up with @SaulLambWatch, especially in time for lambing season next year. Through Ewe Tube (I wanna squeeze that name!) my classes saw a shout out in the spring from the Saul students on a sign held up in camera view ("Welcome, 7th grade science in Dallas!"): http://saul.click2stream.com/ I was tickled when one of my students asked, "Can they see US?!"
"You can also follow along on Twitter at @SaulLambWatch. It’s pretty wonderful, as you might imagine."
I didn't travel with the big girl camera but my phone managed to snap off some decent scenes, shown below.
Rittenhouse Square Art Festival (I opted not to tick off artists by taking photos of the booths):
Dandelion bar area, "Man's Best Friend" worded on the three lamps:
Dandelion menu:
I don't remember what these were, but they were tasty:
Well, cheerio to you too, dapper fella!
This is the "crime scene tape" that Bond warned us about, seen on their sidewalk, as we picked up the in-laws for our short voyage to Cape May:
Don't worry. The only "criminal activity" was a tree that sadly saw its last days, due to a foundation/city sidewalk verdict.
Cape May scenes:
Taken from the porch of the http://www.innofcapemay.com/, where Koke and Bond lodge, and where Aleathea's provides delicious dining along with porch side cocktail service:
Unusually impressive cell phone photo:
So many flowers, so lush:
Piggy knows the way:
REALLY hard to resist taking one of these wine sample coins home with me:
The sangria was a hit at dinner!
Chicken Casa:
Bebes:
Bejeweled travel:
So you next time, east coast chicks!
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