We had a good time yesterday (mostly) but we had a great day today.
Friday:
We left at 10:30am, had a lovely 3.5 hour drive, and arrived around 2:30pm. First, we got settled in our room at the Aaron Burr House.
We didn’t explore the rest of the house, but there’s a small are with coffee, ice, and bottled water across from our room, and a kitchen upstairs where they serve breakfast in the AM, and a small bar cart in the dining room where you can fix your own drink. (We did not partake of either while here.) It was a quaint little first floor room, but comfy:
Once we were settled, we walked down the hill into town to score some lunch, guided by my handy dandy “Fine me gluten free” app, which locates nearby places that offer gluten free options. We decided to try out the Little Radish, located in Ferry Square, which as an indoor food court with several different vendors:
We both enjoyed chicken Caprese wraps (with Kale, Tomato, and Mozzarella) with a watermelon cooler. After lunch, we wandered over to Bucks County Playhouse to confirm where it was, as we had tickets to see Kinky Boots the next day:
After that, we tried to explore a little more of the town, but the 88 degree weather, 85% humidity, and blazing overhead sun was too much for us, and by the time we walked back uphill to the house, I was drenched with sweat, extremely uncomfortable, and feeling a little dizzy. We collapsed in the air conditioned room, stripped down, dried off, and cooled down before climbing into bed for a nap. Good thing we set the alarm, because we slept for 2 hours and would probably have continued sleeping and missed our 8:00 dinner reservations at Earl’s New American Restaurant in Peddler’s Village just 10 minutes away. Unfortunately, when I woke up, I was having gut issue. My lunch seemed to gum up my system and I felt full, bloated, and uncomfortable. Jeffery was worried and wanted to stay in, but I insisted we still go to dinner. The restaurant was lovely. Although I ordered a meal, I could only take a small taste of it before feeling even more bloated. By the time we left the restaurant it was raining hard so we just headed back to the room, whihc was fine by me because I was so uncomfortable.
After a good night’s sleep, I was feeling better Saturday morning but not 100%. None the less, we showered and dressed and walked (when in doubt, walk it out) down to Starbucks so we could get breakfast. I stuck to just Coffee to be safe. The weather was much better – high 70s, lower humidity, and overcast, so we did some exploring and hit some great shops, including
Farley’s Book Store
Love Saves the Day, a fabulous gift shop
And Red Tulip Gallery, selling items made by several local artists
Other fun items spotted around town
After our little walk about and shopping spree, we headed back to the room for some R&R before the show. By the time we left the room again, my gut issues had fully resolved and I felt great. We headed back down the hill, and stopped back at the Ferry Market for a quick lunch (again, I stuck to a beverage to be safe) then walked over to the playhouse, where we had great seats for a wonderful matinee performance of Kinky Boots, the fifth time we’ve seen it. (The actor who played Charlie Price, Jimmy Brewer, was the breakout performer.)
After the show let out, we walked over to The Dubliner on the Delaware, a place we had checked out earlier and knew offered gluten free menu items. I enjoyed a gin and tonic, while Jeffrey sipped his Gin Martini. We shared an appetizer of gluten free spinach and artichoke dip with corn chips, then both had the gluten free shepherd’s pie, which was fabulous
After our early dinner, we roamed a bit to find a bar for another cocktail before heading back to the room, but eventually decided we were too warm and tired and were ready to call it an early night., so we headed back to the room.
Obviously, we did not get to explore as much of the town as we wanted to, never mind getting back to Peddler’s Village or across the bridge to Lambertville , but I am still recovering and didn’t want to push myself to hard, especially in this heat. And the gut issues slowed us down a bit.
Our conclusion: We LOVE New Hope and cannot wait to come back. The rainbows, the shops, the restaurants, the eye candy…it was all fabulous. We need to come back for a much longer time so we can explore all the places we did not get to this time around, and we will. In fact, we’ve added this to our list of possible retirement relocations. I have not so strongly connected with a place the moment I arrived since first discovering Provincetown 26 years ago.
Honestly, I can’t BELIEVE Mistress Maddie never shared with us how fabulous this place was the whole time she lived here. *smirk*
Idle Eyes and a Dormy 
I personally spent at least two months out of the year in that area and in and around that area of PA, DE, MD and NJ. I showed and evented my horse in the area were the three states joined. Spring and Fall for almost 50 years. Wonderful litle towns all over that part of the country. Shops galore! The dining was fantastic. Lots of diplomates and statesmen come up their from DC, the capitol city. Since I have been unwell I have not been back and oh how I wish I could visit again. I will again one day. Glad you got a taste of the area and you didn’t suffer too much in doing so. Take care men and enjoy the coming week.
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Woody, if you ever get within 4 hours of me and don’t give me heads up, I will personally hunt you down and beat you with a net noodle.
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That Jimmy Brewer is certainly crush-worthy! Hubba Hubba.
So glad your gut issues resolved as fast as they did.
Heat and humidity like that is what keeps me inside most of the summer.
What a wonderful town! It all looks fantastic. I’m happy that you guys got to enjoy it, and golly, I’d like to try the place out, too.
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You should. And if you two even THINK of going there without telling us…there will be hell to pay.
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Holy FREAK, your photos are awesome! Seriously magazine-worthy stuff there!
That trip sounds wonderful. Just what the doctor ordered. I’m relieved that, although the gut issues slowed you down, they didn’t truly interrupt your visit. Place is gorgeous! Now I want to take Java there.
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You should take Java. And we will meet you there. (Please note, this is not an option, but a condition of your visit.)
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Nice! Haven’t been to New Hope in over fifty years. Still there! Glad you got out and about.
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So now we have two bucket list items:
meeting you and Pat in P-town.
meeting you and Pat in New Hope.
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That is a beautiful little town. It sounds like a successful trip. I am glad you paced yourself with going out and eating. The heat and humidity makes any malady feel worse!
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Me, too, Linda. Thank you for your concern about my well being.
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Such a shame about the gut issues, but I’m glad they didn’t last. The heat and humidity would be tough. My parents used to love to go to New Hope. They left me home to take care of my brother. But until Mistress Maddie, I had no idea what an amazing place it was. And, by then, we had moved to Spain.
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Gut issues come with the territory. At least I’ve learned how to handle them. Seems like a visit to NH is long overdue…lets meet up and get lost together.
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More reinforcement of why we need to go visit there, thank you. Looks delightful and a real book store.
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You visit without telling us, we leave a horse head in your bed.
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I love this travel post! And I want to go stay in that little B&B. I want to sit at that little desk in the hallway. I don’t want to swing from those slat thingies at the top of the bed.
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Those slats wouldn’t bear the weight of an anorexic twink, let alone a full-bodied bear like me. You are cordially invited to visit New Hope and invite us to join you…pants optional.
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I just made the reservation.
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And the dates are….
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Looks like a wonderful time! Love Jeffrey’s book bag and your Ptown bear t-shirt! Yes, wouldn’t it be wonderful to retire there!
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It so would be. If we do, would you consider visiting for an annual Skip-Bo tournament?
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Even with a few issues, I’m glad you still got to enjoy your vacation. I love Jeffrey’s bag as well.
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A few issues is par for the course for me. We really did have a great time over all. I bet you would love it there.
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That Maddie sure likes to hoard secrets.
Did you see any lumbersexuals?
You are a braver person than I am to trust gluten-free restaurant food.
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We saw plenty of men who would fit the bill, but I can’t say for certain. I use a Gluten-Free app to research their GF reliability. And I usually stick to foods that SHOULD be GF under normal circumstances. (Are you GF, Lurky?)
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No, I am not GF. There are certain foods I must avoid lest my guts revolt, but the restrictions are not onerous (mustards, arugula, and the like). I do know one person who has a latex/strawberry/mango/kiwi fruit allergy, and she has to be quite careful.
I am guessing the gluten-free bandwagon has been both good and bad. On the positive side many more places document their gluten-free foods; on the bad side those who want to avoid gluten but can tolerate small amounts mean that those serving gluten-free foods are not as conscientious as they ought to be.
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I always clarify I have a gluten allergy and if the wait person is unsure about the gluten content, I ask them to check with the chef and specify I have an allergy. There’s always some level of risk when trusting other people with your food prep, but I agree, those who avoid gluten as a dietary choice and not because of adverse reactions tend to make people skeptical about those of us with actual intolerance for it.
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Lurkie….you just know I am having withdrawals from the Lumbersexual…..
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We kept our eye out for him and I wondered if any of the yummies I saw might have been him.
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Ok, that bear in the window is a good line! Sorry you had a time with stomach problems and the heat up there. When NealEnjoy and I were in Penn last Aug we visited Philadelphia one day and almost died from heat exhaustion. Sheperd’s Pie looked delicous and is one of my favorites. I do like little BBs over large hotels.
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Thanks, HR! (Can I call you that?) Stomach problems are just a natural part of my life. We loved Phillie when we visited and want to go back. I am incredibly sensitive to heat and humidity. Just can’t deal with it. We prefer B&Bs to hotels, as well.
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HR, is perfectly fine.
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That’s what Neal says 🙂
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I too found this a splendid tour.
My favorite was the Spouse and the bookstore. I love bookstores! and you spouse J.
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He’s very lovable. 🙂
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I’m so glad you two had such a nice time!!!! And funnily, on my mother father’s side we are descendants to Arron Burr!!!!! After the duel and he killed Hamilton, Burr ran off and hid in New Hope for a week or two, the B&B is supposedly where he hid out. Earl’s is excellent. My two fave places to dine are Martine’s Riverhouse and Greystone, which is in the old church on Main Street. Delish. I should have told you two go into the dive bar, John and Peters. My drag friend Miss Pumpkin works there and would have fucked you up with drinks. ADORE Farley’s.
It’s so funny to hear about the heat. I’m a hot house flower and haven’t found it hot this season yet. I should get back there soon and kidnap that tasty morsel, Jimmy Brewer. The playhouse in the past has gotten some pretty huge names too. The last one a saw there was Betty Buckley. It’s quite a stop for many big and small names since it’s only an hour from NYC. I’ll never forget the night years ago my ex and I saw Hugh Jackman four tables over dinning with friends. I think I wet my chair.
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You had me at “I saw Hugh Jackman.” We’re shopping for property as you read this. Seriously, we fell in love and we will be back many times, maybe permanently some day. It was very cool walking about your previous stomping ground, but would have been cooler with you there.
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