After spending last weekend in DC, H and I dropped Adam off at the train station so he could come back to NYC for work. But I’d decided a couple of months before that it would be really fun for H and me to go away together for a few days during her spring break. A mommy/daughter trip.
So, we (I) decided to drive from Washington to Lancaster county in PA. After a morning running around DC together, we hopped in the car and set off.
Half the fun is in the journey, so we made a few stops before arriving in Lancaster for dinner. This blue sign in the background is the “Welcome to Pennsylvania” sign.
We stayed in Kitchen Kettle Village, on Strawberry Street. I love this village of shops. We’ve never stayed at the Inn before, but we definitely will again. Incredibly easy with a small person.
A homemade quilt on the bed (this is Amish country, after all).
Everything closes early in Lancaster, so we really only had time to have dinner and hang out in the room.
H didn’t mind; she found plenty of ways to keep herself busy. This closet was the highlight of her trip.
Our first (and only) full day in Lancaster was Tuesday, and we had horrible weather. Cold, and absolutely pouring rain. It was so bizarre after a sunny, even hot, weekend in DC.
I had to reprioritize some stuff to keep us busy in crummy weather. No buggy rides or trips to farms to see animals that day. We headed into the town of Lancaster to the Central Market instead. And we loved that place!
I really need to remember to bring a cooler on road trips. We bought the most delicious locally made goat mozzarella (and a truly delicious chive chevre) here:
H devoured her peanut butter chocolate whoopie pie from Shady Maple’s stand.
So much cheese, I came home with it all. Well, not exactly. But a lot.
Wendy Jo’s Homemade had the most delicious snickerdoodles. Ever. Seriously. I don’t joke around about snickerdoodles.
There was a ton of gorgeous fresh produce at the market. I didn’t bring home any of that, but I did stock up on herbs to plant this year. Lovely varieties of mint, thyme, even purple basil.
And I couldn’t say no to locally grown and smoked bacon from Riverbound Deli.
After we left the market we went here, and it was an incredible find.
It was a perfectly manageable, really creative hands-on museum for kids. With a corner grocery for H to do all her shopping.
We (I) face painted.
There was a machine shop where she could punch a real time clock, build stuff, and use a conveyor belt. This is the inventory section, where you had to take stock of all your “Star Thingies” by color. Finally, something technical I can get behind!
This truly wore her out, and she passed out in the car while we were still in the parking lot. So I decided to let her sleep and do some driving out to fabric stores. We were on our way to Goodville Fabric Outlet when we drove past Family Farm Fabrics. They were having an April sale, all Moda fabrics were $7.75/yard!!
And Goodville Fabric Outlet was no slouch, either.
I picked these shirting/suiting fabrics up for $.83/yard. I think I might make a bag with them.
We came back to relax in the room for a while before heading back out to dinner at Stoudt’s Black Angus Restaurant and Brew Pub. They have an award-winning pilsner that I brought home for Adam, I think I found this place in the local guide in the hotel room. They make their own cheese, too, but the shop wasn’t open when we were there. The cheese was alright, not my favorite thing ever. But the beer (that’s a peach double IPA, I believe) and dinner were great.
Wednesday was nice and sunny, but freezing cold. No exaggeration, we woke up to snow on the ground. So we just spent the morning at the Kitchen Kettle Village shops before hitting the road. We stocked up on jam and other goodies at the flagship store.
I bought H a little wheely suitcase she tried to make off with from a toy store there; you’re sort of left with little choice when your toddler drags it across the still-dirty-from-yesterday’s-rain floor and then attempts to run out of the store with it. I consoled myself by buying some local pepperoni and cheddar cheese from the smoke shop.
I went back to Lancaster Yarn Shop, a spot I always love. I love the owner, we chatted about motherhood and geekiness. It was awesome. I bought this awesome stuff:
And I saw this hat on display from a Ravelry pattern, which I immediately came home and bought:
This hat alone, “Sheep Heid,” makes me want to pick up my needles again. I used to knit like a maniac, but I started getting terrible eczema between my fingers from the wool. So I may have just ordered myself some knitting gloves.
We stopped at a few more quilt shops as we made our way home, including The Quilt and Fabric Shack (where I overheard the best conversation about Amish Mafia) and Steve’s in King of Prussia, PA. We made it back to NJ and I headed straight to JoAnn for a $1 Simplicity pattern sale they were having. That may have been the last straw for H, who burst into tears immediately upon entering our 5th fabric store in 2 days.
Here’s the rest of my fabric hall from the trip, including a jelly roll for a new H quilt (it was $29!):
The weather wasn’t on our side, but I had a tremendous time with my girl. And we all had a tremendous time in DC. I think mommy/daughter getaways are going to be a new tradition. When H’s older, she can vote for more of the stops, too.
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What a nice play grocery store in the Children’s Museum! (And, I love your fabrics too.)