One day I won't be playing catch up on my blog... but today is not that day, ha-ha! I'm only a week behind, so there is that! Last weekend, Ryan and I set out after work on Thursday and headed up I-81 to Lancaster, PA for the weekend; especially since meeting and marrying Ryan, Lancaster has become a special place for me and I decided I wanted to spend the weekend in the area and celebrate my birthday there - so my husband and my parents planned a lovely weekend for me!
We had dinner on our way up at one of our favorite spots in the area - Dockside Willie's! Ryan has a history with this spot; he worked here during college and still has a good relationship with the owner and his son! We had a delicious meal and Ryan got to catch up with his former co-worker, now owner - who was even nice enough to gift us a box of River Rocks to take home - so awesome! If you are ever in the Harrisburg, PA area - don't miss Dockside Willie's, or it's sister restaurants Tequila Willie's and Duke's Bar & Grille. All three are an amazing dining experience!
Friday morning started a little later than we planned - I guess we were both pretty tired, because we slept in until almost 9 AM! I haven't slept so late in years, I swear! I was blown away when I woke up and looked at my watch; seeing that it said 8:47 blew my mind! After shifting some ideas around, we headed to the Green Dragon Farmer's Market in Ephrata... and y'all, what a delight this place was! The Green Dragon is one of the largest flea markets on the East Coast and is open every Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM... and I think it's a don't miss stop if you're in Lancaster County for a long weekend!
The Green Dragon has 30+ acres of free parking, seven market buildings and over 100 specialty market vendors - so when I say you will have plenty to look at, I am not kidding! There are vendors selling items that are likely similar to what you'd find at a garage sale; Ryan and I found some amazing matchbox cars and Snoopy comics from the 1970's - on sale for $1 a piece! There are also stalls selling antique, candles, body products, jewelry, purses and more... and then you get into the market buildings and it's a whole different world than the vendors outdoors!
Inside the market buildings there is Amish-built furniture that will take your breath away... I have never seen so many gorgeous pieces! There are also produce sellers with some of the most beautiful fruits and vegetables I've ever seen and the flowers; oh my gosh! Stunning! I don't know that I've ever seen such massive mums in my life! And lastly - the Amish baked goods! Shoofly pies, whoopie pies (some bigger than my hand), loaves of bread, cookies, pies, cakes... so many amazing things! Don't miss the Green Dragon Market if you are in the Ephrata area on a Friday!
We headed out around lunchtime to Shady Maple Smorgasbord; a spot I've wanted to eat at for a long time, and I finally got the chance last weekend! Shady Maple is a gigantic buffet in East Earl, PA: they have a 200-foot long buffet and serve around 1.5 million people a year... seriously - it's gigantic! And the food they serve is divine! I will definitely be making a return trip here - no doubt about it! Ryan also grabbed me some gorgeous wooden roses from the lobby; blooms I will have and cherish forever! Also - the whole bottom floor is a gift shop and if you can't find a gift here - you can't find one anywhere!
As part of my 40th birthday celebration, my husband decided that I needed to milk a cow before I turned 40... so after an afternoon that was filled with a pedicure, visiting some family and cruising around the Lancaster area, we headed to a family friend's farm where I got to get up close and personal with some bovine beauties! These ladies were gigantic and all in a row, and while they are now milked with milking machines, I did get to get up close with one and milk her the old fashioned way. It wasn't difficult but man, I am also very certain that being a dairy farmer isn't a missed calling on my life!
The final stop of our day was CR Lapp's Family Restaurant; Ryan's parents owned a restaurant called Lapp's Family Restaurant when he was growing up (they actually had two), and this restaurant was once owned by Ryan's uncle and now his cousin Chrissy owns it! We were able to see some family and have dinner with Ryan's friend Aaron and his sweet little son, who chattered and kept us laughing! They serve some divine Chicken Corn Soup (Ryan's grandmother's recipe) and I was happy to devour a bowl of it for my dinner, along with the salad bar - and to our surprise, we were treated to dinner by Ryan's cousin, in honor of my birthday! This is another spot you should definitely check out if you're in the area - great food, friendly people and just an all around great place to dine!
Saturday morning we didn't sleep quite as late - and once we were ready, we headed to Whisk Cafe in Elizabethtown, PA for a divine breakfast! This place is special to Ryan and I because we visited here several times when we were dating - so it's a little flashback to our early days together! Whisk serves some amazing breakfast and lunch; including lattes that are the size of your head, ha-ha! I had one of the seasonal special lattes: blueberry cobbler, and my waffle was topped with cinnamon apples and a maple bourbon syrup - so good! We took some time to shop at the Tanger Outlets on the main drag of Lancaster and then met up with my parents for lunch at YP - home of the best strombolis!
After lunch, we poked around Kitchen Kettle Village but y'all - I swear there must have been a thousand people there! It was hard to walk around, it was so crowded! We ended up not staying very long because there were just too many people for it to be enjoyable, so Ryan and I went to the Bird-in-Hand Farmer's Market instead and had a much better time perusing there! Ryan was able to get some favorites from Weaver Meats and I got a glass of Cherry Apple Cider that was to die for! Yum!
We made our way to the Air BnB that my parents had booked for Saturday night - a lovely little spot in a renovated firehouse - and there were surprises aplenty! A whole bevy of Nothing Bundt Mini's and numerous presents... I'm a very spoiled lady! I had to open one gift then and there, it was tickets to the Dutch Apple Dinner Theater for that night to see Hairspray! It has been a minute since I went to a play or a dinner theater (sixth grade was the last time for a dinner theater...) so this was a treat! I really love the play Hairspray and honestly, the whole experience was pretty delightful!
The cast for the show were extremely talented - all of them could, but some of them could SING - if you get my meaning! The food was good and the dessert options were great; they even had signature cocktails to go along with the show - although I just got a cocktail that they have all the time! I was also surprised that all the servers had signed a birthday card for me and left it at our table; such a nice little touch! The show was great - and they are doing White Christmas in December - that would be such an amazing treat to see; our family loves that movie!
Sunday morning we celebrated with Bundt cakes for breakfast, ha-ha! Nothing like the breakfast of champions to kick off your 40th year, am I right? I was so blessed with books aplenty, some adorable fall/winter clothes, a new Cirkul cup and more... did I mention my husband took me shopping on Saturday? Oh! And he got me a gorgeous Michael Kors purse! When I tell you I am spoiled! We didn't have plans until 12:30, so Ryan and I went back by the outlets to peruse a little bit before meeting up with my parents for brunch!
We had brunch at a completely new to me spot: Loxley's! The actual name of the restaurant is Loxley's Treehouse Restaurant and Bar; yes, this restaurant has treehouses as part of the seating arrangements! Now - the treehouse portion wasn't open on Sunday, but the whole restaurant in themed around Robin Hood (he was the Earl of Loxley, if you'll remember) and it was such an awesome spot to dine! Not to mention - the service was great and the food was phenomenal! We will definitely be going back when we are in the area - I want to go on a Friday or Saturday and sit in the treehouse, ha-ha!
It was truly such a wonderful weekend - and it was also wonderful when all was said and done to be able to come home to our lovely house, with our mischievous kittens and just be at home! I am a blessed lady and I was reminded just how much as I celebrated turning 40. I can't believe I've already lived 40 years of life; here's praying the Lord blesses me with at least 40 more!
No comments:
Post a Comment