New Hope Springs Eternal

I wasn’t going to blog this one. But I ended up having my reasons. This trip did not include Penny, because there were three of us, which is one of the few disadvantages of Penny.

In 2019, we went on a bucket list trip to Alaska on a Princess Cruise. That included Leigh and Kendall, Morgan and Jake, Truman, Jessica and Ben, and Bob and me. It was an awesome trip and we also managed to spend some time with my brother Ron and his family, and my sister Lynn and her husband, Tom, prior to boarding the ship. During that cruise, Truman met a friend named Catie, who was there with her father Brian, and grandmother, Cindy. It was a cruise ship friendship, and we thought nothing of it, but Catie and Truman shared digits, as they say, and remained in touch. Eventually that grew into something more. A few months ago, Catie came to visit Truman, and then Truman went to visit Catie, and so it evolved that when Catie and Truman had the same spring break from school, that Bob and I committed to take Truman to visit her. Catie lives in New Jersey. About a 5 ½ hour trip from Norfolk. Catie lives in Ringoes, which is near a small but interesting town called New Hope, so Bob and I booked an Airbnb in New Hope.

New Hope is a very cool little town in Pennsylvania, just across the border of New Jersey. It reminds me a little of Carlisle, Pa, in that there are several interesting shops, restaurants, and museums, and you can actually cross the Delaware River on a footbridge to Lambertville, NJ., where there are more shops and restaurants. We went on Easter Sunday, and the drive was easy, going up the Eastern Shore, through Delaware and Philadelphia on to New Hope. We were very fortunate to have been invited to Easter dinner by Cindy, Brian and Debbie, Brian’s girlfriend. They are wonderful people, very kind and engaging, and we had a great evening with them. Truman was happy to see Catie, and Catie is a delight. We shared stories for several hours while the kids entertained themselves, and Brian, Cindy, and Debbie became our fast friends.

The Airbnb was in New Hope, and all the shops and restaurants were within walking distance. COVID had an effect on the community, as some of the shops and restaurants were still not open, but there were enough to keep us entertained. We rented a small apartment below the owners that had outside decks and a huge backyard near a small stream. The backyard was idyllic, with plenty of birds, trees, flowers and comfortable sitting areas to relax and enjoy. Truman was able to spend some nights with Catie’s family and some nights with us in the apartment, where we even were able to have a fire and roast marshmallows one evening.

Since Truman was spending much of his time with Catie, Bob and I were able to investigate several of the local restaurants. We had our first dinner at the Dubliner on the Delaware, where I had the most amazing Corned Beef Poutine with Cheddar Cheese and Guinness Gravy. Heart attack on a plate but worth it! And on our second night we went to The Salt House. The Salt House was created by Chef Steven Lou, who settled in the area after a career as a recording artist and an executive at Warner Brothers. He attended the Culinary Institute of America and founded an award-winning winery in the Napa Valley. The Salt House is small but mighty, and Bob and I had one of the best meals of our lives there. Bob ordered a beet salad with a horseradish crème fraiche which was to die for. I had the grilled artichokes with garlic aioli, and I don’t think I’ve ever had better artichokes. I also had a cocktail with beet juice, vodka, lemon, ginger and rosemary. How do people come up with these ideas? I assume they must concoct numerous combinations, most of which are repulsive, to get the few that are astonishing. And these were astonishing. Bob’s cocktail was composed of vodka, Chambord, pineapple, elderflower and absinthe. I also had a second cocktail, never a good idea for me, called the Dark and Stormy Daniels, made of rum, ginger beer, bitters, lemon, lime and mashed cherry. Good thing I only had to walk home! Our waitress was Kristan, who was informative and engaging, and seemed happy to learn we were blogging the meal, although we mentioned that we were hardly internet influencers. While we were thus engaged, Truman went with Catie and her sister, Leah, to the Jersey shore, and had a great time. Finally we were able to have dinner in town with Catie's family at the Lambertville Station, and inn and restaurant built in an historic 19th century train station.

It was a very relaxing spring break for us, and Truman and Catie enjoyed the time together. Then back to Norfolk where we will have to go on a diet!