My husband and I went on a little winter adventure recently with our friends from Pennsylvania to visit friends in upstate New York. It was cold, snowy, and icy; but the fellowship kept us warm! All these friends are such sincere, caring, and kind people and make us feel very special when we are all together.
The grandson of our PA friends operates a bulk food store/coffee shop outside of Warsaw, NY. His uncle and aunt began this business and it continues to flourish with its new owner. They have a wonderful breakfast and lunch menu and even though it's in NY, they have grits on the menu!
Our first, snowy morning, the 6 of us cracked and shelled 10 gallons of North Carolina pecans that we had carried along from our trees . We went to the coffee shop for lunch and then played Board Rook all afternoon and topped off our day with a delicious apple cobbler our hostess prepared. We all slept soundly that night after a full day of enjoying each others company, a little work, and good food.
Our northern friends like our southern foods so they always like for me to prepare hushpuppies for a meal and I carried 2010 butterbeans from our freezer. Three of us prepared the rest of the dinner together and then others joined us for a total of 16 smiling faces around the dinner table. They have a great table that can accommodate about 10+ leaves in it for a large group or it can be made to serve just 6!
The bulk food part of the business has some really good buys and I stocked up on noodles and spices along with some Valentine
One morning our hostess was baking bread similar to this bread her son-in-law bakes for sell at the store. It was so interesting watching her mold the loaves with her hands and listen to her explain about the bread making process and of course the aroma was out of this world! She insisted we should take along a loaf of her honey wheat bread. It didn't take much arm twisting for us to agree. We are down to the last slice now as I have parceled it out carefully trying to make it last longer.
We saw these interesting, modern windmills dotting the countryside as we drove along the interstate through NY farmland. As windy as it was, they must have really been generating a good amount of electricity for that areas residents.
Lake effect snow was falling our last morning in NY! Fortunately, only a few miles south and we had clear roads and no precipitation falling. I was very grateful for that as ice and snow make me anxious on the road.
When we were back in Lancaster County, PA we made sure to visit Bird-in-Hand Bake Shop. They always have some delicious sweets we can't resist and this trip we bought some of their great coffee to keep us warm and to wash down our treats! Our NY friends parents started this business.
Our rental car was an absolute mess by the end of the trip (this is only halfway through our road trip). All too soon our time with friends was over, but we were making plans for the next visit before this one was over. We always find the road short when going to see friends!
Maybe next time you can pack me in your purse and sneak me along? I hope we can go sometime again when it's warmer! But not hot ;) picky, picky, I know.
ReplyDeleteGrammy, This sounds like a wonderful trip,most people think NY, is all glitz and glamor and doesn't have farmland, I would love to visit the countryside one day. I have been too lancaster, Pa. and enjoyed it so much.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun to read that someone calls lima beans, butter beans besides me here in blogland, Lol
I have always enjoyed sitting with family and shelling pecans.
Thanks for sharing your trip.
Blessings,
Sue