Our first time

It was only 24 hours but so worth it! We left the boys at 1:30 on Saturday afternoon and drove to the E.J Bowman house in Lancaster, PA. The drive was nice and the B&B was really easy to find. It was only 30 minutes away from home, so we could be home quickly if needed.

We were greeted by Murphy and given a tour of their home. He showed us the Library which had two chairs an antique desk with a few modern amenities, a TV with DVDs and some CD’s. There were a lot books to read with literature on Lancaster County. Next was the dinning room with a table that seated 12. He showed us the former parlor with antique furniture and knick knacks. A huge marble fireplace was the centerpiece of the room and just off that was a little kitchen for the guest to use.

We climbed 3 flights of steps to get to our suite on the third floor. Once you opened the door you were greeted by a fireplace and a sitting area and a KING sized bed! Just off that was another room with a day bed and some seating as well. Off the sitting room was the bathroom with heated tile floors and whirlpool tub! After Murphy showed us around and how to work the tub, he left us to get settled before our dinner with Amanda.

Around 4:30 we left the room to start our drive to dinner with Amanda. Amanda was an older Amish lady who occasionally had guest over for dinner. The B&B set it up for us. Alicia and I were a little nervous about the dinner, what we wear, what do we say what if we don’t like the food…but all that went away when we met Amanda. She was so warm and inviting. We got there a little early so we got to talk with her about her life and she asked us about us. Alicia and I forgot that they don’t use electricity so we dinned in propane lighting. Amanda said that they use propane and batteries to run everything.

There were three other couples there, one couple lives in Manhattan, one couple lives in Allentown and the other came all the way from Australia. The couple from Allentown and Australia knew each other; the two wives were pen pals during WWII. Dinner was great, Amanda made us meatloaf, smoked turkey, mixed veggies, buttered noodles, mashed potatoes, home made wheat bread and butter. For dessert she made an apple pie, carrot cake and ice cream. After dinner we sang songs ( I felt just a little awkward) and she showed us these things she makes called Quillows. They are pillows that fold out to a quilt. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough money for them otherwise we would have bought one or two. They weren’t that expensive, $40 each.

We got back the B&B around 8. We took a nice hot relaxing bath in the whirlpool tub for about an hour then went downstairs were Murphy and two other guest were sitting drinking wine. We joined them for a bit. The couple was visiting from Toronto and we talked about their healthcare system.

I fell asleep first, at 10pm. We woke up the next morning at 8 to silence, nobody crying or whining, nobody asking for something to eat or screaming at KC…nothing, just silence. We lounged around 8:45 then made our way downstairs for breakfast. Breakfast was a lot different then the usual poptart in the car or bowl of Lucky Charms at work or a doughnut from Landis. We had Figs and jam, apple fritter, pancakes with pears in them and fresh maple syrup and ginger jam. Oh and hot chocolate made from melted chocolate from Wilburs! We talked with Murphy and his wife Alice and then went upstairs to relax before check out.

Before we headed home we stopped in Adamstown which is the MECCA of antiques. We walked around Stoudts brewery and antiques before we had lunch at an Italian café. We arrived home at 2:30 and both the boys were sleeping…

I'll post pictures tomorrow of the B&B and you can click on the title for their website.