Time Travel

I'm really not a history buff, although I definitely wish I knew more than I do. My husband heard about this WW II weekend, near Reading, PA, and thought we should all make the trip. It was so amazing, I think any parent in the Northeast should consider going next year. It happens the first weekend in June, and it's a trip that your kids will love you for, and you'll probably really enjoy too. Air show with old military planes, reenactments, walking around the reenactment camps and seeing all the old military jeeps and motorcycles, seeing all these people in period dress, and getting your own dog tag to bring home...it doesn't get much better than that. Plus, if your kid gets a blister, like our friend Sam did, you can just haul them into the Pre-Op tent, and get a free bandage (and cool story). If you wanted to make a weekend out of it, you could also visit Lancaster (see my pos t about that town), or also swing down to Gettysburg (I'll do a post about that later this week), or just stop at the Crayola Factory in Easton (which you drive right through if you're coming from NYC), or spend some time in Bucks County. Oh then there's also the whole Brandywine area (which I'm also writing about this week), and Philadelphia is also in proximity.

Old Bedford Village

About 10 minutes drive from the Omni Bedford Springs Resort, (which I wrote about in yesterday's post) is this fantastic living history village. We got there an hour before closing, and rushed through it as fast as we could, but I would go back, and plan to spend at least a half a day. It was so well done--there's nothing cheesy about it.

(above: an officer, and his rooster)

(above is the restaurant, and below is the inside)

(above: basket maker)

(above: the shoemaker)

(knife-throwing, and they showed matt how to do it)

Northeast Indoor Pool Series: Omni Bedford Springs Resort

I've been wanting to write about this place since I started this blog, because I like it so so much.  But I held off, because I think most people don't think about driving into the heart of Pennsylvania in the middle of winter.  Now that spring is almost here, I imagine that you might read this and actually take the trip.  Today I'll write about the resort (and its beautiful indoor pool, that uses their natural mineral spring water), but all this week, I'll write about the road trip to and from...because if you want to build a whole trip around the getting there and the coming back, there is great stuff to do both ways.

  Here's the story with the Omni Bedford Springs Resort:  It has been around for forever--since the early 1800s--as it was a destination because of its eight mineral springs.  In 2007, it re-opened, after a brilliant renovation, that cost a whopping $120 million, and brought the hotel back to its historic grandeur, with just the right amount of modern.  It's really the best renovation I think I've ever seen.  Everything there is really perfectly done.  It's the kind of place that would make these kinds of people happy: history buffs, antique/vintage shoppers (great antiquing in town), food/wine obsessed, design obsessed, spa goers (world-class spa with well trained therapists and great products). The rooms are so well appointed, the staff is great, and the food is so good.  It's about four hours from NYC, so you really would want to stay at least two nights, to make the drive worth it...but enough talking about it--look at the pictures.

(the antique flag behind reception)

(1796 Room, one of three restaurant options at the property--the decor is so insanely perfect)

(The Crystal Room, where breakfast and buffet meals are served)

(the outdoor pool, which was lovely, but it was too cold to use.  note the shallow ledge that is perfect for toddlers, and the cabanas perfect for naps)

(outdoor fire pit/smore happenings)

(the spa indoor whirlpool, with cold plunge in the back, and the original water bottles from the bedford springs)

(a staircase in the hotel--just to show you the level of perfect renovation that happened)

(reproduction wallpaper)

(hand forged local room numbers and signage)