Like in an Andrew Wyeth Painting

We had a wonderful day yesterday that started off with a visit to a farmer's market here in Wayne, where I had my first cronut - a confection that has been called "the illegitimate child of a croissant and a Krispy Kreme donut. They are apparently all the rage in New York and elsewhere. It was good ... but I won't be heartbroken if they never become available in Salt Lake.

After the farmer's market, Mark, Rachel and I took a leisurely walk up and down Wayne's town center, stopping in at a Presbyterian church that was having a Christmas bazar. 

I can't remember the last time I went to a Christmas bazar. You never see them in Utah - perhaps because of the overwhelming predominance of LDS churches there, who never hold fundraising events. I may have gone to one while we lived in Vancouver, Canada. But going in yesterday brought back memories of my childhood, how every year St. Theresa's would hold a bazar in the gym of our parochial school across the street from our house in Salem, Illinois with all kinds of baked goods, crafts, etc. It was something I took for granted as a part of life back then ...

From Wayne, we headed to Valley Forge National Historic Park. It was a beautiful, brisk autumn day. Fortunately, Rachel directed us to the end of the park that was the furthest away from the visitors' center. I say "fortunately" because had she not done this, we probably wouldn't have stumbled upon what became a highlight of our trip so far.

After we drove across a covered bridge, we meandered down a road an approached an old house that was identified as General Stirling's headquarters. It wasn't open to the public and had obviously been abandoned for some time. Across the road was an old stone barn. We stopped, got out of the car and wandered around for 20 minutes or so, taking pictures. Mark particularly loved it, saying "I feel like I'm in an Andrew Wyeth painting." 

I LOVE this picture of Rachel and me

It was a beautiful experience, being there on that beautiful fall morning, taking in the spirit of this old place, a large part of the charm of which was engendered by the fact that no one else was there and the buildings had been abandoned, leaving only the essence of the history of the buildings.

I'll save a description of Valley Forge, as well as our night out on the town in Philly last night, for the next post. Today, we're off to breakfast with Rachel, then we're going to the Brandywine Andrew Wyeth museum in Chadds Ford - about a 30-minute drive from here (Wayne). After that, we'll take Rachel home and head southwest to Washington. Another beautiful day here!

View from our hotel room balcony this morning here in Wayne