Once Grammie was settled in and taking care of the kids- bless her, it's not easy to get a 3 and 6 year old off to school in the morning- we set off on a little trip to Lancaster County. Our itinerary was to spend Thursday shopping in Adamstown, PA -the antique capital of the world- and stay overnight at an old hotel in Lititz. Friday we would spend some time in Lititz, then make a stop at a farmer's market on the way home.
Pennsylvania's Lancaster County (aka "Amish Country", for those of you in parts far off) has always felt like home for me. My family has lived there for generations, since the mid-1700s. My grandmother lived in Lititz for much of her life and I spent many happy weekends there visiting. So I wasn't exactly the usual tourist (something there are lots of, this time of year), but it was a little different to actually be there as a hotel guest.
Adamstown is a little over an hour's drive from our home. But it was well worth the trip to do some shopping at all the antique malls and stores there. We spent hours poring over the booths at the Mad Hatter, Pine Hills, Adams Antiques, and others. I bought some goodies, which will be part 2 of this post!
We ate lunch at a great brewpub, the Union Barrel Works in Reamstown. It's a little off the beaten path, but well worth seeking out. The food and the brew were incredible! We had originally planned to eat lunch at Stoudt's in Adamstown, but they are not open for lunch during the week. Quite a few of the antiques shops in Adamstown are also not open during the week, so plan your visit accordingly. It wasn't a problem for us, because there were plenty of other places that were open- more than we could do in a day!
This was my outfit for the day- a Lilli Ann knit suit with a 1940s collegiate look (the skirt is pleated, hard to tell in the photo) and saddle shoes. It was the perfect outift- quite comfortable for a day of shopping.
Then it was on to the General Sutter Hotel in Lititz for our overnight stay and dinner.
Our room was beautiful- nice and roomy with antique Victorian furnishings. It was just our style; we don't really enjoy the corporate hotel chains, and try to stay in places like this whenever possible.
I loved the "TV lounge" just down the hall- it was really a library/sitting room for the guests. I was daydreaming about how to turn this old "portable" TV into an aquarium....
We ate dinner there as well; the food was out of this world. I had a NY strip with an Asian soy-ginger sauce, and my husband had crab cakes. We dressed for the occasion- my dress is the first piece of vintage clothing I ever owned. It's a black velvet wiggle dress with the most incredible beading detail around the neckline and front pocket. I think it dates from the mid-late 1950s. It was given to me in high school by a friend of my mother's who knew I needed a black dress for a concert. Needless to say, this dress is a little over-the-top for concert attire, but still one of my favorites for dressy occasions.
