I always find what people eat on vacation to be one of the most interesting parts of hearing about their trip. That’s- duh!- because I like food. But I also think it’s fun to see if they eat differently than they do at home. Do they eat healthier? Heartier? Are they more adventurous, or likelier to find foods that remind them of home?
Of course, unless you’re staying in a place with a kitchen, you usually dine out for almost every meal when you’re traveling. That’s one of the reasons I love bed and breakfasts: the morning hour when you eat breakfast in your “home” away from home is such a cozy one!
One thing we never do at home is enjoy room service. Because, well, we don’t have a home chef! (I don’t think I’d much like that, actually, because I do enjoy the privacy of preparing my own meals.) On our first morning at the inn, we were brought a tray filled with goodies. A hot pot of coffee, orange juice, fruit cups, zucchini bread. Oh, to be so spoiled!
For my hot breakfast, I enjoyed a tofu stir-fry with eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes, and a side of tomatoes.
We spent our second day getting completely out of our comfort zone by going… tubing! We took a bus about three miles from our car, wearing our bathing suits and sneakers, and floated down a “lazy river” for a couple hours. We paddled quite a bit and worked up an appetite! Five minutes in we were completely soaked with soggy shoes and shorts, but it was so much fun. We’d definitely do it again!
We stayed on the Pennsylvania/ New Jersey boarder, and since PA is a commonwealth state, many of its restaurants and those nearby are BYOB. We didn’t know this when we went to Sprig & Vine, but we were prepared when we went to the Café Galleria in Lambertville, New jersey. We found a very nice bottle of Californian Sauvignon Blanc to guide us through our meal.
Café Galleria’s original outpost was destroyed during Hurricane Irene last year, so they’re temporarily located in the Lambertville House Hotel’s basement. The spot is unassuming and a little odd, but we had a fabulous time!
My mom chose the restaurant because of its tagline: “the place where the unapologetic carnivore and the dedicated vegan dine together happily.” My mom enjoyed a nice trout, while I ordered the pan roasted seitan with plum tomatoes, garden peas, cannelini beans, avocado and soy mozzarella served over brown rice. It was just the taste of home I was looking for: B and I would totally have made something like this!
We were happy campers.
On our way home, we found a great farm stand so we could bring a little bit of our trip back with us. We picked up some of the sweetest yellow cherry tomatoes I’ve ever had!
After a wonderful couple days, we can add 2012 to the growing list of wonderful Mother-Daughter Weekends spent together. I love you, Mom!
