Only in Bucks County: Nostalgic in New Hope

 

Enjoying chocolate covered strawberries in New Hope, 1979.

 I was 14.

Ahhh, New Hope. The city of artists, poets, and witches.
The magical place that used to be a once-a-year day trip with my parents and my best friend Pam is now a nearby town that I can visit easily and as often as I want. 
Pam and I would look forward to our Halloween weekend in New Hope all year long, and we LOVED every minute of it!
At age 11, 12, 13, my parents would let us walk around this picturesque place by ourselves... walking in and out of stores, crunching in the leaves, exploring, drinking sodas and giggling, eating pizza, and spending our babysitting money on novelty items, jewelry, gingerbread men, and chocolate covered strawberries. Even at that age, we appreciated the stores filled with handmade items and arts and crafts; especially the store loaded with retro toys and naked mannequins, a hologram store, and the dozens of galleries that featured contemporary art. I can still remember the wonderful aroma of the shop that sold just candles, and the delicious herbal scent of a store called "Strawberry Jam" with it's array of handmade soaps. I remember giggling browsing the collections of gothic oddities at "The Creeper Gallery", or nervously purchasing a crystal or two from the witchcraft store.
 
Even though New Hope was notoriously crowded with other tourists walking in and out of the art galleries, restaurants, and antique shops, we knew our way around, revisited our favorite places, and felt like the town existed just for us. We'd see some unusual characters there, but everybody belonged. Traipsing in and out of the eclectic shops made us feel special and more worldly than our pre-teen friends back home.  

A few years later, we’d go there dressed for Halloween, posing for pictures with every single Halloween display we came across (and the occasional biker if they'd let us stand in front of their Harley.) We’d buy ourselves sterling silver rings inlaid with turquoise and coral made by a local artisan, collect artsy business cards from the stores we visited, get our palms read, maybe buy a cool tee shirt or top that we liked, and sneak a henna tattoo at The Shop of India... all of this making us feel cooler, more sophisticated, and edgier than any other kid in our school. 

In the New Hope of my childhood, the autumn colors were even more colorful, and there was always a warm river breeze. The Halloween decorations were some of the wildest I'd ever seen, and the freedom we felt was limitless. The fountain cokes were sweeter, the slices of pizza were the tastiest we’d ever had, and the days lasted forever. I still love New Hope. Everybody does.

                         

         

                    

                                                

        

                                                               

                                     

Pandemic or not, I haven't missed visiting New Hope at Halloween time in 45 years!

Does anybody else remember New Hope's

 BEST STORE EVER... Strawberry Jam?

Pam and I continued our tradition well into our thirties, at times still tagging along with my parents on their autumn visit!  As soon as the pandemic ends, we have plans to meet in New Hope for a beers and giggles and a nice long lunch. In the meantime, enjoy these photos from the time we decided to walk around New Hope.... as bags of jellybeans: 

Senior year, 1982.

 

Only in Bucks County: Goat Hill Overlook

Two weeks into 2021 and we’ve completed our second hike!

Today’s trek was to Goat Hill Overlook in West Amwell, New Jersey, with views of beautiful Bucks County!

The overlook not only offered unobstructed views of the Delaware River, Lambertville, NJ and New Hope, PA; it is also a part of history. General George Washington looked out over the Delaware River here in December 1776 before The Battle of Trenton.

According to local legend,

Washington stood on a rock 

atop the palisade to oversee 

preparations for the attack on 

Trenton during the

 Revolutionary War.

                                    

Before arriving at the summit, we hiked some of the smaller trails that branched off the main trail. 

Here's the view as we approached the parking area and hit the trail! Once you've parked, walk on the gravel road beyond the metal gates. The main trail will wind up the hill on an incline, passing unmarked trails that you may want to explore on the way up or back down. In about a half mile, you'll arrive at the top of the hill and see some picnic tables in the distance. As you approach the picnic benches you will have an amazing view of the Delaware River, the towns along the Delaware River, and beyond.

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Since we hit the trails and enjoyed the vista on a foggy January day, I thought I'd share a photo from njhiking.com taken on a more colorful day in the Fall. For more information, insight, and a trail map, check out https://www.njhiking.com/goat-hill-overlook

The exact address of the overlook is 207 Goat Hill Road in Lambertville, New Jersey. 

It is just a hop, skip and a jump from the New Hope/Lambertville Bridge and the City of Lambertville.

Fun Fact: 

It is known is that goats were raised here in the 1920's during Prohibition. The owners of a multi-acre section of Goat Hill raised goats to make cheese in which they concealed moonshine. They made blocks of cheese with cavities where they inserted pints of bootleg liquor! 

A few well deserved slices on the way home!

 

Only in Bucks County: Ringing Rocks in Every Season

 

My husband does a lot of work in Upper Bucks County, and one repeat client has a home just a stone's throw (see what I'm doing here?) away from Ringing Rocks State Park in Upper Black Eddy, PA, so we've stopped there often.

While hitting these so-called "ringing rocks" with a hammer doesn't excite me, I do find these fields of boulders interesting and wonder how they got there.

One of my favorite short hikes is the rock-studded trail down to the park's waterfall, so if you go to ring the rocks, make sure you visit the waterfall too!

Now that we visited the rocks on a cold January day, I can say that we've seen them Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall!

July 2015

January 2021

PRO TIP: 

If you cut through New Hope on the way home, stop for a slice of Spatola's Pizza on Route 32!

Only in Bucks County: Uhlerstown Covered Bridge

I went with Richard to an appointment in Upper Black Eddy, Upper Bucks County, and to my surprise, this was at the end of the block! One of Bucks County's twelve remaining covered bridges, the Uhlerstown Covered Bridge.

I was going to do my own research after visiting Uhlerstown Covered Bridge yesterday, but it seems Visit Bucks County has done it for me! According to their website, “Constructed of oak in 1855, the Uhlerstown Covered Bridge has windows on both sides and is the only covered bridge in Bucks County that crosses the Delaware Canal. It is named for Michael Uhler, a canal boat builder and the first postmaster who founded Uhlerstown.” 

According to multiple websites I visited, the bridge was completely reconstructed using original fabric in 1985. Each timber was disassembled and repaired or cleaned, then reassembled using the original wooden pegs and timbers wherever possible. The bridge and wingwalls were rehabilitated in 2009. Looking around inside, Richard and I were fascinated with the woodwork and construction!

Again, the Uhlerstown Bridge is one of twelve covered bridges still standing in Bucks County.

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall... you and your friends, family, or loved one can hop in the car and take the Bucks County Covered Bridge Tour!

                                                                          

COVERED BRIDGE FUN FACTS:

The oldest documented American covered bridge is the Hyde Hall Bridge in Glimmerglass State Park near Cooperstown, New York. It was built in 1825.

Every county in Pennsylvania has its own Covered Bridge Tour!

Check it out here.