Crossing the Delaware

October 7th.



Welcome to New Hope, PA.



"There's a farmer's market up ahead," says Nicole.

"I don't think it's going on today."
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So much to choose from, so little packing space.

  I look up from the road and I see the signs posted. Then I actually look behind the signs and see the actual food stands.

"Oh," I say. "There is a farmer's market.

We've got about 30 minutes of daylight left and I'm furiously searching my GPS to find something that is not a Bed and Breakfast. Quaint and convenient as they may be, $150 a night is not in our best interest right now. Option B is to ride back into New Jersey and head five miles north to get to a state park. Neither seems to appealing.

It's not the maltodextrin or the hydrogonated soybean oil
that your body craves. The stuff you like you can also pronounce.

The farmer's market, though, is a pleasant and worthwhile diversion. One of the farmer's has some hommade Cider Mint Elixir. Real mint, not something made in a lab. We each take a cup and can't resist some of her home-grown, hommade pastry. We take a Raspberry butter bar for the road. Before we leave, we also grab some Pennsylvannia apples and a mix of fresh tomatoes and somehow have room to cram into our panniers. And is if that wasn't enough, Nicole found some pumpkin bread that she couldn't resist.

After the market we ride onward, without much luck. New Hope is a quaint little town, and New Hopers like their quaint B & Bs. There was a Super 8, but the locals tell us that they went out of business years ago. I spot a local bike shop and stop by to see if I can get any information for cross-country cyclists.

"Can I help you?" asks the lone bike shop employee.

"Yes, do you know of any place that's less than a hundred dollars a night, or failing that, if we were to camp outside, would the police care?

He's a bit surprised by the question.

"Yeeeah" he says, a bit drawn out. "There's been a string of buglaries, so they probably would."

Rats.

"As for a place that's under a hundred dollars, I can check . . ."

He looks up the websites of the local B&Bs. "You might get an off-season rate," he says.

"Hmm, most of these places don't even advertise their prices."


The Lovely Wedgwood Inn.



It doesn't look promising, but after a few minutes of searching, he finds a place that has rooms discounted after Labor Day. What a relief!

It's the Wedgwood Inn, just a half mile down the road. We check in. The owner recognizes us from the farmer's market. It looks like we can look forward to fresh food tomorrow. The room is indeed adorable, a well-furnished cozy room on the top floor aptly named the Hideaway. We take this opportunity to enjoy our fresh tomatoes with one of our freeze-dried meals. And we waste no time to enjoy our Raspberry Butter Bar for dessert.

Free Breakfast tomorrow, then onward to Valley Forge . . .