How You Like Dem Apples?

Remember in my last post I mentioned that Steve has very little vacation and we were saving for a house?  Well, Steve has finally built up a few vacation days and as far as the house stuff goes, we're waiting to hear back on an offer we just put in this evening on some land!  That would be a whole separate blog, but my point for saying those things is that we are on a little trip to take advantage of Steve's long weekend with Columbus Day off on Monday.  We've actually had this trip planned long before we thought it was even possible to put in an offer on something, so here we are!

We were able to get an earlier start than we initially planned for today, so Steve looked into what we could do around the area where we had booked our hotel for the night in Quakertown, PA.  I'll give you a hint, there isn't much to do...the movie theater is the #4 rated item on Trip Advisor.  Steve realized (without telling me so he could surprise me) that Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site was on our way to Quakertown.  Hopewell is a neat little site, especially if you go in the Fall.  They have an apple orchard right by the visitor's center and you are able to pick your own apples for $1.00 a pound.  The first time we came here a few years ago, we picked a couple pounds of apples.  This time, we spent a grand total of two minutes because the mosquitoes were swarming us.  We now have four apples that we'll have as a snack later on this trip.

Steven picking apples

Hopewell Furnace is called such because the furnace made iron.  There are buildings around the property that you are able to walk into and learn about, and there are a few farm buildings and fields of sheep and horses to visit.  There are several hiking trails which we didn't do the last time we were here.  Today, we hiked to the dam at Hopewell Lake and took in some of the pretty scenery.  We aren't here at peak time for the leaves, but they are starting to change, which was pretty to see reflected on the lake.

Hopewell Lake

Hopewell Lake

Sheep

Our next stop was to Manatawny Still Works where we stopped in for a sampler of their three whiskeys, including a honey whiskey that hasn't even been released yet.  All three were very good!  We had dinner at The Proper Brewing Company where the food and beer did not disappoint.  My favorite beer was the Irish Red and Steve's favorite was the Tall, Dark, and Steve.  Tomorrow, we are off to Hyde Park to hang out at Eleanor's and Franklin's houses.

Manatawny Still Works Sampler

The Proper Brewing Company Sampler

Fun sign at Proper