The Good Stuff

This is where we stayed over the weekend--the Cider Mill House B&B. On Friday night we had the entire house to ourselves. When Ross got up at 4am to go to the bathroom we realized the power was out. It was pitch black and eerily quiet. Well, at least for a little while, then I could hear the cows and goats and the rooster.

Breakfast on Saturday morning was enough to feed at least 4 people. We started with cranberry muffins. Then we had a small fruit smoothie. Then the main course came. We had gigantic omelets made with fresh eggs from the farm. We also had turkey sausage over sauteed pears with maple syrup glaze, two mini croissants each, and roasted potatoes. I couldn't even manage to eat half of my omelet. I love potatoes, so I kept eating them. Then came dessert--a cup of sauteed pears with some kind of sauce and home made raspberry sorbet on top. I was completely stuffed.

Luckily I had packed a lunch to eat on the train. For lunch we had rolls, cheese, and honeycrisp apples. The actual train ride was very nice. The views were amazing. We could see the hills starting to change colors, and we got to see some really striking colors up close. It was a very nice day out, but we were enclosed in the air conditioned car. We were able to go between the cars to experience the open air. There was an open air car, but it was very far up the train, so we never went up there.

When we got back to Cumberland we walked around. I bought some earrings made from scarab beetle wings. The shops were cute, and things were reasonably priced. I wish we'd had more time in Frostburg and Cumberland. The pie was a perfect dinner. On Saturday night I could hear a fox calling out to declare his territory. Of course Ross sleeps through everything.

Sunday was awesome. Breakfast started with pumpkin bread and some other kind of raisin bread. I only had one slice of pumpkin bread because I knew there would be a lot of food coming. Instead of a smoothie we got sliced bananas and strawberries with really good yoghurt on top. I traded my strawberries for Ross's bananas because he's allergic. The main course was orange French toast with a slice of orange, turkey sausage over apples, and roasted potatoes. I only ate one of my three slices of toast. Dessert was home made apple pie filling with whipped cream on top. Of course I ate all that. I also had at least 3 cups of tea.

I wish I'd had time to visit with the goats and cows, but we had an appointment. We went to Berkeley Springs State Park for a bath and a massage. The water from Berkeley Spring is heated to 102 F for the bath. The steps down into the bath reminded me of the mikvah. When I came out of the bath I felt really good. We had to walk to another building for our massage and the cooler air felt refreshing. We both had hour long massages. I was good and told the girl when she was being too rough. I came out feeling relaxed instead of like I was in a car wreck.

We left the car in our prime parking spot and checked out the Apple Butter Festival that was going on in town. We walked around--looking at the booths and in shops. I got a lemonade, then we went to lunch. We had bbq, and it was surprisingly good (I'm picky.)

We searched for some apple dumplings and when we finally found the booth they only had trays left, no more individuals, so we bought a whole tray (5). We've been eating them for dessert this week. Last night we went and bought whipping cream and we had one with sweet vanilla whipped cream.

So that's the good stuff. Lots of food and a hot bath.