You’ve been running through your days, stacking up appointments and storing up stress. Between the kids’ activities and your nine-to-five, you wonder if there's any place on this earth where you can clear your head, finish a sentence, and get some peace and quiet. You’re in need of a weekend away, an escape to a place where you can slow it all down and breathe a little deeper.
It doesn't take much convincing to bring two of your closest friends into the plan, and you start your search for a quiet place that’s a short drive from home. You’ve heard great things about a quaint town named Ligonier, located in the valley of a mountain in Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands. The three of you try sooo hard to pack light, but alas... you cram your twelve suitcases into the car, kiss your sweet husbands and children goodbye, and promise to eventually return!
You arrive at The Colonial House on Main Street, a well-maintained historic home-turned-Bed and Breakfast with the original 1906 staircase and floors. Dawn, the innkeeper, happily chats with you while showing you to the tastefully-decorated room you rented. You drop your bags at the foot of a pale-blue-quilted bed that’s piled high with pillows, and walk over to the couch in the adjoining living room to relax. Your room faces West Main Street, and you can see the town’s shopping and dining district out your window, beckoning you from just a short distance away.
First on the agenda is lunch. Since you are such a fan of cheese (because WHO doesn't love CHEESE?), you are anxious to try a meal at Myriam’s Table Cafe and Cheese Shop You're told that the restaurant has recently moved to a larger space within the beautiful Thistledown at Seger House, and the fresh, redecorated restaurant is as warm and welcoming as Chef Lisa Houser’s menu. Soon they are bringing plates of gorgeous food out to your table. You fork into your colorful ‘Berries and Burrata’ salad while one of your friends raves about her first bite of her ‘Portugese and Pork’ sandwich, her chin dripping with BBQ sauce. (You inform her of the sauce because you’re a true and loyal friend.) You agree to share forkfuls of your meals, which is a GREAT decision, because you REALLY enjoyed that taste of your sweet-toothed friend’s Banana and Nutella Crepe!
Now that everyone is working with a stomach-full of farm-to-table food, BRING ON THE SHOPPING. You stroll through Ligonier’s friendly streets, marveling at those Pedestrian Crossings. How nice that they actually stopped and allowed that family to safely reach the other side of the street! And everyone’s waving at each other! It's a refresher-course on human outreach and kindness.
Your friend finds a cute pair of Vans sneakers and a tunic top among the eclectic mix at Loopsey Boutique . You stumble upon a collection of drink coasters at My Honeybee that make you Laugh. Out. Loud (with sayings on them like ‘Does this rag smell like chloroform?') You find sweet little baby onesies at Mommy Gear that will be perfect for that coworker who’s been ‘due any day now’ for the last six months! Your Always-Accessorized friend finds a cool set of dangly earrings at The Black Bunny Boutique. And you can't resist an after-lunch treat at Scamps Toffee. One bite of the chocolate covered toffee sends a message straight to your brain’s pleasure center. ‘Buy More Of This Stuff For The Husband And Kids’, your head tells you. So they stack a few more orange boxes into your bag. When you arrive at Ligonier’s longest-running business, Martins Specialty Shop to stuff your bag with a Columbia fleece - the owner, MaryLou Martin, tells you about a nice little side-step where the four of you can fit some culture into your day.
You pull into the parking lot of The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art and notice that it’s housed in a pretty log home-style building surrounded by beautiful gardens. Not only does SAMA display works from local and regional artists, but they also have an impressive variety of multicultural and multinational works. The curator tells you about previous installations that includes the work of Tibetan monks and Chinese peasant folk artists. You’re excited to come back for their next exhibit of Australian Aboriginal Paintings
When every inch of SAMA has been discovered, one of your friends suggests a trip to Wine and Spirits! (Because after all, The Kitchen On Main is a BYOB establishment!) The day has flown by, and you've worked up an appetite for plates of food that look like something seen on the show Top Chef.
When you arrive at The Kitchen with brown-bagged beverages in tow, you notice their open-concept dining room, where the focused chefs sauté and flambe world-class food right in front of you. It's a cool place. They lead you to an outside table, since it's such a warm Spring day. The wine is poured. The Cast Iron Seared Prime Trotted Steak and Chardonnay
Poached Pear Salad is ordered. But you keep your menu so that you can read it some more. ‘LISTEN to THIS’, you implore, as you excitedly read excerpts from the menu that they’ve all already read…'Crusted Ora King Salmon! With Truffled Sourdough Crust, Wild Mushrooms and Corn, Wild Rice and Cranberry Oil!!’ (Your friends pour you another glass of wine.)
Luckily, there's a good movie playing at the Diamond Theatre right across the street from where you’re staying. You sink into their cushy ‘Sweet Seats’ with a sigh of contentment. This is just what you needed. Day One of your Girls’ Trip was a success! You can't wait for tomorrow…
… TO BE CONTINUED! ...
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