Tags
Basically Burgers, Bucks County, Doylestown, hot dogs, Liberty Bell, Nathan's Hot Dogs, Quakertown, Quakertown Farmers Market, quest, Shaving Grace, Washingon's Crossing
Welcome to our new followers. The adventure below is the latest in a series sharing my quest to explore Pennsylvania by visiting each of the sixty-seven county seats and eating a hot dog while in town.
Our adventure in Bucks County took us back to the Colonial era in the journey of our Country. The first stop of the day was the Quakertown Farmers Market and Outdoor Flea Market. The market is known as “Q-Mart” by the locals. This place is huge and filled with “everything”.
As a patron was heard to express, “The smells can drive you crazy.” Simply walking around this place is a treat for all five senses. You can even purchase Jalapeno wine to drink with your home made potato chips!
After our senses were properly charged we headed downtown to a special spot in our history. During the Revolutionary War the Liberty Bell was in danger of being captured by the British so it was moved to Allentown from its home in Philadelphia. In those days they didn’t have trucks and cars and trains so the bell was transported on a wagon pulled by horses. In those days it was a two day trip by wagon from Philadelphia to Allentown. The folks with the wagon had to stop for the night between the two towns and Quakertown was the choice. The bell was hidden behind this little house for a night in 1777 during its escape from the British.
Back on the road we headed for Doylestown the County Seat of one of the three original counties laid out be William Penn. Much of the downtown is listed on the historical ledger. My Jane and I stopped at the courthouse in the historical district, which was not built by William Penn and is not on the historical register! We walked around the historical part of town and found another throwback movie theater across the street from “Shaving Grace” barbershop.
Do you appreciate the irony of this photo as much as I do? My Jane thought the owners would enjoy getting me into their chair.
As we wandered around My Jane noticed the place we were going to eat. “ Basically Burgers” is in the historical district (See some of the history in the reflection.) around the corner from the non-historic courthouse and is a fantastic place to enjoy lunch, or supper, or snack, or quick bite to eat. You get the idea! Wes has owned the place for nine years, five at this site. He shared with me, “For nine years we’ve been trying to figure out what we are doing.” What a great guy!! My Jane and I think he is doing really well on his quest. Wes wanted to go into business originally by having a drive by hot dog joint sort of like those old photo kiosks that used to be in shopping center parking lots (Only folks of a certain age will know what we are taking about). That idea didn’t work out so he decided to sell hot dogs out of a cart at the non-historic courthouse. However, the historical society didn’t like that idea too much so he opened a real restaurant. It looks to me like he is in the right place. He and Al were busy making great burgers and serving up Nathan’s hot dogs to a steady stream of visitors. Our server Casey was lots of fun and treated us like special guests. (She was wearing black high top Converse All-Stars! Only folks of a certain age will remember when those shoes first hit the market. The team photo was taken the year before we all started wearing black Converse All Stars.) Casey makes those shoes look a lot better than our team made them look:-) My Jane and I enjoyed watching the younger guests make use of the blackboard graffiti wall to create some unique personal art while we waited for Casey to bring our Texas, Coney Island, Onion Peels and Sweet Potato Fries. Yummy, yummier, more yummy and yummiest! We had fun eating these delicious treats. Wes blamed the great taste on the Nathan’s all beef hot dogs. I suggested that it was what he and Al did to the dogs that made them so yummy.
Eventually, we had to say ‘good-by’ to Casey, Al and Wes as we headed east toward Washington’s Crossing. This historical spot on the Delaware River is the approximate site where General Washington and his ragged army crossed into New Jersey to surprise the Hessian garrison at a Christmas Party in Trenton. The assault was one of only four or five victories the Continental Army was able to win during the Revolutionary War. But, the wins were enough to convince Britain to move on to other endeavors.
My Jane and I headed back home by way of IKEA having enjoyed our day of traveling back in time and once again meeting some really super folks.
See you next time.