We finally got to the Anvil Restaurant, albeit a little wet after our walk through the rain. (See previous post Friday night in Harpers Ferry). We were grateful to have reached our final destination and to be sitting in front of a big old fire about to be fed. The Anvil was not full considering it was the only restaurant open in town. There were probably only three other tables occupied in the dining room and another three or four people in the bar area.
The place and the food felt old, not in the charming and comforting sense of the word. Rather everything was a little on the stale side, from the ambiance down to the baked potato that they serve with all the entrees.
I ordered Crab Cakes, the Bloke ordered steak and Teeny not feeling a culinary adventure on the cards (how did she know and why didn't she warn us) had pasta with butter from the kid's menu. The entrees were served with limp salad (it was really just some old lettuce with one slice of tomato) and the ubiquitous baked potato, which felt like it was cooked last week and wacked into a microwave for a quick preheating prior to serving.
To be fair the steak Bloke ordered was good, all three of us attacked it quite vigorously. Teeny also rather enthusiastically ate through the contents of the bread basket and that pretty much sums up the highlights of the meal.
Even with the coupon (Yes, I am using coupons...as they say when in Rome) I had printed from the Anvil Restaurant website the meal was more expensive than I had anticipated and I certainly did not feel it was a good value for money family meal.
Was the Anvil worth the walk? Yes it was open.
Would I walk two miles to eat there again? No.
Showing posts with label Trip. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trip. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Car Free Travel
When planning a recent weekend trip to Harpers Ferry, WV, I looked at all modes of transport to deliver us there. By far the most it economical and as it turns out entertaining option was the train. The round trip cost was $40 for the family. We caught the MARC train; it is the Maryland Transit Administration’s (say that 3 times fast) commuter train. The timetables and services are limited to 3 routes, Brunswick, Camden and Penn Lines (two of which we had already caught from DC to Baltimore and back) with a further downside of only running during the week (commuter train…it is not just a clever name). For us it was a perfect excuse for a long weekend. Leave on Friday afternoon and come back Monday morning, getting to experience the true commuter lifestyle.
On Friday after work I meet Teeny and Bloke at the Silver Spring MARC station, which I can see and hear from my office so all that was missing was boarding it. The train was on time, which on that particularly chilly Friday afternoon was a good thing as the Silver Spring MARC station is an outdoor platform and we boarded the big steps. We were the only ones traveling with luggage and a small child. They certainly do not mind if you bring luggage but there is not a whole lot of storage capacity. We actually sat on two separate bench seats. Teeny and I on one, with Bloke and luggage on the other. Everybody else was a commuter, with their compact laptop bags (again commuter train…not just a clever name).
Unbeknown to us we sat in the party car (NB: there is a quiet car – ask the conductors to point you in the right direction if you or your teeny travelers are noise adverse). Being in the party car really is carte blanche to make noise. Not that Teeny was feeling terribly noisy that afternoon. She quickly settled in with her DVD player to watch whatever princess epic she was obsessed with that week and nobody really noticed when she screamed a question in my direction overcompensating for not being able to hear herself speak because she was wearing earphones and listening to the movie too loudly.
I on the other hand forgot to bring entertainment for myself, no magazine, no book; it looked like I would have to rely on my Bloke for stimulating conversation for the one hour trip. There was too much excitement and chatter all around us and the time went by quickly. We were sitting on the first level but the open plan second level was where the real party was happening. The commuters up above were obviously seasoned pros, they came prepared not with luggage but with beer, snacks and lively anecdotes, greeting and fare welling friends at the various stops along the way. Discussing upcoming weekend plans, taking polls on how much to gamble at Charles Town race track whilst knocking back more beer. The conductor made a show of saying, "you guys better be drinking root beer up there.”. It was as if they were all personally introducing us to the delights and characters of West Virginia.
Bloke was a touch upset he missed out on a good Friday afternoon beer drinking opportunity and later confessed he was most tempted to offer to buy a beer from one of the regulars…I think West Virginia is already rubbing off on him.
Historic Harpers Ferry Train Station
All the while Teeny was oblivious to the chatter around her, intent on watching her DVD. Before you knew it and certainly before the end of Teeny’s movie, we had arrived at the recently restored Harpers Ferry Train Station. It looks exactly as I imagine it did when the trains first started rolling through Harpers Ferry - a small charming red timber building. To gain entry into the building and begin our weekend in Harpers Ferry we took a cue from the locals and crossed the tracks after the train had departed instead of using the underground crossing tunnel….that’s for tourists.
On Friday after work I meet Teeny and Bloke at the Silver Spring MARC station, which I can see and hear from my office so all that was missing was boarding it. The train was on time, which on that particularly chilly Friday afternoon was a good thing as the Silver Spring MARC station is an outdoor platform and we boarded the big steps. We were the only ones traveling with luggage and a small child. They certainly do not mind if you bring luggage but there is not a whole lot of storage capacity. We actually sat on two separate bench seats. Teeny and I on one, with Bloke and luggage on the other. Everybody else was a commuter, with their compact laptop bags (again commuter train…not just a clever name).
Unbeknown to us we sat in the party car (NB: there is a quiet car – ask the conductors to point you in the right direction if you or your teeny travelers are noise adverse). Being in the party car really is carte blanche to make noise. Not that Teeny was feeling terribly noisy that afternoon. She quickly settled in with her DVD player to watch whatever princess epic she was obsessed with that week and nobody really noticed when she screamed a question in my direction overcompensating for not being able to hear herself speak because she was wearing earphones and listening to the movie too loudly.
I on the other hand forgot to bring entertainment for myself, no magazine, no book; it looked like I would have to rely on my Bloke for stimulating conversation for the one hour trip. There was too much excitement and chatter all around us and the time went by quickly. We were sitting on the first level but the open plan second level was where the real party was happening. The commuters up above were obviously seasoned pros, they came prepared not with luggage but with beer, snacks and lively anecdotes, greeting and fare welling friends at the various stops along the way. Discussing upcoming weekend plans, taking polls on how much to gamble at Charles Town race track whilst knocking back more beer. The conductor made a show of saying, "you guys better be drinking root beer up there.”. It was as if they were all personally introducing us to the delights and characters of West Virginia.
Bloke was a touch upset he missed out on a good Friday afternoon beer drinking opportunity and later confessed he was most tempted to offer to buy a beer from one of the regulars…I think West Virginia is already rubbing off on him.
Historic Harpers Ferry Train Station
All the while Teeny was oblivious to the chatter around her, intent on watching her DVD. Before you knew it and certainly before the end of Teeny’s movie, we had arrived at the recently restored Harpers Ferry Train Station. It looks exactly as I imagine it did when the trains first started rolling through Harpers Ferry - a small charming red timber building. To gain entry into the building and begin our weekend in Harpers Ferry we took a cue from the locals and crossed the tracks after the train had departed instead of using the underground crossing tunnel….that’s for tourists.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Pack-tice makes perfect
Well my first foray into blogging about travel with teeny is going to be about packing. We are going away for the weekend this evening to beautiful Harpers Ferry (need to confirm it is actually beautiful) and I have packing on the brain.
It feels like in the past year or so we are constantly packing. Since I survived packing up all our possessions into just 6 suitcases to move from Australia to the US. I don’t quite mind packing for vacations, in fact Teeny and I have turned it into somewhat of a game.
Our usual routine consists of me, identifying the item and the quantity required for the trip and Teeny retrieving it from her wardrobe. Considering this trip is only a short one with 3 overnights and no formal events or fancy requirements, we whipped through it ending up with all the required items piled high awaiting transfer into a suitcase.
It is a win-win situation. I get to make sure she has the right type of clothes and she gets to the pick the individual items…no surprises, no power struggles. Sometimes there are some negotiation scenes. Whilst packing for this trip Teeny wanted to bring a skirt, given it is still freezing I was not so keen but at the end of the day it is one little item and not worth the battle, the skirt made the pile.
Now if only somebody would tell me what to pack!
It feels like in the past year or so we are constantly packing. Since I survived packing up all our possessions into just 6 suitcases to move from Australia to the US. I don’t quite mind packing for vacations, in fact Teeny and I have turned it into somewhat of a game.
Our usual routine consists of me, identifying the item and the quantity required for the trip and Teeny retrieving it from her wardrobe. Considering this trip is only a short one with 3 overnights and no formal events or fancy requirements, we whipped through it ending up with all the required items piled high awaiting transfer into a suitcase.
It is a win-win situation. I get to make sure she has the right type of clothes and she gets to the pick the individual items…no surprises, no power struggles. Sometimes there are some negotiation scenes. Whilst packing for this trip Teeny wanted to bring a skirt, given it is still freezing I was not so keen but at the end of the day it is one little item and not worth the battle, the skirt made the pile.
Now if only somebody would tell me what to pack!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)