A friend at Longwood Gardens tells me that it has been nominated as "best botanical garden" in a USA Today/10 Best poll. You can cast your vote every day, up until noon on Monday, March 28. The link is http://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-botanical-garden/.
Longwood was #1 on the leaderboard when I checked.
Here are the other nominees: the Atlanta Botanical Garden; Bloedel Reserve in Bainbridge Island, Washington; Brooklyn Botanic Garden; Chanticleer in Wayne, PA; Cheekwood in Nashville; the Chicago Botanic Garden; Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay; Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden; Denver Botanic Gardens; Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix; Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables; the Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids; the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond; Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis; Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass; National Tropical Botanical Garden in Kauai, Hawaii; New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx; UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley, Calif.; and the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, DC.
Saturday, March 12, 2016
GPS: Turn left, then turn left
My poor GPS doesn't have an easy task sometimes. I often like to take the long way to wherever I'm going, which is anathema to the device's programming.
The other day I was headed from the Loew's store in Avondale to the Kennett Y. I wanted to take Baltimore Pike so that I could see what was going on in Kennett. The GPS, however, really wanted me to take the much more efficient Route 1 bypass. With each street I passed in Avondale, it kept telling me to turn around. Finally it gave up where Baltimore Pike and Route 41 split.
"Continue on the road," it said, turning generic in defeat.
The other day I was headed from the Loew's store in Avondale to the Kennett Y. I wanted to take Baltimore Pike so that I could see what was going on in Kennett. The GPS, however, really wanted me to take the much more efficient Route 1 bypass. With each street I passed in Avondale, it kept telling me to turn around. Finally it gave up where Baltimore Pike and Route 41 split.
"Continue on the road," it said, turning generic in defeat.
POCOPSON: Opening for the season
While having dinner at Floga Bistro on March 9, we were glad to saw Barbie Vannote and Hall Snyder. Barbie told us that her shop, Garden Thyme, will be opening for the season on Tuesday, March 15. "Please stop by!" she encouraged us. The garden shop is on Route 52 on the way to Lenape.
Friday, March 11, 2016
WEDDING: Sometimes you just can't email
A friend is getting married this spring and has the dresses, flowers, venue, menu, cake, entertainment and honeymoon all sorted out. The hard part, she said, has been tracking down people's mailing addresses so she can send out the invitations. "We don't write letters anymore," she said.
She's right. And I don't talk on the phone much anymore, either. I was making an appointment the other day and was asked to give my phone number. I started giving my 610 number, the old landline number I haven't had for probably ten years.
She's right. And I don't talk on the phone much anymore, either. I was making an appointment the other day and was asked to give my phone number. I started giving my 610 number, the old landline number I haven't had for probably ten years.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
METABOLISM: To be a teenager again!
Overheard at the Fitness Center of the Kennett Y:
Youth 1: "We don't need to do abs here. We can do abs at your house."
Youth 2: "Dude. The only thing I can get you to do at my house is eat."
Youth 1: "Hey, are we getting cheesesteaks or what?"
Youth 1: "We don't need to do abs here. We can do abs at your house."
Youth 2: "Dude. The only thing I can get you to do at my house is eat."
Youth 1: "Hey, are we getting cheesesteaks or what?"
WEST MARLBOROUGH: The Route 1 corridor
The West Marlborough supervisors invited representatives of the Chester County Economic Development Council to their March meeting and told them they're concerned that the council's plan to encourage development along the Route 1 corridor will increase traffic and jeopardize valuable farmland.
Bill Wylie, who heads the West Marlborough board, said the township is already seeing the effects of local development in the form of increased commuter traffic. He said many West Marlborough residents have eased their property expressly to protect the area's rural character.
Supervisor Jake Chalfin said bluntly that the Development Council's plans would "drive sprawl." He spoke about how the formerly rural northern part of Chester County, where he used to live, is no longer recognizable because of development.
Gary Smith, president and CEO of the Development Council, said he understood the value of agriculture and referred repeatedly to the fact that he grew up on a dairy farm in West Bradford. Bob Grabus, Development Advisor Consultant for the Development Council, spoke passionately about the importance of creating good jobs. He said he is sensitive to concerns about sprawl and said the Council is proposing development only on sites that are zoned for it immediately along Route 1, between the bypass and the East Penn Railroad tracks.
Supervisors from Upper Oxford and East Marlborough Townships were also at the meeting to hear Smith and Grabus's presentation. Charlie Fleischmann, an Upper Oxford supervisor, urged the West Marlborough supervisors to share their concerns with county-level officials.
Bill Wylie, who heads the West Marlborough board, said the township is already seeing the effects of local development in the form of increased commuter traffic. He said many West Marlborough residents have eased their property expressly to protect the area's rural character.
Supervisor Jake Chalfin said bluntly that the Development Council's plans would "drive sprawl." He spoke about how the formerly rural northern part of Chester County, where he used to live, is no longer recognizable because of development.
Gary Smith, president and CEO of the Development Council, said he understood the value of agriculture and referred repeatedly to the fact that he grew up on a dairy farm in West Bradford. Bob Grabus, Development Advisor Consultant for the Development Council, spoke passionately about the importance of creating good jobs. He said he is sensitive to concerns about sprawl and said the Council is proposing development only on sites that are zoned for it immediately along Route 1, between the bypass and the East Penn Railroad tracks.
Supervisors from Upper Oxford and East Marlborough Townships were also at the meeting to hear Smith and Grabus's presentation. Charlie Fleischmann, an Upper Oxford supervisor, urged the West Marlborough supervisors to share their concerns with county-level officials.
KENNETT: Friends of the NRA banquet
We had a great time at Saturday night's sold-out Chester County Friends of the NRA banquet at the Red Clay Room in Kennett.
I know nothing about guns. The only shooting I've ever done is with my brother's BB gun, plinking tin cans lined up on a fence. But I have some friends who are avid hunters, target shooters and collectors, and they were certainly in their element, discussing everything gun-related, from Henrys and reticles to the challenges of being a left-handed shooter.
Through these nationwide banquets, the Friends of the NRA raises money for gun safety and shooting programs, and they are extremely skilled at separating people from their money. There are silent auctions, live auctions, and lots of gun raffles (most were $20 a chance), with winners drawn throughout the evening. (Of course, all the necessary background checks are done before the winner gets to take possession.)
One friend, a big Clint Eastwood fan, was the successful bidder on some "Dirty Harry" memorabilia. Another member of our party had a winning ticket and got his pick of a weapon from the "Wall of Guns" display. When they called out his ticket number, we all shrieked in excitement.
"Wow. I think they're happy," commented the master of ceremonies.
We were outshouted only by the men from Table 16 when they won the "table lottery," which mean they each won a gun.
Oh, there was a hearty dinner, too: salad, roasted potatoes, green beans and carrots, pasta, chicken marsala, meatballs and roast beef. They brought plates of goodies around for dessert. Our table host, from West Grove, was celebrating his birthday, so another guest brought gluten-free chocolate cupcakes that she made with beet and butternut squash puree.
One thing you learn from attending this banquet: don't stereotype gun enthusiasts.
I know nothing about guns. The only shooting I've ever done is with my brother's BB gun, plinking tin cans lined up on a fence. But I have some friends who are avid hunters, target shooters and collectors, and they were certainly in their element, discussing everything gun-related, from Henrys and reticles to the challenges of being a left-handed shooter.
Through these nationwide banquets, the Friends of the NRA raises money for gun safety and shooting programs, and they are extremely skilled at separating people from their money. There are silent auctions, live auctions, and lots of gun raffles (most were $20 a chance), with winners drawn throughout the evening. (Of course, all the necessary background checks are done before the winner gets to take possession.)
One friend, a big Clint Eastwood fan, was the successful bidder on some "Dirty Harry" memorabilia. Another member of our party had a winning ticket and got his pick of a weapon from the "Wall of Guns" display. When they called out his ticket number, we all shrieked in excitement.
"Wow. I think they're happy," commented the master of ceremonies.
We were outshouted only by the men from Table 16 when they won the "table lottery," which mean they each won a gun.
Oh, there was a hearty dinner, too: salad, roasted potatoes, green beans and carrots, pasta, chicken marsala, meatballs and roast beef. They brought plates of goodies around for dessert. Our table host, from West Grove, was celebrating his birthday, so another guest brought gluten-free chocolate cupcakes that she made with beet and butternut squash puree.
One thing you learn from attending this banquet: don't stereotype gun enthusiasts.
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