Shhh...

I have to admit that I hesitated to publish this post because I'm pretty sure I'm about to give away one of Pennsylvania's best kept secrets. This past weekend we attended a wedding in Gettysburg. We had made reservations at The Shining Dawn Bed and Breakfast in Hanover. Even though it wasn't right in Gettysburg, we thought it was funny that on their website they mention that the breakfasts are vegetarian, but "meat-atarins" can make special arrangements if they really want to have that bacon with breakfast. Now, there were other reasons too- the place looked really beautiful, but that comment was such a shoe-on-the-other-foot kind of thing that we couldn't resist booking a room. We're usually the ones making special meal arrangements. So anyhow, we arrived late Friday evening and were met at the door by the owners Helen and Bruce. They helped us with our things and gave us a little tour of the main level and then left us to enjoy the house (they live in an apartment on the top floor). Within a few minutes of walking in the door, I had left any stress behind and was completely in love with this place. Some people have talent for sports, some for art, Helen and Bruce are masters of calm.
Dan's parents arrived shorty after we did and had the same reaction. So here is a little tour for you...
Here is the foyer that took my breath away every time I entered. There was a meditation room complete with pillows and Tibetan singing bowls, a beautiful living room where we all spent lots of time reading the books from the zen-themed gift shop (where we later added significantly to our bill),

and my favorite place, the sun room.



The wedding was beautiful and Gettysburg was only a short drive away.

Dan's uncle had brought some presents for Dan that he'd found at a garage sale...



On Sunday morning I got up at 6, used the meditation room and then did some journaling in the sun room, enjoying the fountain, the tea station,

and the gorgeous stained glass windows that changed colors as the sun came up. There was a fridge in the sun room stocked with sodas (we aren't soda drinkers, but we still thought it was pretty cool) and a basket of complimentary snacks.

I spent the rest of the morning there until breakfast. And speaking of breakfast. Poached pears, pineapple parfait, German apple pancakes... need I say more?


The town of Hanover had some fun little shops, too. There was the Clark's outlet, a great bead shop, a coffee shop/tanning salon called The Bakery...odd combination, cute name, and a baker that seemed to enjoy giving out free samples! We were NEVER hungry on this trip. Then Dan spotted the penguins in the gift shop window. I could tell from across the street they'd be coming home with us. Here is a picture of the same shop from a book on Hanover history that we found in the reading room.


So we headed home on Sunday completely relaxed and loaded down with boxes of shoes, some medieval armor, and a bag of penguins. What more can you ask of a weekend road trip?