Friends, we have made it to Friday. Not just any Friday, mind you, but the start of Memorial Day weekend.
Take sometime this weekend to go for a ride, visit a small business that’s new to you, explore a hiking trail or do some other thing that makes your heart feel good.
Life isn’t meant to be survived. It isn’t meant to be spent on a dull treadmill. It’s meant to bring you joy and learning, new horizons and fresh opportunities
This is a good day to start acting like it.
What are you waiting for? The door is open. Go explore now!
Remember when I told you about the National Museum of the American Coverlet and how it’s in an old school in Bedford? Well, they have done a fantastic job of preserving that old school and some of its unique features.
The front hallway features a folk art mural of the town as well as this mural of the Big Bad Wolf spying on the pigs. Isn’t it fun?
Here’s a bigger picture view of the history mural and the pigs.
These odd and random things we run into out in the world are more or less what I live for. The coverlets in this museum are amazing but I found myself sometimes distracted by features of this old building. How fortunate were to get a peak inside!
One of the highlights of any trip for me is finding the local bookstores. On my recent Pennsylvania adventure, we found a wonderful independent bookstore called Rebellion Books.
This store is carefully curated and has a surprisingly nice selection of non fiction along with children’s books and a fantastic variety of fiction.
In the world of independent book stores, it can be challenging to find good non fiction selections so that was exciting.
Rebellion Books is located in an 1897 building in downtown Bedford. It is named after the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion which happened in and around Bedford.
I really liked this store. It’s cozy and inviting and it was like their buyer knew exactly the kind of book I would want to read.
I could have stayed all day and I was pleased to support them by purchasing more than I probably should have.
Want to visit? It’s located on the historic Lincoln Highway and just across the street from Bedford Candies. It’s also not too far from the giant coffee pot!
Bedford, Pennsylvania has over a dozen covered bridges. We were there for just a day so we only saw one and it’s a nice one.
Claycomb Covered Bridge stands at the entrance to Old Bedford Village. The village was still closed for the season but we were still able to park and look around the bridge.
According to their tourism bureau, the bridge was built in 1880 in another location and later moved to its present location on 1975.
The Burr Truss design was reinforced with steel to accommodate the larger vehicles that pass through here on their way to the village.
Despite being so close to the main highway into Bedford and the Turnpike which sits high above this spot, it’s surprisingly peaceful.
If you’re in the area, plan to see this and all the others via a driving tour created by the visitors center. Get information here!
Twenty years ago, I sat in the passenger seat of a car and pointed to a fantastic old stone tavern visible from the Pennsylvania Turnpike. My statement that it looked like a neat place to stop fell on deaf ears as my now ex-husband barreled on toward our destination.
Fast forward to my most recent trip to see my Pittsburgh friend. We were headed to historic Bedford for a day and she wondered if I would be interested in a meal at the historic Jean Bonnet Tavern?
Yes, it was the tavern I had seen so many years ago!
Oh, the value of spending this life with the right people.
So, after a day of wandering around Bedford, sampling candy and perusing antiques, we headed straight to the Jean Bonnet Tavern for an absolute feast.
This place was built in 1762 and is located on what we now call the Lincoln Highway. Back then, it was called Forbes Road and was the only east-west road from eastern Pennsylvania to the Ohio Country. Countless settlers and travelers passed through here. The tavern and inn was built as a safe haven for those weary folks who needed a place to lay their heads and have a good meal before continuing on their treacherous journey.
It was also believed to be a gathering place for the farmers involved in the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion.
This building is large and stone with big white porches and moody lighting inside.
You enter the restaurant through a wooden door into a room with a large stone fireplace. When you are seated, a hostess will set the mood by lighting a taper candle in a pewter candlestick. Those approximate two foot thick stone walls are decorated with coverlets. The food is good and the portions large.
There were other people in our dining room but for a few short minutes, there was no one in my field of vision. I could hear the clink of glasses and silverware but could see no one else. Flickering candlelight and simple decor harkened to Colonial days in a way that excited my imagination.
For a brief and shining moment, I was a time traveler. Was it 2026 or was it 1776? Who knew? Maybe George Washington’s Army was encamped right outside. Maybe a lengthy journey on horseback laid ahead of me the next day. Time had no meaning here.
This is not just a place to eat. It’s a place of experience. You can stay there too and I’m kind of hoping I get to do that someday because it looks nice.
Friends, this is why we travel. We go places for these glimmering, golden moments when we experience something so special we know the moment was all our own.
I am truly fortunate to have a couple of great friends to travel with to interesting places. My Pittsburgh friend is a born planner and has a knack for knowing exactly the kind of places I will like.
So when she said we would start our day in Bedford, Pennsylvania at the National Museum Of The American Coverlet, my knee jerk reaction was “hmm…. Ok.” And then my brain immediately reminded me that she has never taken me any place I didn’t like.
I’m so glad we went.
The National Museum of the American Coverlet is the first independent, year-round institution devoted to historic American woven coverlets. It is located in the former Common School which dates to 1859. The museum is located in the downstairs of this fantastic old building and they have done an exceptional job of working around some of the unique qualities of this building while still having gallery space for their rotating collection of historic coverlets.
What is a coverlet?
According to their website “Coverlets are woven bedcovers, used as the topmost covering on a bed. The weaver worked on a loom to construct the textile itself one row at a time, and the pattern was woven in as part of the process.”
This museum focuses on antique American woven coverlets and the collection ranges from 1771 to 1889. The coverlets come from all over the country and are in incredible condition especially given their age.
The current exhibit celebrates America’s 250th and I’m so glad we got to see it!
For all that my pal and I have in common, I’m always interested in the different ways we tend to view the world. We seem to take turns being detail people and being big picture people, depending on our moods and where we are.
In this museum, I was fascinated by the overall impact of the coverlets in this space. My friend sews, quilts, and does needlepoint. and was drawn in by the beauty of the smallest details on these coverlets. And the details are magnificent.
Want to learn more? Visit their website Admission is just $10 for adults. It’s a great place to start on your trip to Bedford!
