Small group on the bus, but BIG fun at the festival!

We had plenty of open seats on the bus for the Havre de Grace Seafood Festival as a result of lots of last-minute cancellations, but it turned out to be a great trip.  The forecast had indicated scattered showers and even a possible afternoon thunderstorm and I’m happy to say that, once again, the weather folks were wrong.  (Although about five minutes after I got home, the skies in Pennsville broke lose—almost as if Mother Nature was letting me know that she had held off for me as long as she could all day and then finally just let loose!)    

Lots of interesting vendors at the festival.  Among my favorites were Gourmet Creations (no website, but you can contact them at 610-745-4269 to get a list of their products), Pretzelphoria (which by happy coincidence go very nicely with the dips sold by Gourmet Creations), Quillows by Fran, Sculptor Teresa Yost who sells very whimsical turtle and frog pieces, and unique baskets by The Wise Woman Weaves.  

There was also a very nice young man from Pittsburgh selling fabulous fudge, but he has no website yet and sells mainly at festivals right now.  I told him to call Paul to discuss website design—I’m hoping we can work out a deal where Paul creates his website and I get free fudge for life!  By the way, did you know that fudge doesn’t actually melt and that you should NOT put it in the refrigerator?  I learn something new every day…

I enjoyed walking the wooden promenade along the waterfront even though it was hot, hot, HOT (the trade off for no rain I think).   Took a quick walk through the Maritime Museum, thinking that it would be nice and cool inside.  It wasn’t. 

I had planned to walk around downtown Havre de Grace, but it was a much longer walk than I had anticipated and, to be honest, on the drive through town to Tydings Park (the festival site), I didn’t see anything that I felt was worth the long walk in the heat.   I’m sure there are some wonderful shops and restaurants there and one of these days I’ll visit specifically to check out downtown since it’s very easy to get there from Pennsville in just under an hour.

I found that the best place to be all day was the “entertainment tent” which was nice and cool...and conveniently located directly by the beer truck.  Whisky Train was fantastic and while straight-up country music is not my cup of tea I will admit that I enjoyed Runaway Train a lot.

Plenty of food available and plenty of places to sit and enjoy it.  I tried the “award-winning” crab cakes, but they didn't even come close to the orange-sized lumps of deliciousness at DiPaolo’s and “Bomba’s World Famous” at Salem City Café.  Salem County knows how to do crab cakes and could teach Maryland a thing or two!

On the topic of food, our next trip is a dual-event:  The annual Whoopie Pie Festival in Lancaster, PA, and discount shopping at Rockvale Outlets—do either or both events for the same price!  Check out the website for details and then book your seat before we sell out!