A Special Road Trip (Spring Flowers Edition)

This weekend, I took a short road trip with DH, accompanied by a very special passenger: Mom. As I will be out of town for Mother’s Day this year, Mom and I decided to celebrate Mothers’ Day two weeks early. So Sunday afternoon, with spring flowers in bloom, she and I ventured to Kennett Square in southeastern Pennsylvania to visit one of the nation’s best horticultural gardens: Longwood Gardens.

The estate that is Longwood Gardens was once Native American land, inhabited by the Lenni Lenape tribe, which used the land for fishing, hunting, and farming. In 1700, the Peirce family purchased the land from William Penn and built a farm (the original farmhouse still stands on the property). Peirce’s sons turned the farm into an arboretum which gained national renown. However, by the early 20th century, the arboretum had fallen into disuse, and it was purchased by Pierre S. du Pont (of the du Pont family, who made their fortune with the production of gunpowder and other industrial chemicals, although more recent inventions include Kevlar and Nomex). Pierre transformed the estate into the nation’s leading horticultural display garden (via Wikipedia).

Now spanning 1,077 acres, Longwood Gardens is a year-round must-see attraction for anyone visiting the Philadelphia Region. While Mom and I today went to take in the Spring Flowers display, also worthy of mention is “A Longwood Christmas.” During this special event at Christmastime, the trees, shrubs, and buildings are covered in half a million Christmas lights.

Mom and I had a wonderful time at Longwood Gardens. We made the 40 mile drive back to New Jersey and stopped for our “Two Weeks Early Mother’s Day Dinner” at Bruno’s (it is literally a mom-and-pop operation so there is no website, but the Yelp site should suffice), a local Italian restaurant that she and I both enjoy. We both ordered shrimp and scallops fra diavolo, and while we ate until we were stuffed, we managed to save just enough room for cannoli and tiramisu. It was a wonderful meal, but I do not think either of us will need to eat for at least two days.

I did take the Accord down to the Delaware River for some photos of the sun setting behind the Philadelphia skyline, and a few dusk photos of the Accord as well.

Today was a very special trip, and one that my mom and I will remember for a long time. However, more important than the beautiful views we saw, Mom and I were able to spend some time talking during the hour-long drive to Kennett Square. We are both very busy, and so often miss opportunities to catch up with each other’s lives during the week. Today’s drive gave us that opportunity. And it was another great trip made possible by my Accord, DH.

‘Til next time.