The Perfect Saturday Morning! Life is Good in Lancaster!

The weather was perfect and the sky was the brightest blue we had seen in a long time, so we decided to take a walk, have breakfast and on to Market, Lancaster’s Historic Central Market, a landmark and a destination in the city.  Walking down an alley to get to the Market are the most interesting shops and the Quilt and Textile Museum. Two wonderful restaurants are just opposite it,Lancaster Dispensing Company and Carr’s. Carr’s also has a stand in the Market where you can buy meat and prepared dinners (which we have bought on a number of ocassions.)

This is the place to be on a Tuesday, Friday or Saturday, year around.  Know the expression from soup to nuts?  Well, it applies to this place, with Amish crafts, flowers, pastries, cheese, chicken, fish, coffee, etc., etc., etc., thrown in for good measure!
This picture was taken about 8:00 AM, if I had waited until 10:00 AM, it would have been wall to wall with people!  Our favorite poultry stand is immediately on the left and excellent produce is right across from it.  Our dinner for the evening was chosen from both of these stands.  We made our rounds, adding to our tote bag on wheels and headed out the back door to Penn Square area.

Waiting for his master, this beautiful dog seemed to be standing guard over the less fortunate fellow on the bench.  These are the types of sights you see in Any City USA.  
This young man’s attire really caught my eye, as I was taking a picture up the street, so naturally, I had to zoom in on him!  The color combination wasn’t one I’d wear.  Is this a sign that I am getting older???

Penn Square always has something going on, but this morning we were just too early to catch any activity. We did stop to admire our new Convention Center and Marriott Hotel, a wonderful addition to our city center. The grand opening of the facility was held last month and was packed with citizens of the community, including us, of course!
Our fair city is really a happening place with so much to offer.  The first Friday of every month finds the streets swamped with young and old alike taking in the various openings at the Art Gallerys throughout the city.  Gallery Row seems to be one place everybody stops and mingles, meeting friends and checking out the latest exhibits.  (See what I meant about blue skies?  This picture was totally untouched!)
Several other architectural details just called out my name and I had to stop to photograph them before I got home.  This doorway was on Orange Street and I had never noticed it before.  Just an example of one of the wonderful elements that has been preserved in our city.
. . . and this was just down the street from this door!  This one is not quite as old, but is unique just the same!
Heading up West Chestnut on our last sprint towards home, my camera couldn’t help it!  It loves the entrance to this home!  I’ve watched as they’ve renovated the exterior of this home and can only imagine what the interior looks like!  That IS copper over the windows and door, and those lions on the front door are brass.  The plants in the planters are real and gas lights flank the front door!
This house is just several doors from the Concord/Shreiner Graveyard where Thaddeus Stevens is buried, and is the subject of the picture below.
The last picture is of West Lawn on the corner of West Chestnut and Charlotte, as we turned the corner for home.  This was the private residence of Barton Martin and his family and the residence has now been converted to upscale apartments.  Barton Martin and his brother Jonas built the row of homes I live in.  Barton gave one to each of his daughters (kinda like my father-in-law would have given each of his children chickens!) and the daughters used them as rentals.  Jonas retained the one we live in today as a rental since his home was the large on the other end of Charlotte, next to our home.
So ends another Saturday morning in the City.  Breakfast with my best friend and a walk into town to take in the sights.  Life is good, indeed!