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by Bob &Tanya Waite
I like to wow my Philadelphia born and bred wife with views of the Bucks County countryside. She actually screams with delight when she spots a deer. So on our way to Galvanized America Inn & Art Gallery, we ride the back roads of Central Bucks and Upper Bucks, enjoying the scenery—farms, small towns, horses, cows, cornfields, rolling hills and beautiful Colonial and Victorian homes. We are getting away without leaving the County.
We have several hours before check-in time and decide to go to Doylestown to eat lunch. I take Tanya to Chambers 19 Bistro & Bar in Doylestown and we each have the soup and sandwich special. After some more driving, we come to Galvanized America Inn.
An excited Tanya says, “Babe, this looks nice; I already feel welcome.” I agree with her. There is something about this rustic 1754 farmhouse in its rural setting, that says, “You are welcome.”
As we enter the B&B, Sherri Bennett greats us with a warm smile saying, “Welcome to Galvanized America Inn, I’m Sherri.” We are standing in the Breakfast Room and out of the kitchen door comes Ed Bennett. “Hi Tanya. Hi Bob,” he says with a larger than life smile on his face. “While you are here, make yourselves at home.”
We smell something delicious coming from the kitchen. Ed has prepared us a snack. Sherri brings out a tray with what Ed calls cheese crisps and an assortment of delicious fruit that includes grapes, kiwi, tangerines, and pineapple. They also serve us a glass of wine from a local winery.
As we eat the cheese crisps and fruit in the breakfast room, we admire the table that Ed built which seats 10 and the other side table that seats two. The antique floors are made of random width pumpkin pine boards. Above is an exposed beam ceiling. On the far wall is a mural of an American flag. All the furnishing is country and everything wood is distressed. The table is set with the flag colors—red, white and blue. One of Ed’s paintings is on the wall next to the entrance to the kitchen. Art in various media, all done by Ed Bennett, will be in the soon to be finished art gallery but can be seen throughout the B&B now.
When we finish eating, Sherri gives us the grand tour and we are introduced to much of Ed’s art. The Sitting Room on the first floor also has a Persian rug and leather furniture. The floors are the same random width pine that we saw in the breakfast room. The table in the middle of the room is an example of Ed’s razor blade art, which is made of utility razor blades patterned into different shapes and images and then painted over with different colors. A razor art painting of a tattered flag is on one of the walls. There is a large bookcase filled with books that can be begun there and finished when home. There is also a television and blankets folded on the leather couch and chairs to keep everyone as cozy as they want to be.
On the second floor we see three of the rooms, one of which is a suite. The Independence Room is one bedroom and a bath. The Independence Room was once a servants’ quarter and has a stairway that leads to the kitchen.
Also on the second floor is the Freedom Room, which is a large room with a comfortable queen sized bed. The private bath is what Ed calls “farmhouse chic” and has a subway tiled stall shower.
Suite Liberty is a three room suite that features a bedroom, a sitting room and a private bath that includes a claw foot tub and corner shower. Tanya says, “Wow!”
At this point Sherri leaves us at Galvanized America’s largest suite, the Victory Suite, which is where we stay. After Tanya lets out some squeaky sounds and giggles at the sight of it all, we are shown the three-room suite.
After Sherri leaves, Tanya gets very busy taking photos and saying over and over, “Look at this Babe.” The excitement is contagious and I join in the celebration of this country styled palace, where we are going to spend two glorious nights.
We look at the furniture, most of which Ed made by hand, and are delighted to see the old slogans from crates, barns and old signs from which the wood was reclaimed. The bedroom has two skylights. The bed looks at the skylights in the slope of the ceiling and behind the bed are more windows. There is also a window on the side of the bed, that looks out on a pond. The sitting room had four chairs around a square table that Ed made. A bright Persian rug and a closet built into the old chimney are some to the things we see in the sitting room.
Tanya looks into the large bathroom, focused on the big bronze claw foot tub and says, “Calgon, take me away!” Excitement permeates the air as she sees the grand size and depth of the tub, the separate glass enclosed shower, the country sink made of dark wood with a dark basin made of hammered metal. Of course, Tanya takes lots of photos and she posts them on Facebook for all her friends, especially her big family to see. Her godson, Daniel, sees the photo and says, “Forget about everything else, I want to use the bathroom!”
Now that our tour is over, we relax in in the remarkably comfortable king size bed looking at tree branches through the skylight. We fall asleep and wake just in time to go to dinner. Dinner is at the Water Wheel Tavern and our reservation is at 7 p.m. It is already 6:15. Fortunately the Water Wheel Tavern in Doylestown is close.
We find out the Water Wheel was built in 1714 by John Dyer as a grist mill and after Prohibition was repealed in 1933, it became an inn and tavern. Bill Haas, the present owner, did an extensive industrial chic renovation a few years ago, and I haven’t been there in a while.
By looking at the parking lot, we realize that it is a good thing to make reservations. Entering the building we can feel the vibrancy of this restaurant that has a band playing in one of the rooms. We are seated and in no time at all, Julie, our waitress visits our table. We order drinks and look at the menu. As we are reading the menu the general manager, Jim Davin, visit our table. He gives us a warm welcome. Then coming back from the restroom, I run into the owner, Bill Haas eating with his wife. He comes to my table to meet Tanya. We are impressed. When the owner eats at his own restaurant, the food has to be good.
The food is great. Our starter is Mussels in red sauce. James, one of the managers tells us that they are a favorite of his. They are so large and juicy that we ask Julie what kind of mussels they serve. She consults with the chef and tells us they are from Prince Edwards Island and are known for being large and delicious. Julie, we find out, is a top waitress and anyone who gets her is definitely blessed.
Tanya orders a salad and the Seared Scallops, which consists of jumbo scallops on a bed of braised black lentils, orange honey glazed baby carrots and crispy potato strings. I also order a salad and Baby Back Ribs served with fries and coleslaw. When the food comes, we are both overwhelmed by the size of the portions and the amazing quality of the food. We plan on being regulars—what a treat!
Tired, we come back to Galvanized America and spend a few hours talking, laughing and thinking about the rest of our trip.
At 8:30 Saturday morning I get up and need my fix. I come down to get coffee for us, and Sherri puts a sealed thermos pot, two cups, cream, sugar and all the non-sugar sweeteners on a tray and brings them up to us. The coffee is delicious.
Breakfast is ready and we come down. We chose the time, 10 a.m., and are ready. The first thing we are given, besides a hearty good morning from Ed, is a fruit salad that has grapes, clementines and pears, all cut in small pieces for easy eating. After eating the fruit salad, we are served Banana French Toast topped with maple syrup and slices of banana. On the side is sausage. It is scrumptious.
After breakfast we leave to go to the James Michener Art Museum. There, besides the permanent collection, we see “Daniel Garber’s Poetry of Light,” and “The Art of Seating: Two Hundred Years of American Design.”
Our whirlwind visit to the Michener is over and we take a ride to Lambertville to see some of the antiques shops and galleries on that side of the River. On the way back we have ice cream. We return to Galvanized America by 3 p.m. and while Tanya takes a soak in the large tub, I relax and read in the Suite’s sitting room. Afterwards we meet a couple, Barb and Alice, who just arrived. We hear their sighs, giggles and wows and, now with a day’s experience, we are ready to answer any questions they may have.
It’s Saturday night and we go out for pizza. Back at the inn we watch some TV in the Sitting Room. Afterwards we go to bed and anticipate another great breakfast in the morning.
At 10 we are at the breakfast table chatting with our new friends, Barb and Alice. The thing that is really great about this experience is that it is like having a family meal with people we just met. For breakfast we have quiche with a hash brown crust, Swiss cheese, sausage & tomato with a side of bacon. It is delicious. After breakfast, we leave to go home. We are rejuvenated.
Tanya sings in the car as we drive back to the lower end of the County where we live.
Galvanized America Inn & Art Gallery is located at 6470 Durham Road, Pipersville, PA 18947. For more information, call 215-766-7617, email galvanizedamerica@gmail.com or visit www.galvanizedamerica.com.
Bob Waite is the editor of Bucks County Magazine and Tanya is his wife, travel companion and co-writer of this department.