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By Bob & Tanya Waite
Going to the Lehigh Valley, particularly Bethlehem, is a treat for us, especially since it is so close and yet we have hardly spent much time there. We are ready to go. It is raining. Tanya is happy anyway, she is humming and finishing her packing and I am brooding. I don’t like driving in the rain, but then the rain seems to be slowing down and it’s not a long trip. The Lehigh Valley is Bucks County’s next door neighbor.
Our destination is the Sayre Mansion, which is in the historic Fountain Hill district of Bethlehem, known in the 19th Century and early 20th century for being where the industrialists and other affluent people resided. The mansion, now a bed and breakfast, was the home of Robert Heysham Sayre, an industrialist who was the chief engineer of the Bethlehem Railroad and the founder of Bethlehem Iron Works, which eventually became Bethlehem Steel Company. The mansion itself, which Robert Sayre had built in 1858, was built in the Gothic Revival style—a favorite of eastern industrialists during the Gilded Age.
When we arrive at Sayre Mansion Tanya is ready to walk around the lobby and dining area to take photos, but it is crowded. Tanya says, “Bob are all these people staying here?” I shrug, saying, “Don’t know.” But I am as surprised as my wife, and don’t expect to see people laughing, talking and having a good time in a bed & breakfast on a Thursday afternoon. So, I ask the young man at the desk, and he explains that it is an afternoon tea, something that Sayre Mansion does on Thursdays for guests and people who live in the community. The tea, which includes lots of goodies, costs only $35 and it gives its participants a glimpse into the lifestyle lived by high society during the late 19th century.
We go to our room, which is actually a two-room suite. Tanya is taking photos before I can hang my coat. The suite, called The Library, was once part of Robert Sayre’s library. The suite has a large bedroom and a separate sitting room. The sitting room has retained the original vaulted ceiling and chandelier, and it has two floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and an electric fireplace surrounded in marble. Also, there is comfortable period furniture and cable television. In the bedroom is a king bed, dresser with mirror, armchair, cable TV, and a high-backed red loveseat.
Discover Lehigh Valley gave us an itinerary to help guide us while visiting the area. As we settle into our two-room suite, we see that we have reservations for dinner for 5:30 at the Apollo Grill on 85 W. Broad Street. It is now only 3:15, so we decide to luxuriate in our bedroom, watching tv and enjoying candies and wine, courtesy of Discover Lehigh Valley.
It’s 5 o’clock and we head for the car. I ask Tanya, “Where is the Bentley and our chauffeur?” Tanya smiles and says, “Guess you’ll have to drive.” So, the rich industrialist fantasy fades and I open the door to our Nissan Altima and off we go.
The Apollo Grill has both indoor and outdoor dining. Seated are couples, groups of friends and families. Soft music is playing in the background and paintings by local artists adorn the walls. In fact, art by talented local artists is rotated around the 20-seat bar and on the walls of the 100-seat dining room every three months.
The menu at Apollo Grill accommodates everyone. As it says on their website, “We have something for everyone, whether you are looking for a filet mignon and a great bottle of wine or a burger paired with a unique craft brew!” The menu cannot be defined within the confines of current classifications. It is American, both traditional and New American and tavern food, but there are also Italian foods and other European and Mediterranean foods on the menu. There are nine salad choices, appetizers galore (25 listed). The list of appetizers include such intriguing offerings as Black & Blue Tenderloin, Lobster Ravioli, Tuna Tartare along with standbys like Oysters on a Half Shell and Shrimp Cocktail.
After being seated by our host, water is brought and we each order a drink. Our server is especially helpful. She answers all our questions about the food, and even tells us much about the history and what a great place it is to work—so much so that people stay there for years, even decades. I can see they work hard but also that they work as a team.
After getting our drinks, we look at the menu for an appetizer. We both know what we want and decide to share a Shrimp Cocktail. The shrimp are big and cold and the siracha cocktail sauce is delectable.
For her entree Tanya orders the Pan Seared Salmon and I order Beef Short Ribs. The Pan Seared Salmon comes with soy roasted boy chow, pickled mushrooms, cilantro jasmine rice and honey garlic drizzle. The Beef Short Ribs come with cauliflower grits, mushroom gravy with roasted shallots and green beans.
Tanya is pleased because the Salmon is cooked perfectly, moist but done and the cilantro jasmine rice and soy roasted boy chow complements the honey and garlic drizzle to make it a perfect culinary experience. The Beef Short Ribs are so tender, they fall off the fork. And I couldn’t get enough of the cauliflower grits—something I never ate before and hope to have again.
After leaving Apollo Grill we decide to go to Wind Creek Bethlehem Casino. We want to see how big it is and how it compares to other casinos that we visited. It is big and there are plenty of slots, tables and all that you would expect from a casino. Not too much into gaming, we nonetheless play the slots with a predesignated amount of money to use on what are called “penny slots.” We choose to take $50 out of an ATM and each take $25 to spend on the one-arm bandits. As luck would have it, Tanya leaves with $60 and I leave with nothing, but as a couple we are ahead by ten bucks. So we leave after playing for an hour—two high rollers vowing to come again and break the bank.
Back at Sayre Mansion, we comfortably lay in bed watching a movie. I think about how ironic it is that we are staying in a 19th century library, watching television. What’s nice though is that coffee is available in the lobby all night and so are snacks. I bring back some cookies and a couple cups of coffee. We snack and eventually drift off to sleep.
We wake in time for breakfast but have to hurry because we have an appointment for a guided tour of the National Museum of Industrial History. So we get dressed and head down to the breakfast room. Here we see a buffet consisting of fresh fruit and home-baked muffins, breads, or pastries and we can order various breakfast entrees. We see people eating omelets, pancakes, French Toast, but we realize with sadness that we simply do not have time for a feast. So, we fill our plates with muffins and fruit, get coffee and juice and are delightfully satisfied.
Going back to our room, we grab our coats and go. I am excited to see the National Museum of Industrial History, which is actually an affiliate of the Smithsonian. We have an appointment with Museum Historian Mike Piersa who is going to give us a guided tour of the museum.
Mike doesn’t hesitate to give a detailed history lesson and tour from the minute we meet him at the door. He is friendly and so well-versed in industrial history that it rolls off his lips with no effort at all. He begins to show us presses, pumps and railroad tracks in the entranceway/gift shop area. We are already overwhelmed by the little bit of bygone technology he introduces us to at the beginning of the tour.
Then before seeing the main museum, we are taken outside to see a breathtaking accomplishment—a giant hydraulic bending press that was moved into the yard surrounding the museum. The press itself was built in 1890 and was used until around 1995. It weighs 900,000 pounds and when in operation can exert 2000 pounds per square inch of hydraulic pressure. Mike did the math for us. “So you take 2000 square pounds per one square inch, and you multiply it by the surface area of those cylinders and you get 7,000 tons.” Mike also explained, “So what's amazing about this piece is it is actually the second press that they used in the process. There was one twice this size that did the rough forging, but the pieces came out a little bit wobbly. So this was actually the press that would straighten them.”
Inside the museum we view the permanent exhibits. We see beautiful lathes, as aesthetically pleasing as they were precise. The fine craftsmanship showed not only the skill of their makers but also the longevity of the these marvelous machines. Pumps and steam driven machines with large flywheels were also on exhibit. We are shown exhibits about steam powered boats, emerging and rapidly changing farm equipment, textile making and learned much about the technologies employed that changed a small iron works to one of the largest steel companies in the world. There is no way one visit will do. There are programs for students and even younger children. Next time we go we plan to bring grandchildren with us.
Leaving the museum we head off to McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub & Whiskey Bar to meet with President & CEO of Discover Lehigh Valley Alex Michaels. McCarthy’s, an Irish bar and grill says of itself on its website, “Our vision for McCarthy’s Red Stag Pub is to give our guests an authentic experience of the Irish and Celtic culture that they cannot find anywhere else in the Lehigh Valley (or elsewhere!).”
We meet with Alex Michaels and order lunch. Alex is very helpful. His knowledge of the Lehigh Valley and of Bethlehem is extensive, and his manner is warm, welcoming and friendly. He makes recommendations for other visits to the Lehigh Valley. We eat burgers, which are delicious.
After leaving McCarthy’s we decide to explore the area on our own. We simply start driving and see where we end up. Taking many back country roads, we pass through farmland and small towns and make stops for coffee and enjoy the scenery. Our jaunt takes us all the way up to the Poconos.
We return to the Sayre Mansion and it is already dark. We realize that there is so much left to see in Bethlehem—the Apothecary, the Moravian Book Shop and the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, to mention just a few. We only scratched the surface. We suggest that you get to know the Lehigh Valley, town by town as daytrips and overnight getaways. We want to come back and visit Easton, Nazareth, Jim Thorpe, Allentown and the many places that make up this unique area that is right next door.
Bob Waite is the editor of Bucks County Magazine and Tanya is his wife, travel companion and the co-writer of this department.