Back in Brandywine, DE

Everyone's idea of heaven is a little different.  Mine includes bright sunny days in the 60s with blue skies, fresh green leaves, and a profusion of color from trees in blossom and flowers wakening.  We found a piece of heaven in the Brandywine Valley last week, where Spring had just arrived at Longwood Gardens, near Philadelphia (photo left).  We returned home to White Plains to find another piece of heaven in the park (photo right) which is part of our cooperative development. It doesn't get much better than this!

Poor WiFi Service
Our Brandywine trip had only two downsides.  The first seems to be endemic to Best Western Hotels equipped with WiFi.  We stayed, as usual, at the Best Western Brandywine Valley Inn , booking the same suite we'd enjoyed before.  Like the WiFi in the Best Western in Escondido, CA in February, the WiFi here was Willful and Finicky.  But the worst of it is that, here too, the hotel doesn't take ownership. If the microwave were on the fritz, they'd send up a replacement. If the toilet malfunctioned, they'd send up a plumber.  But when the WiFi connection is non-existent to lousy, they tell you to call the outside provider.  In Escondido, it was Speedlinks whose service desk was next to useless.  In Brandywine, it was GuestLinX whose internet access varies in speed, in quality, and in availability.  To make matters worse, the telephone line dataports (for dial-up access) are no longer working.  This traveler thinks: don't advertise high-speed internet access unless you have it; and if you offer it, train your personnel to deal with the problems.

Chadds Ford Inn
Once upon a time, the Chadds Ford Inn restaurant on Route 1 near Longwood Gardens was our favorite restaurant, bar none.  In July 2005, we found it greatly changed for the worse and counseled avoidance in droves. This trip, we found it being renovated by the landlord, who, if the prominent "For Lease" sign can be believed, is looking for a tenant. Hopefully, there's an enterprising and talented restaurateur willing to recapture the Chadds Ford's 200-year tradition of great service and fine dining.

Feby's Fishery
We know two local restaurateurs who could do it.  Our first candidate is the DiFebo family, who own and operate Feby's Fishery at 3701 Lancaster Pike in Wilmington, DE. We found Feby's on our last trip and enjoyed them again this time.  Feby's, in business since 1974, is a family operation, including an attached fresh seafood market.  We think prices are a little higher (around $60 for two with cocktails) and the selection a little thinner since last July, but we're not surprised. Great seafood, service and modest prices translate into a full house at every sitting.  Reservations recommended for weekend evenings.

Pescatores Restaurant
Our other candidate for the Inn is Enzo, with 35 years experience, the owner of the relatively new Pescatores Restaurant (1810 Wilmington Pike, Glen Mills, PA) and the nearby, longer established Enzo's Italian Eatery (1400 Wilmington Pike, West Chester, PA), both near Route 1. We haven't sampled the fare at Enzo's, although we see good ratings online.  We enjoyed Pescatores twice, both times getting excellent seafood, prepared Italian style of course, plenty of it (plan to take some home), and reasonable prices ($45-60 for two with cocktails). This is an up and comer with a staff trained to entice you back.  Ask about Happy Hour half-price drinks and appetizers.  Speaking of which, I had a broccoli rabe entree masquerading as a half-price appetizer -- perfetto!

Franklin at the Constitution
This Brandywine vacation was initially motivated by a desire to take in the Benjamin Franklin Tercentenary Exhibit, which was at the National Constitution Center until a few days ago.  Now on its way to Paris via St. Louis, Houston, Denver, Atlanta, the exhibit was a blast.  There was a lot wrong with it -- too hot, timed tickets, noisy class-trip crowds, noisy exhibits, too little floor space.  But who cares?  The interactive exhibits aimed at younger Franklin fans were clever, educational, and, judging by the kids we saw, great fun.  The attraction for older sophisticates was the artifacts, including Ben's copy of the Constitution with his hand-written marginalia, a first edition copy of Poor Richard's Almanack, his armonica, etc., and the intelligent, comprehensive portrayal of the many aspects of Franklin's genius.  If this exhibit comes your way -- in fact, if you have to go out of your way -- see it.  You won't be sorry.

Wyeth Triple-Header
Motived by Franklin, this trip became an Andrew Wyeth extravaganza.  We never miss an opportunity to visit the Brandywine River Museum, which has fabulous permanent collections of about 40 Andrew Wyeth paintings, 40 more of Andrew's father and mentor, N.C. Wyeth, and another gallery of paintings by Wyeth family members including Jamie Wyeth, Carolyn Wyeth, Henriette Wyeth, and by Peter Hurd and John McCoy, who studied under N.C. Wyeth. The Museum also sponsors tours of N.C. Wyeth's house and studio, and of the Kuerner farm, which Andrew often paints. This trip we enjoyed an additional exhibit Andrew Wyeth: Master Drawings from the Artist's Collection, which features amazing pencil and charcoal drawings and sketches, most of which were studies for full-scale paintings. 

The Brandywine River Museum look at how Wyeth works and thinks was bolstered by another exhibit, Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA). The PMA exhibit includes about 100 tempera paintings, watercolors, and drawings, many from the artist's collection, which illustrate his creative process.  Wyeth thinks like a poet and edits like a writer.  The descriptive wall-captions were fairly direct and informative, but we found the free audio tour haughty, presumptious and superflous.  Interesting side note: the PMA's "Wyeth Store" includes large, ready-to-hang, plaque-mounted posters of some of Wyeth's famous paintings for only $42.  We picked up a print of one our favorites, Wind from the Sea, painted in 1947.

The third leg of our Wyeth triple was the exhibit Something Waits Beneath It: Early Work by Andrew Wyeth, 1939- 1969 at the Delaware Art Museum.  The exhibit comprises about 30 early water-color and tempera paintings from both Maine (Wyeth's longtime summer residence) and Brandywine, and about a dozen letters to family friends illustrated with water-color and ink sketches.  A rare look at the way a great artist thinks made even more fun by the newly-renovated building whose entrance is a massive Dale Chihuly installation he calls Persian Window.  The Chihuly alone is worth the visit.  All three Wyeth exhibits continue through July 16, 2006. Enjoy!