A Perfect Bucks County Afternoon

A Perfect Bucks County Afternoon

July 14, 2008

If I keep talking about how much I love Bucks County are you all going to be jealous?
I sure hope so! It's a great place to live and I'd love to help you find the home of your dreams right here in Beautiful Bucks County.
Friday was a great day. We packed a picnic and headed up to Solebury Orchards http://www.soleburyorchards.com to pick some raspberries and fresh flowers before making a stop at the Sand Castle Winery http://www.sandcastlewinery.com to see our friends Joe and Magda Maxian.

I'm not sure what it's like in your family but, when the Raffle's go berry picking, the baskets never seem to fill up. Chris and I set up for the wildflower patch leaving the girls to handle the berry harvest. Andrea, my oldest, was determined to bring some berries home with her but, her sisters Alicia and Acacia were far more interested in picking in what I call the "needle point fashion" (pick one, eat two). In the end, we left with a couple of quarts of raspberries and a quart of blueberries and a couple of nice bunches of wildflowers; one for home and one for Magda Maxian at Sand Castle.
We headed to Erwinna to stop by and say hello and, of course, taste some wine. At Sand Castle, their credo is the Latin phrase "In Vino Veritas" (In wine, truth) and no truer people than these can be found anywhere that I know of. Immigrants from Czechoslovakia (Joe likes to say Transylvania), Joe and Magda have 72 acres under vine and a beautiful Castle where my three daughters seem to be planning to be married (not so fast, I hope). Chris and I have been visiting Sand Castle since before we were married and, in fact, served their wine at our wedding in 1992 (pre-castle). We visited, spent some time as the children explored the vineyard, took a "bucket ride" in the tractor and looked over the river and the valley below and packed a "take out" package in the car before heading out to enjoy our picnic.
We drove down the river to Washington Crossing State Park and enjoyed a light picnic of chicken with some cheese and, of course, berries as we watched the "tubers" float down the Delaware. After some time enjoyed in the park, it was time to return home for some time on the pool deck along with some of our Sand Castle purchase.
All in all, a perfect Bucks County day and one I look forward to repeating time and time again.