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Paul

Paul Halpern


Last Updated: 11/19/2009

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Gender: Male
Status: Married
Age: 48
Sign: Capricorn

City: Philadelphia
State: Pennsylvania
Country: US
Signup Date: 3/19/2007

Who Gives Kudos:

Cape Cod (1)
HeyRed (1)
String (1)
IVY (1)
MichaelGros.. (1)
Monday, September 21, 2009 

Category: Travel and Places
Took a break from writing and such last weekend to travel with some family members to beautiful Hawk Mountain, about 2 hours northwest of Philadelphia.  It is not a very high mountain but has spectacular views of the countryside around it, including a "river of rocks" formed through a freezing-melting cycle.  It is a great place for sighting hawks, vultures and raptors, but we didn't see any during our visit. 

Then, after several hours of hiking, we took a lunch break at the nearby "Deitsch Eck Restaurant"  That is Pennsylvania German dialect for "German Corner"  The menu include some local specialties such as "chow-chow" (sweet pickled vegetables), pickled beets, pepper cabbage, and different kinds of fritters (like tarts):  apple and corn.  Delicious and filling.

We've been enjoying warm, sunny weather, and it was great to do some travelling, even if it was relatively local.
9:22 PM
 
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Cape Cod

 
Looking at the history of the restuarant...what's a hex sign painter??? It sounds like something a witch would do! I always thought a hex was a curse.
I love the name chow-chow!

 
Posted by Cape Cod on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 12:39 AM
[Reply to this] 
Paul
Paul Halpern

 
Hex signs do sound like curses.  But they are used by Pennsylvania German farmers to ward off evil spirits.  So in certain parts of Pennsylvania almost every barn has a colorful hex sign.

They should rightly be called "anti-hex signs!"

 
Posted by Paul on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 12:41 AM
[Reply to this] 
Lisa
Lisa Tenzin-Dolma

 
That break must have been very refreshing, Paul! And the restaurant looks lovely - what an interesting history. Mouthwatering menu, too! xx

 
Posted by Lisa on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 11:59 AM
[Reply to this] 
Paul
Paul Halpern

 
Yes it was very refreshing to get out in the country.  The restaurant does indeed have an interesting history.  Their homemade pies are especially good.  A specialty of that region is "shoo fly pie" which is so sweet you need to shoo flies away if you are eating it outside.  I think it is made of treacle.

 
Posted by Paul on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 12:06 PM
[Reply to this] 
HeyRed
Amanda J

 
Chow Chow is also well known on the Coast, but it's primarily made from green tomatoes.  Taste like salsa verde.

BTW, that's the Canadian East Coast, heathens! Sorry, I get touchy when they think I'm talking BC. BC ia BC.  Never mind, never mind never mind.

We went to Rattlesnake Point (about an hour out of Toronto) and encountered my first Turkey Vulture. 
Those things are big.  It can make a girl nervous to eat lunch while they're flying around. ;D

 
Posted by HeyRed on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 12:00 PM
[Reply to this] 
Paul
Paul Halpern

 
Didn't know about the Atlantic Provinces version of Chow Chow.  I know there is a German region north of Waterloo, which I visited once, that is very similar to Pennsylvania Dutch Country (a misnomer, since it is German).

Cool to hear about the Turkey Vulture.  I heard that the region north of Toronto is called "cottage country" because of all the vacation cottages.

 
Posted by Paul on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 12:10 PM
[Reply to this] 
HeyRed
Amanda J

 
We're maggoty with cottages once you hit about 45 minutes north of Toronto.  If it's a piece of flat land near decent fishing (which is everywhere), someone's built a cottage.

There's quite a population of Mennonites (very much like the Penn. Dutch/Amish) near Waterloo and Elmira.  Fantastic food.  Home to many a retired race horse.

 
Posted by HeyRed on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - 5:01 PM
[Reply to this] 
Paul
Paul Halpern

 
Interesting.  Ontario is certainly a diverse province.
 
Posted by Paul on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 - 5:07 PM
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IVY

 
Hex signs were (are?) used in Nordic countries to ward off trolls.........!

 
Posted by IVY on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 6:08 PM
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Paul
Paul Halpern

 
Interesting to hear that Ivy.  No wonder trolls are always scurrying through the garbage -- will have to get one :)


 
Posted by Paul on Tuesday, September 22, 2009 - 6:09 PM
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MichaelGross ScienceWriter
Michael Gross

 
is the restaurant on a corner ? or does the name refer to the Deutsches Eck, which is the corner where the river Mosel meets the Rhine ?  in which case it might reflect somebody's nostalgia for the romantic sights of the middle rhine region
 
Posted by MichaelGross ScienceWriter on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - 5:58 PM
[Reply to this] 
Paul
Paul Halpern

 
The restaurant is indeed on a corner (the main intersection in that village, actually), but its name could indeed be a play on words related to the rivers.
 
Posted by Paul on Wednesday, September 30, 2009 - 6:00 PM
[Reply to this]