Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!  I was excited to hear my son and husband had a surprise waiting for me yesterday.  Granted, they weren't able to keep their surprise in check: we were eating dinner at Alfred's Victorian!

If you've never been, it’s a mansion located in Middletown, PA with a lot of history.  It was built in 1888, and when Alfred Peligrini purchased it, he fixed her up: the original fixtures were repaired, all woods polished & stained and the stained glass cleaned to show its beauty.  It opened as a restaurant in 1970 and now is on the national Register of Historic Places. 

This was one of great-grandma Ellie & great-grandpa Carl’s favorite places to eat.  They have plaque with their name on it at the table they used to dine at all the time, plus a dish named after them (the one they ordered all the time).  My husband and I have been wanting to take the kids for awhile, but we wanted to wait until they were old enough to behave.

At ages 8 & 9, we felt they were old enough to handle it without throwing a fit.  It was so cute, they both picked out outfits and went all dressed up.  When we got there they behaved like perfect children...I could almost hear the angels singing, it was beautiful.  

So while we were harping all week about behaving, and on the car ride there grandma telling them to bring their manners, we were a tad disappointed when the curmudgeon next to us dropped some F-bombs and called his son-in-law an A-hole.  Yup, my kids got a taste of what it's like when others don't use their inside voice.

Other than the colorful language at the table next to us, the dinner was great.  For an appetizer I had some crab dip which was exquisite.  Cris had a demi portion of fettuccine Alfredo, with home-made pasta.  That's right, home-made pasta.  As an entree, the three non-spontaneous members of our family had chicken Alfredo, while I sampled the chicken alouette.  All it was was chicken breasts with melted cheeses, but it was soooo yummy.  Besides, melty-cheese chicken doesn't sound as good as Chicken Alouette. 

Finally, for dessert, I had some chocolate mousse...at home.  Dude next to us was hard of hearing and his loud-mouthed pal weren't leaving, so we did.  Besides, Cris was having a hard time with the changes made since his childhood.  No more table side prepared meals.  Bummer! 

Moral of the story? Always bring your manners, you never know who's watching.  It could be an impressionable child.  Shame on you!