Dabbling in and Around Doylestown

Yesterday I ventured down to Doylestown to visit my long lost friend, Justine. We haven't seen each other in almost four years, so we definitely had a lot to catch up on. When I arrived at her quaint housing complex, we went for a stroll around the block with her three dogs. It was very fitting because the first time I met Justine, she took my brother and I and a walking loop in NYC from Battery Park to Little Italy and China Town, back downtown to the Brooklyn, into Brooklyn to the Transit Museum, finishing in Park Slope at her dad's brownstone. All in all, that loop was about 6 miles, which isn't bad until you consider that it was the absolute hottest day of the summer that year. I distinctly remember ordering a gelato and it immediately starting to melt all over my shoes before I took a bite.
But I digress. Justine gave me a tour of her lovely home. I loved her wall of photos at the base of the staircase because it captured so many great moments and people in her life. I particularly loved the picture of her dad when he had a bit of a fro. A side of him I never saw in his lifetime. There was also a picture upstairs of her father sitting in the woods that she likes to call, "The Thinker." It's amusing knowing the background behind it. I also got to see the Green Changes inventory (organic t-shirts) that she keeps in her basement to take to showings and demos at Whole Foods and other events. I came away with three; one made out of beer bottles and says "ask me what i'm made out of", one that says "got green?", and another that says "green is the new black." We sat in the kitchen for the majority of the two hour visit chatting about life and her dad. Justine also made a fruit smoothie with her Vitamax that I tried, but passed up for grape juice and seltzer. I had some warm cereal with organic vanilla yogurt while she enjoyed a veggie burrito. I was so grateful to be able to spend some quality time with Justine after so many years.

As per usual, Justine sent me off on a loop, but this time it was a driving loop as opposed to a walking loop. My first stop was a famous Polish shrine, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa, which was about two miles from Justine's house. Apparently many people make a pilgrimage there every year (about 40,000 on the designated weekend), according to Justine. Pope John Paul II also made a trek to this shrine, and there happens to be a statue of him right in front of the main church. I wandered the grounds and poked my head into the main sanctuary to have a look. The architecture was quite intricate, but I think the bell tower was my favorite part of the establishment. I attempted to go to the Candle Chapel to light a candle in memory of the DZO (Justine's dad and her suggestion), but unfortunately there was a sign on the door that said, "Candle Chapel closed indefinitely due to fire." What are the odds?
I chose to make a side trip to Peace Valley park to get a run in and to lay out in the sun to read. After my hour detour, I made my way into downtown Doylestown. I quickly browsed the Buck's County Running Company and then went to Starbucks for a frappucino, which happened to be half off when I arrived. I dabbled on the internet briefly and then made my way to the used bookstore. I love used book stores. The smell of old pages and book bindings is very comforting to me. I found a few books that I liked, but I decided to only get The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. My next stop was Owowcow, which is a homemade creamery in Wrightstown. Justine likes to call it Oh Holy Cow because the owners go to her church. I opted for a sampling of the vanilla chocolate chip icecream and then drove like mad to Buck's County Community College in order to catch the Improv show: The Games Within the Games. It was a good way to finish out my long day. I laughed plenty throughout the entire production. I made it home around midnight and stayed awake awhile longer in order to let my brother into my apartment so he could crash for the night.