I Love the Brandywine Valley!

I just returned from a three-day cycling trip in Pennsylvania's Brandywine Valley region, and I must say, I love this area as much as I did when I first visited it seven years ago. Some of the most beautiful countryside in America is here; the valley is gently enhanced by the rolling green hills around the Brandywine River, dotted by the occasional Quaker stone farmhouse, and many small farms continue to thrive here.

There are also some wonderful restaurants and inns here serving all kinds of dishes, many centered around the local crop - the mushroom. Most of the mushrooms sold in the Northeast are grown in the region. Although the area is known for its somewhat white Anglo-Saxon population, the local cash crop has brought in a little diversity - Hispanic farm and mushroom packinghouse workers live in the small towns of Avondale and Kennett Square, and they've made the presence felt in small Latino record stores and a couple of Mexican eateries. Hmm, how about mushroom tacos?

Many of the small towns in the area are among the Brandywine Valley's best-kept secrets. Kennett Square is a charming Victorian small town with some really nice art galleries and a funky little used book store; West Chester, the county seat of Chester County, PA, has some stately architecture and a nice town park. They're off the beaten path, but worth seeking out. And the village of Chadds Ford, where many artists - including Anrdew Wyeth - live, includes the wonderful Brandywine River Museum (along the banks of the Brandywine itseslf) with paintings and illustrations of the region's rural beauty.

My favorite attraction in the region, and quite possibly anywhere, is Longwood Gardens, a country estate garden created by industrialist Pierre S. DuPont II. There are over a thousand acres of flower gardens, fountains, and nature walks, along with a grand conservatory displaying every conceivable plant and flower in the world, or so it seems. If you only visit one place in the Brandywine Valley, this is it.

The Brandywine Valley region may indeed be the only civilized place left in America.