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Bethlehem - Part 2
Written by: Janet Pope
Christmas Displays, Christmas Lights and Crayola factories, oh my...
The complimentary breakfast was a little disappointing. With only coffee, juice, 2 types of cereal and 2 types of muffins, it was kind of sparse, but as long as we had our coffee and tea we were ready to go out and explore the rest of Lehigh Valley.
We went on a short drive to the Crayola Factory in Eaton. Nancy Gale greeted us at the main desk and gave us info, maps and Crayola Coins that would be cashed in for crayons, markers, and clay. Crayola is definitely a great place for kids to learn, explore and create. To be honest, my husband and I felt a little like fish out of water as we went from one exploration station to another without a child to play with. But we tried our best to act like kids as we watched crayons being made, crafted magnets out of clay and wrote on glass with special washable markers. We bragged about our creations as we sat alongside a group of 4 to 10 year olds. All that creating caused us to work up an appetite so we grabbed a quick bite at the Mc Donald's right on the museum grounds.
We then explored the National Canal Museum that is housed on the 3rd floor of the same building. There we saw displays depicting life on the river and spoke to a museum guide who explained to my husband and I how we could travel the rivers from New York City to New Orleans which has been one of our traveling dreams.
Next, we drove to the East Hills Moravian Church to see a Christmas display which is called a "Putz"... Unfortunately, the church was closed but... fortunately, the church secretary Michelle Pittenger, who was driving past the church, saw us freezing in the parking lot, stopped the car to show us around. The church, which was built in 1967, was such a warm and inviting place of worship.
Shopping on Main Street in Bethlehem was our next destination. Even though it was a Sunday, enough shops were open ranging from an Irish Boutique where I purchased an imported hand knit hat and scarf at the 1/2 price sale; to the oldest bookstore in the country, The Moravian Book Store, where we were to purchase some 1/2 price Christmas decorations.
The weather turned breezy and colder so we decided to call it a night and return to a our hotel room and check out the local TV.
Read part 1 | Read part 3
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