It was a beautiful drive to Lancaster. We hardly had any traffic and it was a little overcast so I didn't have to wear sunglasses all day. Mom and I ate lunch at a crazy diner and then got to our hotel room with the evening to spare.
The Eastern Market was really cool. I got to hang out with some amazing Etsy sellers. Actually most of the vendors there are Etsy sellers. But seriously, how much better can it get than to drive up, get out of the car, and get a hug from someone you've been "talking" to online for months? That's one of the reasons why I love Etsy. It is such an amazing community. I have made so many friends and the network has allowed me to meet a lot of them in person.
One of those sellers is Steph of Stephanie Gibson Designs (above). Her jewelry is really exquisite. I was so impressed by the quality of her craftsmanship. My mom got a very nice necklace and some matching earrings. I bought a lot of soap and a lip balm from The Professor's Wife. She's not on Etsy yet but we're trying to talk her into it. I can't even list all of the other artisans who were selling their work that day because there are just too many of them. I was pretty happy with the way my table turned out. I've been adding new types of products (like the bean dolls) and it was a struggle to figure out where to put everything. I'll keep working on that one.
Lancaster and its surrounding towns are incredible. Mom and I had a great time doing some touristy stuff like visiting the emergency room (seriously), shopping for crafts and antiques, checking out the outlet mall, eating at gargantuan country buffets, and buying miniature pies. It's a wonderful place for a family vacation (as long as you check out the Eastern Market!). That's a cool llama that I met.
For more pictures of the Eastern Market, check out Frost Imaging's flickr site. Alissa of DivaDea also wrote this nice blog post about the market.
