This past weekend my family celebrated one of my grandmother’s birthdays with a bottomless Champagne brunch at Black Bass Hotel in Lumberville, Pennsylvania. The weather was perfect — brisk, but warm where the sun shone through the trees. We drove alongside the Delaware River on a narrow, winding road, bright and colorful with the changing leaves of fall. At one point my boyfriend asked, jokingly, if we were in Vermont because the scenic drive was so beautiful, it did not look like the New Jersey we are used to.

We sat down to begin making our choices from the menu while nibbling on freshly made blueberry scones. The brunch includes four courses; I opted for an apple crêpe, the cranberry crème fraîche, a Western omelet with Gouda cheese and the s’mores tart for dessert. My grandmother had almost the same, but swapped the omelet for shrimp and grits and the house vanilla cake for dessert.

I was satisfied by my meal. Everything was cooked perfectly, came out fast and filled me up so much I could barely walk. My grandmother liked her meal but was a little disappointed with the shrimp and grits, as it was not what she expected. Living in the south for years, my grandmother has higher expectations for southern comfort foods. Most of us had our desserts boxed to take home for later, but not before we sang happy birthday, of course.

After our meal we decided to take a walk across the pedestrian bridge to stroll off some of the food we consumed and burn off a little bit of the Champagne. The bridge had a beautiful view down the river with the fall foliage taking center stage.

Celebrating my grandmother’s birthday with family at Black Bass Hotel was the perfect way to end the weekend. Everyone was full of smiles, Champagne and cake.

— Audrey Lee, intern