Al Fresco Dining at Duffy's

It had been way too long since we'd gotten together - and oh how lonely I have been without them! - so I set up a lunch date with some old friends. However, as the time for our date approached, everybody cancelled, citing concerns about the coronavirus, except for one. And so it was that one of my best girlfriends and my husband and I ended up dining outdoors at Duffy's Tavern in Boalsburg.

My husband and I have had takeout food about once or twice a week since the pandemic started, but I can count on one hand the number of times we've eaten AT an actual restaurant since things opened up. With the number of coronavirus cases rising daily in the U.S., I suspect it may not be long before we are all locked down again. So let's just say that on this occasion, we "seized the day!!!"

We all wore masks to the restaurant and while sitting outside. The server was masked. Everybody else was masked. Tables were far apart. A small group of people showed up without masks, and the server politely informed them that masks were required, then offered masks to those without one. They accepted, and entered.

We only took our masks off to eat and drink. Like many other dining establishments, Duffy's has a reduced menu now. They did not have the soup and salad special I sometimes get, so I ordered the French dip (roast beef topped with mozzarella cheese on a ciabatta served with herbed jus), and it was quite good.

We sat under a green umbrella, which gave us adequate shade. It was what I would call pretty much a quintessential summer day. It was hot in the sun but comfortable in the shade, with a nice breeze now and then. (And after our lunch date, my husband and I took the afternoon off to go swimming at Greenwood Furnace, which was very nice as well.)

When I am at Duffy's, I am typically indoors, and I have shared some photos of this venue. And so on this day, I took a few pictures in the outdoor seating area, including the one above. I liked how the reds really seemed to pop in this one. There is something about the color red that says, "Hey, let's party!!!" And so we did indeed! And what a lovely time we had, on a quintessential summer day. . . .

My soundtrack song is fitting for an outdoor restaurant shot: Don Henley, with Sunset Grill.