Monday, November 5, 2007

Lancaster County Vacation

I've taken the trip to Lancaster plenty of times.....a very kid-friendly vacation. And I've gotten so many listeners requesting details when I mention it on the air that I thought I'd give you a quick overview in case you haven't yet taken your children to Lancaster County, PA.

My boys adore every detail of our trip. I must say that it almost rivals Disney for younger kids. So let me make a couple of recommendations: Try for at least three days if you're doing it between Memorial Day and Labor Day to get in all the major attractions. My boys' favorites: The Strasburg Railroad and Train Museum....two separate attractions. Go for a ride on a steam train through the Amish farmland.....Thomas The Train even stops by on occasion!

My kids will spend three to six hours at the train museum across the street climbing onto the real trains and playing with the toy train displays. There are also two other toy train museums within blocks of the big train museum. You can stay in a real train hotel (the Red Caboose) and eat in a train restaurant. Our favorite hotel is Willow Valley Family Resort, where the boys will swim 'till 11pm every night in the indoor kiddie water park and five pools. They also love the numerous buffets around the county, especially Miller's and the one at Willow Valley, where they can eat all they want without having to wait. There are also some wonderful family-style restaurants like Good And Plenty.

Dutch Wonderland is a fantastic kiddie amusement park for the little ones. That'll take up a whole day, too. Then there are the numerous Amish farms where you can get horse and buggy rides through covered bridges and interactive life-on-the-farm activities. You can even stay at some of these farms and get up to feed the chickens and milk the cows, then eat Amish meals with the family you're staying with. I love the smell of a farm, the beautiful rolling hills, and the feel of being someplace so different than the Jersey Shore without having to get on a plane. The boys just beg to go back time and time again.

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