Itinerary

1. AMISH COUNTRY, PA

   Depending upon time of arrival you may want to explore the shops and gardens of the Plain & Fancy Farm located just outside the hotel’s lobby. This pristine, 9 acres complex is also home to Aaron & Jessica’s Buggy Rides, the Amish Experience Theater, Homestead and Farmland Tours, a farm animal exhibit and the world famous Plain & Fancy restaurant. A lot of reasonably priced activities and discovery-opportunities depart from the hotel’s premises. If you have the time, you might want to join a buggy tour where you can get inside information from an experienced Amish driver and ask questions about Amish schools, shops, farms and businesses, while enjoying the picturesque rolling meadows along the way.

2. AMISH COUNTRY, PA

   No better way to start your day than with a hot country breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant. You might want to sit by a window so you can witness the spectacle as the children run across the fields toward the one-room school house on the horizon. Except for holidays, vacation or during harvest time, this is a daily occurrence between the hours of 8:00 and 8:30am. This morning you will embark on a guided 90-Minute Farmland Tour departing from the hotel promptly at 10:45am. This excursion will take you around the out-of-the-way back roads and country lanes to see the amazing beauty of these lands, farmed using only horses and mules, and dotted with one-room school houses just like the one nearby the hotel. Along the way you will visit roadside stands, bake shops or a craft or quilt shop on a farm. You will also take a fascinating and educational tour of the Amish Country Homestead. This authentically furnished Amish house, along with the interpretive information handed over by the guides, offers an insight into the complex riddles of a culture so different from our own. Questions such as; “If a bottled gas refrigerator is permitted, why not an electric one?”, will definitely pop up and the experienced guides will provide you with an answer. On the other hand, at the Amish Experience Theater you will gain a better understanding of what it means to be Amish by viewing “Jacob’s Choice”. The play deals with a teenager, “Jacob”, faced with the difficult decision of choosing whether to join the Amish church or leaving everything behind to become part of the modern world. Finish your day with a hearty Pennsylvania Dutch Family-Style meal at the renowned Plain & Fancy Restaurant and savor the modest, yet delicious natural cuisine of the Amish folk. (B,D)

3. AMISH COUNTRY, PA

   Have a hot country breakfast this morning and enjoy the children’s morning routine as they run across the field on their way to school one last time. Before departing, you may want to visit nearby Kitchen Kettle Village with over thirty shops and restaurants where you can sample authentic Amish food. Visit the smoke house or the world-famous Canning Kitchen for a taste of their jams and relishes. Enjoy some hand-rolled fudge or homemade ice cream while shopping for Lancaster’s finest quilts and leather goods. Return flight home or extend your stay. (B)