I (hate) Route 30

If you've ever been to Lancaster County, you know Route 30 is considered to be the 'heart' of Amish Country, running east from the city through Paradise. However, I consider it to be one long strip mall, full of generic souvenir shops and outlet malls and the most bland and tasteless tourist traps. The way I look at it, if you want to experience Amish Country, you stay away from Route 30. If you just want to buy an "I (heart) Intercourse" t-shirt, then you go to Route 30.

Last week a woman ordered a gift certificate. I didn't even know we sold gift certificates until she asked, and I heard myself replying, "Absolutely!" So not only did I need to send her a gift certificate quickly (she wanted it for Wednesday), but I needed to create one first! Then my mother-in-law went into the hospital.

Needless to say, I missed Wednesday, so I decided to deliver it instead of mail it. I tried on Thursday, leaving the Ephrata hospital and heading down 322...right into the Ephrata Fair, which was starting that night. After three detours I was hopelessly lost, so I just went home.

Today I had a little bit of time so I thought I'd try again. I found the house, just off Route 30, but no one was home. I would have left the gift certificate, except when I went to sign it (to make it 'official') I didn't have a pen! No problem, I was right by Route 30.

Six miles later, I finally found a little antique store that was open and had pens. On my way out I noticed their collection of rack cards. Knowing we needed some 'written material for guests' (per our B&B association feedback), I started grabbing handfuls. (I even had a nice conversation with a woman who was in town antiquing, and will be back next August for the Lititz craft fair and [ta-da!] staying at Speedwell Forge B&B.) But then I thought I should visit some of these tourist shops, so I can make recommendations to our guests.

So I dropped off the gift certificate and drove Route 30 back into the city. My first stop was at a "bakery" (with no ovens in sight) which offered "over 10,000 items" (proudly noted on the door) of junk. Worse than junk--the same junk you can buy at any souvenir shop anywhere in the country. But what I really took offense at were the dolls with faces.

Authentic Amish dolls don't have faces; it violates the second commandment (graven images). That is not to say that a doll without a face is authentic, but one with a face is patently not. So would it kill these tourist traps to educate the public, rather than just sell them cheap knock-offs?

So that was the beginning and the end of my visiting the tourist shops. Instead I will continue to recommend guests go to Route 340 (just a little north of 30), or to the roadside stands out in the countryside, and avoid Route 30 entirely.

By the way, we are about 25 minutes from Route 30,. We don't have the traffic or the crowds or the tourist traps. Instead we have Lititz and Manheim, two small towns intent on keeping their identity and history. We have open country roads and beautiful churches, lakes and parks, quaint little stores and fine restaurants (not chain restaurants!) that don't have an hour-long wait on weekends. I'll take this over Route 30 any day.

Maybe I should change our logo to "Close to everything, far from Route 30" ?

P.S. We hit 30% occupancy in September which, for a new B&B, is fantastic!