Dutch Country: The Drive
5 Beautiful Drives
From Pennsylvania state capital Harrisburg, head east on Highway 283, past roadside stands with handwritten signs touting shoofly pie, apple cobbler and Friendship bread to go. The 34-mile, four-lane stretch to Lancaster can be heavily trafficked, but turn offs are well-labeled and frequent. Dusty side roads lead past old stone mills, log homes and mud sales: huge tents in which crafts, quilts, livestock, buggies and farming supplies are auctioned to benefit local volunteer fire companies. Photo ops abound at the region's famous "kissing bridges" (www.visitpa.com); to the delight of shutterbugs, 28 wood covered bridges — dating back to the mid- to late-1800s — dot the Lancaster County countryside.
In Lancaster — Dutch Country's commercial hub — the nation's oldest publicly owned, continuously operating farmers market is housed in a red brick building at city center Penn Square. Drop by the Lancaster Cultural History Museum (www.culturalhistorymuseum.com) for a look at the decorative arts and history of early settlers in south-central Pennsylvania.
Heading east on State Route 340 — locally known as the "Old Philadelphia Pike" — encounter miles of Amish and Mennonite communities. In Paradise, Zook's Family Crafts (www.hexsigns.com) specializes in handmade hex signs, traditional wooden plaques emblazoned with colorful, symmetrical symbols of good fortune. Hung on the front of houses and barns, the signs are meant to bring blessings and good luck to those within.
In the nearby village of Bird-in-Hand, definitely stop by the Weavertown One-Room Schoolhouse. For a fee, watch a 15-minute reenactment of a historical school day, featuring audio-animatronic Amish school children. And everyone's favorite Pennsylvania city, Intercourse, boasts Kitchen Kettle Village (www.kitchenkettle.com), where Amish women and other area artisans make and sell crafts, quilts and homemade jams.
By the time 340 winds its way past the last of the region's quilt and candle stands, even the most Mennonite-centric road trippers will be ready to return to modern-day America. Take 65 mph Interstate 10 to Reading, where the VF Outlet Village (www.vfovillage.com) offers 450,000 thousand square feet of brand-name bargains just waiting to be snatched up.
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