Enjoy fall, leaves, pumpkins and apple pie? Journey out to two legends on
Route 352 during October. But be prepared, if the ghouls and goblins don’t
get you, the ticket price will!
Linvilla Orchards was once the best place to take children. But that was
20 years ago, when the owners did not have dreams of grandeur in making
it a present-day destination park. It started as a remote country market
with an added attraction, a small zoo where children could walk right up to
chickens, roosters, lambs, rabbits; you get the idea – a petting zoo of
sorts.
Unfortunately, this little gem has become a tourist trap, with hundreds of
cars and thousands of people all clamoring to ride one of 10 hay rides,
which are merely big wagons, a little hay, a tractor and a driver who
becomes a huckster behind the wheel.
As you travel through the farm,
everyone aboard learn of the fifty varieties of this or that, perfect for your pie that you can pick up at our store along with your perfect pumpkin.
Ok I admit it. I should have expected some commercialism, but hey, not to
the little country store of my youth? For sure there are lots to do. Hay rides,
pony and train rides, apples projected by slings, a corn maze, and a fresh
variety of fruit and vegetables. And then there are the typical added
attractions like painted faces, funnel cake and the like.
The last straw (pardon the pun) was when I saw the $1 admission to the
playground. What? Soon they will be charging for the air I breathe.
So if you must go there on the weekend, be prepared for crowds, cars, dirt
and bees, check it out, but bring your fat wallet. Everything there has its
price.
Bates Motel. You can recognize it by the grey hearse along Rte 352 and the
endless parade of cars trying to get into the grounds at dusk. This
owner-farmer said phooey to the daily routine of farming and tried his hand
at making the scariest site this side of Transylvania. Warning, it’s not
for the faint of heart! It’s recommended for those over 8 and with strong
hearts. You will be scared!!! So what are you waiting for?
Thanks for reading,
Claire
Chester County Living 