Does anyone know approximately how much the buggy rides in Amish country (Bird in Hand/Lancaster PA) cost? Its basically a tour of Amish farmland in an authentic Amish horsedrawn buggy. It looked like it would be fun. I've looked at several websites but none of the operators state what the fare is. Can anyone recommend one operator over another? I've seen listings for Jessica's and another called Abes. One of the websites seemed to indicate that they don't want you to call and ask either.

Thanks for any assistance.

We took Abe's. IIRC, it was about $15 per person and a total ripoff. Yes, we got a tour of back roads, but nothing we couldn't have done ourselves. The advertising promised a narrated tour and our driver hardly uttered a word the whole time.

We stopped at a farm where a girl came out and offered loaves of bread for sale. ours was the size of a pound loaf, or larger, but weighted only afraction of that -- all puffed up with over-rising to save on ingredients.

I'm convinced that the Amish have a double standard of ethics and that they feel free to rip off tourists. If you like, I'll post some sites about their puppy farms.

bennie:
I just returned from Lancaster. I do not know how much the rides were, but I figured about $15-20 a person. We chose not to take a buggyride and did the countryside by car. We stopped in local shops and had a great time. www.amishbuggyrides.com gives you a discount coupon. AAron's and Jesica's is the name of the company.

Suzy,

Puppy farms? Do tell...

If the Amish can't use electricity, how can they create and maintain a website?

Take the buggy rides and don't forget to bring a camera!

I just got back from a quick trip to Lancaster County. I stayed on an Amish farm, and didn't feel cheated at all. It's listed on a Lancaster County website as Starlit Acres Farm. They don't maintain a website, but the site does generate phone calls. While telephones aren't generally acceptable in Amish homes, they can have them in their place of business, which in this case, is a building near the house. You might call them (Jacob and Sadie Zook) and ask about buggy rides. At least they'd point you in the right direction and give you an idea of cost. (717) 768-3774.

Amish Paradise - I had the same reaction and I also thought that they didn't want their picture taken but there they are on the website posing to beat the band.
There is also a F/X theater presentation about the Amish called Jacob's Choice that is hyped as being as high tech as it gets. I thought that was pretty ironic also.

Personally I could care less and the Amish as a religion community certainly don't have a lock on hypocrisy (if that's what this is)in the opinion of this Catholic from Boston.

Any other suggestions for things to do and see would be appreciated.

For thea, who asked about the puppy mills in Lancaster County. Do NOT go to these sites during your lunch hour.

http://www.puppymillfighters.com/
http://www.hillsidespca.com/puppymills.htm
http://www.hua.org/Prisoners/Amish.html
http://www.golden-retriever.com/nypost.html
http://www.naiaonline.org/body/articles/archives/palawwhy.htm

Most of the breed-specific sites have sections on puppy mills. Here are a couple of good general ones:
http://www.bullmastiff.org/breeder.htm
http://www.jackrussellterriers.com/mills.htm

Suzy,

Thanks for the URLs. I've spent much time in Ohio Amish country and knew mostly about their abuse of people in their society. Hadn't heard about the dogs...

I'd be careful in those Amish buggies --there's always something in the news about accidents with cars ploughing into them. There are lots of rolling hills here and many people (who are driving too fast to begin with) don't see the buggies till it's too late.

Oh, my, yes, thea, I worry about the horses, too. When we were there, we came upon an accident scene right after the police did; they had to shoot the horse because it was injured so badly.

Hate to break it to you, but those people running the buggy business are not really part of the Amish community. That goes against their laws and beliefs. I grew up in a town near several large Amish communities, and have several friends who left of their own accord, and they told me that most likely these people are simply posing as Amish to make money.

There's a band that performs in bars in NW PA called the Earthquakers. They wear Amish clothes and such. When they first hit the scene, they told people that they were Amish, but couldn't give their real names or they'd be kicked out. Turns out they were just a bunch of regular guys from the area who were looking for an angle. Now at least they're honest about it.

Hey, we're still chafing in our woolen underwear for not getting a piece of the pie from "Men in Black."

Where do you think that idea came from, brethren?

There are different orders of Amish. There are Amish that have electricy and those who don't. Those who have businesses and those who farm. We had a house built by the Amish once and their house had electricy and modern appliciances yet they wore the traditional clothes. We have a lot Amish restaurants, why not Amish buggy
rides? Does seem like a double standard but hey, why not.

Perhaps you are not differentiating between the Amish and the other religious groups who are also strict in various degrees and distinctive in their dress, like the Menonites?

Yes, the distinction between the Amish and Mennonite communities can get a bit fuzzy... and I'm sure that some people say that they are Amish even though they might not be considered so by the "true believers"...reminds me of the difference between Champagne and champagne (lower case "c").

Whoa! Someone needs a course in American Business 101.

Just because a restaurant bills itself as "Amish" doesn't mean operated by Amish people. Similarly, "Amish Buggy Rides" can be operated by anyone.

However, because of a lack of farming opportunities, many young Amish will turn to trades like carpentry to earn a living. And though they may build a house that has electricity, they don't install electricity (which of course requires a licensed electrician).