"Green acres are
calling, and these seven welcoming farms have a spare room for you.
In the early 1880s, when the
family farm was the center of American rural life, farmers regularly took in
travelers who were fleeing cities for a vacation. 'Those 'farm stays' were the
original B&Bs,' says Sandy Soule, editor of BedandBreakfast.com. But as B&Bs
moved into cities and family farms gave way to corporate operations, the farm
stay all but disappeared. Recently, however, with travelers looking to get back
to their roots, farm vacations are on the rebound. Whether you call it
agritainment, agritourism or country B&B, these seven farms will all leave you
feeling well fed, well rested and closer to the land....
Weatherbury Farm
Avella, PA; 45 minutes
southwest of Pittsburgh
724-587-3763
weatherburyfarm.com Doubles
from $112, including breakfast.
You won't find anything that comes as close to your grandparents' farm. That's
what Dale and Marcy Tudor have capitalized on at their 100-acre spread in the
Allegheny foothills of southwestern Pennsylvania. Guests stay in six rooms in
structures around the property, including the 150-year-old farmhouse and the
Livery, a reconstructed stable. Here, in your second-story loft room with a
20-foot-high ceiling, you'll wake up under handmade quilts to a view of Hereford
cattle grazing in the meadow. Breakfast is served downstairs in a brick-walled
dining room; apple pancakes, perhaps, or peach-stuffed French toast. Meet Farmer
Dale for a morning of bottle-feeding lambs and baby goats (children can earn a
"Farm Kid" certificate for mastering their chores) or take a walk through the
pasture with the goats. At night, soak in you claw-foot tub while gazing out the
window at the darkened sky."
Proprietors Note: Doubles start at 81.80
(six night stay). The hall at the Livery has stone and board walls and brick
floors. We do have claw-foot tubs and wonderfully dark skies, but the skies are
not visible from the tubs.
