|
As reported by Debbi Snook in the (Cleveland) Plain
Dealer, August 30, 1997:
" When Sally and Dominick
Sainato surfed the Internet for a weekend getaway, they found a listing for Weatherbury
Farm Bed & Breakfast in western Pennsylvania. Not only was it a few hours away, but it
was also a real farm, complete with cattle, ducks and rabbits.
'This is not something for just you and me,' Dominick told Sally. 'We need to take
our son.'
So on a recent Sunday afternoon, the Sainatos and their 11-year-old Joey made the
trek from Cuyahoga Falls to Weatherbury's rolling, 100-acres in Avella, Pa.
They stayed in a big bedroom of the 12-year-old farmhouse, strolled among cows in
the pasture and spent a rainy afternoon on a porch playing games and watching kittens.
They walked a country road at twilight and ate a hearty breakfast in the morning.
'It was really neat, and I'm a city girl,' says Sally, who continued to like the
place despite her fall out of the farmyard's hammock.
Like a growing number of families, the Sainatos were looking for 'a little
vacation,' Sally says. And they found it at a bed and breakfast, a private getaway
traditionally associated with romantic weekends for couples. ...
What can families do when they get to a bed and breakfast? Like other customers,
most use them as homelike stop along the road, a comfy launch pad to the attractions in a
certain area. The advantage for guests is often the owner's knowledge of the area.
Some, however, offer amusements on-site. That's especially true on farm bed and
breakfasts, where kids have room to stretch. ...
At Weatherbury Farm, owners Dale and Marcy Tudor have always accepted children, and
their son, Nigel sets the tone. The 16-year-old budding blacksmith takes children on his
morning rounds to feed the geese, rabbits, chickens, sheep, goat , dog and kittens. The
feeding is usually the highlight of the stay for children.
And for the Tudors.
'Have you ever seen a kid hold a duck?' Marcy asks, smiling.
The Tudors offer a table of puzzles in the parlor for rainy days and have an
outdoor pool for sunny ones. Dale is available to explain his farm machinery, including
one that make round hay bales. And Nigel is sometimes at the anvil doing metalwork.
For dinner, the Tudors send guests a short drive away to Breezy Heights, a
restaurant with miniature golf, full-sized golf course and driving range. The main dining
room has a small stage filled with impeccably preserved lions, tigers and antelope - all
bagged by the restaurant's owner, a big-game hunter.
Back at the farm, the Tudors will gladly hand guests a flashlight for a night
stroll up one of their hills. On a summer night with moonlight, the flashlight won't be
necessary, and the glowing field of white Queen Anne's Lace near the summit can seem
magically bright.
Sally Sainato says she was a little disappointed that the Tudors weren't further
along with their restoration of the property. The sides and back of the house are still
peeling paint.
The Tudors had expected to fix that this year, but got delayed when a contractor
they hired to take down a nearby barn failed to follow through. The family -mother, father
and son - spent four months taking down the barn themselves. They expect to rebuild it on
their own property, giving the Weatherbury four extra rooms.
More immediately, they will be finishing two rooms in a small house behind the main
one. The 'summer kitchen' will have a fireplace on the main floor.
'I'd go back again,' says Sally Sainato. 'It would be nice to go in a different
season, a cooler season. My husband said he'd like to go when the summer kitchen was
finished. We could sit by the fire and look out at the pasture."
|
