I wish I Hadn't Planned That

Have you ever planned an activity that you thought was going to be neat but then once you did it you wish you hadn't?  Well that's what happened to me today.  About a month ago I purchased an Amish buggy ride from DealChicken (it's like Groupon) and thought it would be something different for us to do this summer.  Until today we've either been busy or it's just been too hot.  The weather wasn't too bad today so we took our DealChicken voucher and went to the buggy ride place.  The one positive thing was that we didn't have to wait long for a buggy since it wasn't crowded when we got there around 10:00.  When we got back from our ride the place was packed.

So, our buggy pulls up and the previous group gets out and we're ushered in the back where we sit.  Five minutes later we're still sitting there, apparently the driver wanted to give the horse a break.  That's all fine and dandy but it was getting hot in that thing, why load us up if we're not going anywhere?  Here's a picture of the kids while we were waiting:

Our voucher was for the "Amish Town Tour" which was a 4-mile ride that went by an Amish farmhouse and other Amish businesses.  About 5 minutes into the ride the driver stops the buggy by a house and a little girl comes out and asks us if we want to buy cookies, pretzels, drinks or even painted horseshoes!  Uh, okay.... No pressure there.  I really felt like they were trying to take advantage of tourists but I caved and ended up buying a $2 bag of pretzels.  I didn't try one but everyone else said they were good, they had some kind of honey/mustard seasoning on them.  We continue our ride and our driver points out the different crops we pass (peaches, apples, corn, soybean and alfalfa) and the different businesses and what they do/sell.  He was an older guy that didn't say a whole lot.  Afterwards when we got back to the car Lauren and I both thought that he was cranky.  Here's what Zach thought of the ride:

Actually I think the clip clopping sound of the horse on the pavement was putting him to sleep!  The ride lasted about 35 minutes with most of the time on side roads where there were fewer cars.  The last little bit was on the main road though and that was quite freaky to have the cars passing by so closely.  I guess now I know what it's like when I'm passing them!

When the ride was over and we tipped our driver (there were signs inside telling us to do so!) Lauren and I compared notes and both of us thought the buggy ride was a little lame.  When I asked Zach if he liked it he said, "No!"  Kristin and Megan both thought it was okay.  Kristin liked the experience of being in the buggy and seeing what it was like for the Amish to travel around and Megan said "I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either."  I'm so glad I didn't pay full price for that!

The day got better though because we were only about 5 miles from the lancaster outlets so of course we had to stop there. :)   We didn't buy much because most of those stores aren't true outlets and their prices weren't any better than you'd find at the mall.  The girls did find a few good buys which I bought for them but my favorites were the two t-shirts that Kristin picked out.  When she wears them I'll get a picture of them for you, they have funny sayings on them. 

We ended our trip by stopping at Fuddrucker's for lunch.  That place is a little pricey for burgers but they are so good. So that was our day and I'm glad it's over!  I don't think I'll ever do another buggy ride again in my life since I just didn't enjoy it and the main person I thought would like it (Zach) didn't.  I did learn one thing today... I learned to really, really, really appreciate my car.