10-year-old’s Berks County adventure
Two weeks ago my 10-year-old Noah and I traversed Berks County to explore some of the attractions the region has to offer.
I was surprised to learn that tourism remains the county’s second largest industry employing 9,500 earning combined direct wages of $242,000,000 a year.
The Greater Reading Convention & Visitors Bureau says Berks makes more than $624 million annually from the more than 9.5 million visitors that flock to the county each year.
The earnings translate to more than $60 million in state and local taxes. Amazing.
Noah and I did our share to fill the county coffers with trips to Crystal Cave, estimated to have been formed 100 million years ago. (See the photo above.)
The famed “upside down ice cream cone” has three flavors: vanilla (calcite), chocolate (calcite with rust) and mint chocolate chip (calcite with microplants).
And below Noah “apes” fear of one of the vintage animals on the miniature course at Sittler’s Golf Center near Kutztown, another stop during our outing.
To read the full details of our adventure, pick up a copy of the May 2008 Tourist Guide from Berks-Mont Newspapers in our Berks County publications this week including The Boyertown Area Times, The Southern Berks News, Westside Weekly, LaVoz, The Hamburg Area Item, The Kutztown Area Patriot and The Community Connection.
Labels: Kutztown Sittler's Golf Berks County Reading tourism
posted by BerksMont News at
10:13 PM
17 Comments:
Anyone else find this picture disturbing? It looks like a close-up of Grendel or Bigfoot's nipple.
I'm throwing in my guess. Looks like a big steamer I saw this one cow take when I was passing through harrisburg. Never seen a cow pattie that big or high in all my years.
People makes 242 million dollars a year to point visitors in the direction of a 100 million-year old cave rock that looks like a dog turd? God, I'm in the wrong business.
Your kid's so cute! He looks like that little kid from the Goonies. What was that child actor's name?
Don't recall. It's been years since I saw that movie. Thanks for the comment.
Wasn't it Chunk? You mean this kid?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9ofCQqrSFo&feature=related
He does look like that cute kid from the Goonies! Hey, if that's the case, could this be a father/son shot from the May 2008 Tourist Guide's Berks County Adventure?
http://www.ryanfrith.net/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/goonies.jpg
So wait the guy who looks like Howie Mandell has a kid who looks like Chunk from the Goonies? Does the whole family moonlight on weekends as stand-ins for minor celebs? Anyone want to wager what his wife looks like?
I'm sure she's an angel. Most journalists always attract some great arm candy. Every top editor I've ever seen pictures of always has a gorgeous wife.
People, people...enough of the kid. Let's get back to this post. Can someone explain to me how 242 million dollars a year is made every year in this area when the main attractions (according to this piece) are big ol' rocks that look like dog doo and some lame miniature golf course with a plastic monkey?
Tourism remains the county’s second largest industry? What's the first largest...transportation from all the people desperately trying to get the Hell outta Dodge?
I'm pretty sure the first industry is alcohol. Because if you have to live here, you might as well drink!
Also, I've been the Crystal Cave before--given their prices I can understand why tourism makes so much money. There is something unseemly about charging people money to see things the Earth has naturally created. But then again, how many people pay to go to the beach every year? Suckers.
Berks' County Adventure?!? I'm pretty sure the only adventure I'd have in Berks would be if I jumpred off the William Penn Memorial Fire Tower to end my suffering. This town is a sinkhole with a population that refuses to accept it's sliding into the 19th century.
It's so nice to see a father take an interest in his son. I don't understand some of these ethnic types who have all these kids and just leave to have more with someone else.
Hi Dee Dee,
The Lehigh Valley is filled with dead-beat dads because of the welfare incentives here. That's why we got all these un-English speaking foreigners living here. And now, we're actually CATERING to them! Look at LaVoz, the Burrs-Monts Mexican version!
LaVoz?!?!? Did we ever need another language newspaper back when the Allentown Fair first started? Please, the days when you could walk past the Goya section in your local Shop-Rite and the cans were covered with dust are over. Forget about the US-Mexico border issue... we need to build a wall around 5th street!
This looks like something I had removed from my grandma's back. It was benign, thank the Good Lord, but it sure did ooze a lot. Soaked through her Sunday dress nearly every church service for a good five weeks at its' worst until I finally noticed it. I never meant to see her back, but she's so frail, she's quiet when she cleans herself off in the bathroom and all.
Don't take chances, fellow readers. Have your body checked for anything out of the ordinary. Moles can kill.
I got it... it's the top of Darth Maul's head! Before the red paint, of course. Maybe this is what the top of Darth maul's head would have looked like if he hadn't turned to the dark side of the Force!
I know what it is. It's one of those rubber thingies that you used to see on the end of toothbrushes to clean your teeth out. You know, those things that would always look nasty and were probably covered in germs because it's not like anyone ever cleaned them in barbasol every night or nothing.
I used to watch my pappy work his teeth with that back-end of the brush and it was like watching someone pick for gold. Except the only thing that would fly out would be ground-uppieces of whatever we ate that night.
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