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.