SWEET (and sour)

My mom and sister came to town this past week.  We hit the road and did a quick weekend trip to Hershey, PA.  It is after all, National Chocolate Lover's Month.  And what a better place to celebrate than Hershey itself.

I had done research beforehand and planned what I thought would be a fun-filled day taking in what Hershey has to offer, that would be entertaining to the kids and fun for my mom, sister and me.  We left Jeff at home to have some quality alone time.  Our trip started Saturday afternoon and we came back late on Sunday evening.  It was an easy drive - approx. 2 hrs, 20 minutes each way.

A few highlights:

THE GREAT:


Make your own chocolate bar - this was totally fun.  You can't help but get excited picking out the ingredients and watching your own candy bar get made right in front of your eyes.  And, while the bar is in the process of drying, you get to design your own wrapper.  I really think this was everyone's highlight of the trip. I know it was mine.  What a great souvenir. 






Ian watching his candy bar get made



The finished product


Dinner at Chocolate Avenue Grill on Saturday night was perfect for our group.  It was voted #1 out of 46 restaurants on TripAdvisor. We had a party of 7 (my sister's college roommate, Jen and her 4 year old cousin joined us on this trip) and was told there would be a 40 minute wait for a table.  When I told the host that we had 3 small kids with us, he did what he could to get us a table much quicker.  We were sitting down within 15 minutes!  And this restaurant was very kid friendly without needing balloons and tvs to offer kids.  My mom ordered the Gnocchi with white chocolate cream sauce.  OMG!!  I can't think of two more perfect foods for me coming together in one bowl.  This was one time I had to say "to heck with it on the Celiac disease" and try it.  Yum-O!

Chocolate World - besides the make-your-own-candy-bar (which deserves it's own separate shout-out), this place rocks!  We liked the ride showing you how chocolate is made, the Really Big 3D show, and the parade that goes through the lobby.  How can you not be in a great mood watching big pieces of candy (think milk duds, Reese's peanut butter cups, Hershey bars, kisses, chocolate syrup, etc) all dancing to music being played by a marching band?   And the shop with all the sweets/chocolate/candy, gifts is way too intoxicating.  You can easily forget any sense of balance and go crazy!!

Can the street lamps in the town be considered a "great"?  We all got a kick out of the Hershey kisses covering the street lamps.  It definitely got us all in the mood driving to the hotel and realizing we had officially arrived!








THE BAD:You can take the 2 year old out of Burke, but you can't take the 2 year old out of the 2 year old.  Travelling with Sam was not a whole lot of fun.  From not wanting to wear the hair net (it's a rule when you make your own candy bar) to not wanting to give up her stroller (another rule) to throwing a complete temper tantrum and removing her shoes & socks at multiple restaurants we went to, it was like we had a ticking time bomb waiting to go off at any moment.  My mom said if she knew then what she knows now, she wouldn't have gone to Hershey for the weekend.  Really?  Like my mom didn't believe me multiple times a day when I told her on the phone how bad she is and how hard she is to be around?  My mom naively thought that a change of scenery would help Sam behave better.  Ha!


Really?  Yes, really.

 Zoo America - So incredibly not worth the money and a big disappointment.  We pre-registered to see the animals paint with chocolate.  Ha!  In reality it was a skunk being led through paint and given a treat after walking on a canvas.  Whatever!   The whole "zoo" was a big waste of time.  And I really don't think it was because we went during Winter.  All over their Website, they say to come in Winter because that is when the animals are most active.  Now I am thinking this is to drum up business.




FINAL WRAP-UP:
The Hershey Theme Park was closed for the season.  I am not a big fan of roller coasters and didn't feel like I was missing anything by not being able to visit this attraction.  Maybe when the kids are older and would want to go to the theme park, Jeff can take them and I'll hit the Hershey spa.  There is still so much more to do and see.  But we got a "sweet" taste of what Hershey has to offer.  Chocolate Lover's Month is a good time to go!