This is fitting isn’t it? For a family who names all their pets for some form of chocolate to plan a visit to Hershey, PA: The Sweetest Place on Earth? (As Alex Trebek aluded, we could have gone to Ghiradelli Square in SF, but last I heard, they don’t have an amusement park.)
On the way to the Hershey Lodge, we drove through Ephrata, PA, home to some of the most beautiful country I have ever seen (outside of the TX hill country of course!). Acres of rolling hills, dairy cows, barns, silos - the things I’ve only seen in paintings up until now. I would have been happy just driving around for 2 days! Our kids, of course, were looking for “hills” and “travels” of the more thrilling sort!
We decided to splurge and stay “on the property” as it were in the Hershey Lodge. What a treat! Yes, the lobby smelled like chocolate. There were kids everywhere when we walked in, but I think that’s because it was time for S’mores At the Lake (a nightly activity). We quickly handed the kids a $20, their park tickets, and threw them onto the shuttle bus for the park “preview”. Then the UC and I managed to get ALL the luggage upstairs. Awaiting us, in our 2 room suite, were bathrobes, chocolate scented soap (not as weird as it sounds), a note from the conceirge and a box of chocolates! This in addition to the Hershey bars given to us by the front desk AND the Hershey kisses on the pillows. Did I say “on the pillows”? Oh yes, even the sheets, pillowcases, and wallpaper were embossed with “kisses.” These people really know how to do chocolate!
We ate dinner in the Cocoa Beanery coffee shop. My salad was topped with, are you ready?, Chocolate Balsamic Vinaigrette. Yummy, and I have the recipe! We finished eating in time to see the last of the fireworks over the lake, waited for the kids to straggle in, and headed off to sweet-dreamland.
Our day at the park started early; all the better to get in line for the roller coasters! Hersheypark (yes, it’s one word) was the loveliest amusement park I have ever seen. (Disney is in a class by itself, but this one is at the top of “the rest of the list.”) Flowers bloomed everywhere you looked, the employees were welcoming and helpful, the grounds immaculate, and the roller coasters were….thrilling! I say this not from personal experience. I’ve reached the age, alas, where the thought of being slung through twists and turns is more than my back and I care to experience. I reached roller-coaster saturation a few years ago! The kids on the other hand rode them all at least once and many 2 and 3 times. Yay for them!
Just to prove that Texas is never very far away, UC and I took in the concert of the day: Pat Green! What an unexpected treat that was. He put on a great show with all his hits. Even if he doesn’t wear boots or a hat - he’s country through and through (although a little bit calmer now that he has kids.)
Two of the kids managed to close down the park while the rest of us headed back to the lodge for some R&R. If Hershey was in my back yard, I’d be there often! The girls and I didn’t get to experience the Chocolate Spa - maybe next time!
The following day, we headed back to DC by way of Lancaster County, the heart of Amish Country. The main drive was full of cute shops (but we only breezed through one. Quilts and pottery aren’t on the family’s “must see” list.) Actually, the back seat occupants were so worn out from the day before, they slept through most of the drive. We took some back roads through the farmland. What a treat! Yes we saw horses pulling buggies, more dairy farms, lush gardens, and my favorite site: clotheslines adorned with orderly rows of black socks, black pants, black skirts, and then POW….splashes of red, green, and royal blue–like a quilt that hasn’t made up its mind yet.
I was sorry when the drive was over, but am looking forward to today’s adventures: Spies and Smithsonian.



