Hershey! Our First Family Vacation

When I saw this sign I assumed this would be the weirdest moment of our trip to Hershey, PA. Well, we all know what happens when you assume, right?



Since our room wasn't ready yet at the incredibly family friendly Hershey Lodge (TD jumped up and down when she realized she could check-in to the hotel herself.) we decided to check out the Butterfly House at the Children's Garden. TD loves Fancy Nancy and her azure butterflies. The kid was so excited about seeing purple butterflies flitting about that she jumped down from our truck and literally hit the pavement. We all heard the smack and instantly our day turned upside down. H ripped off his shirt and used it to cover the gash while I found a bottle of water to rinse the cut. When he took away the t-shirt blood poured out of the wound and I tried my best to clean it out. We knew right away that an ER visit was imminent. Luckily, there is a magnificent one right near the Lodge.

The Hershey Medical Center was fantastic. They took us in right away and tended to our needs without a fuss or long wait. While it took away from our day and we needed to reschedule some things the minute we mentioned Chocolate World TD perked right up.

Typically I am not an amusement park type person. I don't do coasters and I'm afraid of heights. However, I found myself having a whole lot of fun on this trip. It was our first time going somewhere besides a relatives house for vacation and the girls did incredibly well. TD rode almost every kiddie ride with or without H and I and The Comedian napped on an off throughout the day. The staff at Hershey Park was always friendly and accommodating just as they were at the Lodge, Hershey Hotel and The Hershey Story museum where each girl created a front-page newspaper story with photo.


I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the hotel's Chocolate Spa taking in a Cocoa Massage, the 'Quiet Room' with its uplifting and tranquil views of the Hotel grounds and rolling hills nearby. Naturally I took advantage of the hot cocoa and chocolate muffins offered. When H texted me that the girls were napping in our room I decided to prolong my stay and headed to the Iberian Lounge for a drink. I snapped some gorgeous photos and immersed myself in the early Twentieth Century decor. It's quite beautiful and elegant. I felt that at any moment I was going to hear an 'America's Castles' voice over in the background.

We finally did make it over to the Hershey Gardens and Butterfly House. Once inside, TD did not want to leave. She was intent on looking for a purple butterfly and wouldn't stop until she found one.

We capped off our trip with a tasty brunch at the Hershey Grill with some of the Hershey Company staff who then showed us around the Milton Hershey School. That place is amazing! It's grounds are picturesque and there is an air of serenity that surrounds the place. It is a combination elementary, middle and high school that looks much like a university campus. I am eager to learn more about this portion of Hershey as it is a worthy organization that helps needy children from all over giving them an outstanding education.

While we were all exhausted by Sunday we were sad to leave Hershey. We did so much in such a short time. We felt we hit just the tip of all the town and parks had to offer. We cannot wait to go back and explore it all further. It was the perfect first family vacation for us and we can't thank the Hershey Company and all the staff enough for making it possible.

Besides, who wouldn't love a trip that included all this?

Pack it Up! We're Going to Chocolate World!

"Are we going to Pretzel land today?" TD asks continuously. To her Pennsylvania is the land of the giant pretzel thanks to her US Maps placemat. However, after this weekend I am quite sure PA will be known as Chocolate World from here on out.

I'm doing laundry like a whirling dervish today. I just finished unpacking myself from my trip and off we go again. I'm looking forward to this opportunity for some downtime with the family. Lately our schedules have been so missed matched that we are almost never home at the same time. The kids are coming and going and so are we.

I'm not concerned about the car ride to Hershey. We've got car trips down. Rather I'm deeply, deeply concerned about us all sharing a hotel room. We've got light sleepers, we've got nappers and we all have different bed times. Dictators don't sleep well when others are present. I fear The Comedian will feel the need to put on a late, late show complete with hysterical meltdowns if we are all in one room together.

You know what else I fear? The fact that I spent so much of the early part of the summer Shredding, running and in general trying to get fit again and then since Blogher I've let it all go. My schedule has been so insane I've been scarfing down disgusting travel/event food and not only am I pasty white (That whole skin cancer thing!) but I'm a pile of squish right about now. I'm not to jazzed about putting on my swimsuit. I'm slathering on the sunless tanner and wondering if I should try and draw abs on with it. Sounds like a fab idea, no?

Aside from all that though it is already August and I feel like this is the first time it will really feel like summer. We are hitting the road, this hockey fan wants to see The Bears' Den and we're all excited beyond belief to be spending this time together as a family.