Hershey, Pennsylvania - Days 2 & 3

The next day we decided to take the 2 1/2 drive up to Hershey, Pennsylvania to see Hershey Chocolate World. We stopped in Gettysburg briefly around lunchtime and saw the battlefield where Abraham Lincoln gave the famous Gettysburg Address.  Amazing to see where these historical events took place.

Then we went to Hershey's Chocolate World to learn how chocolate is made. 

There is a ride where you learn how the Hershey company collects cacao from all around the world. 

 There are singing puppet cows. 

 Chocolate bars on conveyer belts.  Reese's. . .my favorite!

After the ride, we were given a sample of chocolate, and we proceeded to walk down the ramp that led into the gift shop.  The ramp overlooked the gift shop and Alyssa jumped up to look over and bumped her left elbow really hard on the way down.  We could tell it hurt really bad by the way she was crying.  I was worried she had broken something.  Ben tried to comfort her and look at her elbow.  After a few seconds she calmed down, but then kind of slumped to the floor.  Ben was holding her arm and thought she was just doing a "limp noodle".  (You know, when your kids don't want to do something and they just plop on the ground.)  He kind of tugged on her and said, "Alyssa get up."  Right after that we both looked at her and realized she was passing out.  Her eyes were open, but she had this faraway look on her face.  I said, "She's in shock."  Ben reached down to pick her up and she closed her eyes.  He started carrying her down the ramp, and she said, "I think I took a little nap."  Kira was starting to loose it because she was really hungry so I found a place to feed her while he assessed the situation.  Turns out she was fine.  No permanent damage, but she must have hit her elbow just right to cause that to happen.  It was the strangest thing, but she ended up being just fine. 

After the passing out event, we took a chocolate tasting class so we could learn how to truly appreciate this divine treat. 

 Here is Mackenzie sampling her chocolate.  She looks like she's really savoring it doesn't she?  

 When we came in the room, the presenter told us how chocolate was discovered and made.  We all know it comes from the cacao bean.  He said if it wasn't for monkeys we wouldn't even know about cacao.  The monkeys eat the outer pulp of the bean.  Then they throw the inner bean part to the ground because it tastes bitter to them.  The beans then roast on the rainforest floor and become sweet.  The beans are collected from all over the world and different regions produce different tasting cacao.  The beans are collected and combined at the Hershey plant.  Several other steps are done to make it into chocolate.  We each had been given a bag of these different chocolates and a mat.  He taught us that milk chocolate will make a thud when broken and chocolate with a higher cacao content will make a crisp break.  We savored each piece of chocolate and described how it smelled and tasted.  My favorite was the one on the bottom left a bittersweet chocolate.  Ben's a milk chocolate lover.   

 Mackenzie breaking a piece.

Some of the yummy cupcakes based on their classic candybars.  We got a couple to snack on at the hotel.  Can you guess which one I got?  The Reese's ones in the top right corner!  Yum!

5 lbs of pure chocolate!  Heaven!

You're never too old to pose with life size candybars!

After a full day, we retired to our hotel room and took the girls for a swim. 

Day 3 of our trip was Hershey Amusement Park.  They had tons of rides for the kids.  You determined if you were tall enough to ride the ride by looking at the signs at the ride entrance.  Each level was a type of candy.  Mackenzie was a Reeses, Tori was a Twizzlers etc.  One of the best parts of this day for the kids was having 2 of their cousins, Ethan and Allie, and Uncle Dan meet us at the park.   

 Allie and Alyssa on the balloon ride. 

 Tori driving Allie and Mackenzie. 

 Alyssa our crazy driver. 

 Uncle Dan and Ethan were hot on our tails. 

Kira spent a lot of time in the stroller and sometimes tried to eat the map.  She was a real trooper and just kind of hung out. 

 Surprisingly cooperative posing with a huge Hershey Kiss. 

 This moment cracked me up.  At one point, all the kids were crouched down looking at the map trying to figure out where to go next. 

They were laughing so cute every time this ride would raise up and drop them down. 

It was nice that it wasn't that hot so the kids lasted all day, and we still didn't get to see everything.  There were tons of little kid rides.  Having their cousins there made it all the more special.  I even got to sneak a ride on the Great Bear roller coaster with Ben.  First time I've rode a rollercoaster with your legs dangling.  There was even a water park we didn't get to do.  I guess we saved some for next time!