2 Day Update

Hershey having thoroughly exhausted the Wehneman clan yesterday, I failed to provide an update as to our adventures. So, this will be a double header.

Hershey Park was much better than I had expected. The park appears to be very well maintained, and the ride layout is excellent. Specifically, the small kid rides and big kid rides are intermixed, so that little ones (like Finley) have something to do nearby as their bigger siblings ride their rides.

Also, the rides are coded for very easy identification of what height is required to ride. And all the height groupings are named after Hershey candy (duh, of course). Cadence and Harper (Harper just barely) were Hershey Milk Chocolate Bars. Finley was a Hershey Kiss. Other groupings included Hershey Mini's (smaller than Fin), Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Twizzlers and Jolly Ranchers.

A little surprising to me, the roller coasters were the favorite all around. Harper seemed to prefer the wooden ones, while Cadence preferred steel. Finley liked the one she was big enough to ride (we rode it 5 times I think).

I also got Cadence to go down a big waterside, The Whirlwind. We went down in a two-person tube.

We wrapped up the day with a visit to Hershey's Chocolate World (inside thankfully) which is a huge shrine to chocolate. I believe I gained 10 pounds and contracted diabetes on the tour. But, we did do something pretty cool. We did the "Create Your Own Candy Bar" experience, where we each designed and watched them make (via automated equipment) our own candy bar. The girls thought it was great.

Exhausted, we returned to the campground for a quick dip in the pool, followed by bed.

Melissa awoke this morning with a very sore and tight neck. Can't tell for sure if she hurt it at the park or just slept on it wrong. Probably a combination of both. It bothered her all day, and if I had to guess, will continue tomorrow.

We decided to alter our fairly loose plans, and instead of heading straight for Virginia, we went SW instead towards Gettysburg. I'd never been, and others told me they've enjoyed it.

It's actually a pretty short drive, so we arrived mid-day at the Gettysburg National Park visitors center. After checking out our options, we declined Harper's begging to go on a 3.5hr bus tour (costing us $80) and instead chose to purchase a 3-disc Auto Tour set which takes you on a tour of the battlefield. Likely just as long as the bus tour, but at our own pace and in our own vehicle.

We then figured out where we were going to stay the night. I made 3 calls to the campground which was our first pick, but kept getting voicemail. So, onto our next choice, who happened to have availability. We showed up 10 minutes later, picked out our spot (the one with trees, so we were NOT out in the open sun), and set up shop. I wisely shut my hand in the door of the truck as we began to unpack. I had to be hurt so Melissa isn't the only one getting sympathy.

After a quick lunch, it was off to the pool, where the girls swam, Harper getting back to actually swimming, which she can do, but often lacks the confidence. Finley was showing all sorts of confidence in her flotation device, falling backwards into the pool from the side.

After the pool, we headed out on our Auto Tour. First, Harper was crazed and non-cooperative. But she settled down when we reached a spot where a film crew was using a flying camera - it had a series of helicopter-like rotors on top of it and was radio controlled. It was pretty awesome, and I'm sorry I didn't get a picture of it.

Next Finley lost her mind at Little Round Top, where she refused to stay with us and kept running off.

Finally, as we neared the end, Cadence's bladder invaded her mind, and we finally quit, just 1 stop from the cemetery and the conclusion of the tour. If we can, we'll try to finish it tomorrow morning before heading out.

Not 10 minutes after returning to the camper, everyone is in bed, quiet and/or asleep. I'm about to join them.

Tomorrow, we embark on a challenging trip to the coast of Virginia to get our beach on. I'm (naively) hoping for sleeping in the truck. I'm (wisely I think) going to seek out a route that avoids Baltimore.