November 2014 ~ Hershey, PA

Back in October, Garrett was looking around online and discovered that The Wild Kratts were on tour and going to have a live show in Hershey, PA during Thanksgiving weekend, which is about a 2hr. drive.  The kiddos are absolutely obsessed with this show so we thought it would be a pretty fun surprise for them.  Instead of a day trip just to see the show we decided to stay one night so we could have time to explore the Chocolate Capital of the U.S.

So we packed a bag and off we went ...

I just need to pause for a sec.

This was a first.  We packed a bag.  One bag for all four of us. Literally, our luggage consisted of one item.  

I know it was just one night ... but not long ago.... traveling one night still meant we had to pack:

• a pack and play
• feeding chair
• stroller
• a grocery bag of toddler foods and snacks and sippy cups
• a bag of stuffed animals / blankies / pacis 
• a bag of entertainment stuff for the hotel room
• a diaper bag
• double clothing for each kid ... cause you just never know...

yeah, so this one bag was kind of a big deal to me, lol!

We left first thing in the morning and made a bee-line to Chocolate World!

The first thing we did was ride the Hershey Trolley around town.  This turned out to be the absolute best thing to do first off.  It took us around, showing us the old chocolate factory, Milton Hershey's birthplace, his mansion, etc.  The tour guides gave us great information about Mr. Hershey, whom it turns out was a pretty extraordinary guy that loved his town and did everything he could to give back to it.  If you care to, you can read about him HERE.  A lot of the money that Hershey makes to this day still goes back to the community ..... which makes me not feel bad at all about buying their products or eating that 1LB Reese's I picked up at Chocolate World.

It was Black Friday so they were kicking off the Christmas Season and Santa hitched a ride on the trolley.   He checked his list and all the kiddos on the trolley were on it! 

The Hershey Mansion

Back at Chocolate World Kayla found the her perfect bar.

Then we suited up and had so much fun creating our own candy bars!

Then, of course, we had to design our personal packaging ...

The next morning we visited The Hershey Story, a great museum on all things Hershey.  The kiddos loved it, there were a lot of hands on activities for them, as well as a scavenger hunt taking you through Mr. Hershey's life.

Then it was on to more chocolate making attire ... because really, what else would you do at 9am in Hershey?!

After a quick lunch it was time for the main event!

 So the show was .... interesting.  The kiddos loved it and really that's all that matters, I guess.  But it seemed pretty low budget and unprofessional .... more like a school play.  Which was disappointing because their TV show really is fantastic.  It was all a little confusing.  But at least Hershey Theater was beautiful! 

And the fact that we came home with all this made the trip worth it!