Kyle had both the Friday before and Tuesday after Memorial Day off so we wanted to take an extra long weekend. We were trying to find a place to go not too far. I happened to glance at our kitchen counter where there was a Hershey bar. We had talked about heading over there at some point so this seemed perfect. It’s about two hours from us. We headed over Thursday night, spending the weekend in the perfectly okay Hampton Inn and Suites Hershey. The plan was to do Hersheypark Friday figuring it wouldn’t be as busy. Unfortunately, it was supposed to be rainy all afternoon so we switched to Saturday.
We started Friday morning at Hershey’s Chocolate World, the massive store and attraction. We did the free dark ride which was cute and did some shopping. They had some unusual stuff which was nice. After a bit of time there, we headed down to Lancaster County, 30-45 minutes from Hershey. We visited a few shopping spots (Bird-in-Hand Farmer’s Market, Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, and Kaufmann’s in Bird in Hand), had lunch at Stoltzfus Deli in Intercourse (wonderful subs), and got ice cream at Oregon Dairy in Lititz. For dinner, we headed to Troegg’s Brewery (right in Hershey) as I’m a big fan of their excellent beer. While we had to wait a while, both the food and the beer were great. Later that evening, I headed right across the street from the hotel to visit Rotunda Brewing which was also pretty good.
Saturday we got going to head to Hersheypark before opening, which was 11am so not too early. I rushed right in to ride the newest coaster, Candymonoium. It had been a while since I had been on a really intense coaster (nothing at Disney except maybe Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster qualifies) and it was great. Crowds weren’t too bad to start as the weather was cool and damp. I did something like nine coasters in less than two hours, nearly all with no wait. Kyle even did a couple with me. We did lunch at the Overlook Cafe which was fine. Kyle was getting a bit tired and it’s not a huge park so we headed out around 5, after getting a King Size milkshake of course. This worked out as it started to rain not too long after. Dinner was more good food and beer at Rubber Soul Brewing in nearby Hummelstown.
Sunday was our second day at Hersheypark. We probably didn’t really need two days but we weren’t sure when we got tickets online. I was hoping to hit Candymonium right after opening but it was closed due to some light rain. Instead he headed back to the Wildcat wooden coaster where Kyle and I went twice followed by us both going on Lightning Racer. We had lunch at Gourmet Grille which worked out as it’s indoors and it was cool and raining at that time. After lunch and the rain, we did a few more rides, including me checking off the last couple of coasters (I did all but the kiddie one and the one closed for work – 12 in all), another milkshake, and me getting lucky with a short wait for one last ride on Candymonium, finishing up around 3:30. Dinner was at the Soda Jerk Diner, also in Hummelstown. On the way home I had Suzanne drop me at Iron Hill Brewery in downtown Hershey (about a 30 minute walk from the hotel). They were packed but in Hershey you can get beer to go, so ended up getting a couple of pints and sitting in the small courtyard next to the restaurant.
Kyle had asked about going to Gettysburg so that was our Monday plan. It’s about an hour from Hershey. It was nice to visit again. We did the main loop including the main sites (the Virginia Memorial, Little Round Top, Devil’s Den, the Pennsylvania Memorial, and the High Water Mark). We also walked around the Eisenhower NHS which was cool as we hadn’t visited there before. Lunch was at Tommy’s Pizza and dinner was back at Iron Hill.
Tuesday morning we packed up and had a wonderful breakfast at the Hershey Pantry right next to the hotel. Kyle’s cinnamon bun was both massive and really tasty. After breakfast, we spent an hour or so at the AACA antique and historic car and truck museum (in Hershey). This was a great place to spend some time. Once done there, we made a quick detour to stop at CJ Pony Parts, a big Mustang mail order shop. There’s not much at the store but they do have a couple of Mustangs on display.
It was great weekend and we all had lots of fun. The weather could have been better but we managed. The extra break was nice as well. I do think one day at Hersheypark would have been enough but largely only because I was able just about walk on most coasters.
