Suzannah loves chocolate and where is the best place to get chocolate? Hershey, Pennsylvania.  Hershey had been on our bucket list for a long time and we were finally going to the sweetest town on earth.  Many people have probably heard of Hershey Park and Hershey’s Chocolate World but did you know that nearby Hershey is Pennsylvania Dutch Country?  That’s where a large community of Amish folk live so we planned to visit there as well.  With so much to see and do in Hershey and only a couple of days to do it, we got started as soon as we dropped Dutch off at the Pinch Pond Family Campground.

Pinch Pond Family Campground

The Pinch Pond Family Campground, located in Manheim, Pennsylvania, is conveniently between Hershey and Pennsylvania Dutch Country.  It’s just a bit off the interstate and has nice large gravel lots with full hook-ups.  In addition to a camp store, there’s also a large pool and playground for the kids.  At $50 per night, Pinch Pond was a good price and distance from the area sights.  It was late afternoon by the time we finished setting up Dutch and headed out to Hershey Park.

Hershey Park

Hershey Park offers evening tickets for less than the day tickets and we expected that after a long day of driving we would get tired quickly.  The park has over 40 rides, a waterpark, and many options for food and desserts.  Corbin insisted on riding a rollercoaster immediately after a late lunch so we took him on the wooden coaster, Comet.  He was excited until he turned a bit green on some of the hills.  We decided to only do a few more rides that evening and only those with no spinning or swirling.  

The Hershey Park monorail gives you a great view of the park, and bits of the town as well, plus it was relaxing and there was just enough breeze to keep us cool.  We also found a temporary tattoo place that had a red sparkly, flaming skull, and Corbin got his first tattoo.  Nothing like a flaming glitter skull to make a 7-year old look tough! After the tattoo, we went to Zoo America.  

The zoo is part of Hershey Park and is included in the ticket price.  It’s not a huge zoo (11 acres and 200+ animals) but it was very clean with a nice walking path and interesting animals.  You may have the feeling of being watched and you are.  Everywhere we looked we saw vultures staring down at us!  Crazy and a bit creepy…completely harmless though.  The zoo was our last stop for the night and we were ready to head out.  The next day was Hershey’s Chocolate World and we were excited!

Hershey’s Chocolate World

If you’re big fans of chocolate like we are, then walking up to Hershey’s Chocolate World is like coming downstairs on Christmas morning.  The entire experience gives all of your senses a workout.  The displays and colors, the happy music and the smell of chocolate is everywhere.  It is utterly amazing.  Since we were scheduled to do four events and had only a few minutes in between each one, we ran inside and figured out what was first.  The best part…Hershey’s Unwrapped Chocolate Tasting Journey.

Hershey’s Unwrapped!

At the entrance to Hershey’s Unwrapped, everyone gets their own individual tin of chocolates and you are directed NOT to open them.  Many children and adults in line couldn’t resist and started eating their chocolates immediately.  Once we got inside though, the magic really began.  

We learned about how to use all our senses to experience each flavor of chocolate, from Hershey’s Milk Chocolate to Hershey’s Gold.  Did you know that Hershey uses chocolate beans from all over the world to create their unique flavors?  Also, Hershey’s is one of the few large-scale chocolate makers in the world that still uses fresh milk? This was news to us.

Once you know what flavors and smells to look for, you can definitely taste the difference.  We got to taste the main flavors; white, milk, and dark chocolates and chocolate with caramel, nuts, or pretzels.  We then watched a short 4D film before moving on to the next part of our tour, Corbin’s favorite, the Create Your Own Candy Bar.

Create Your Own Candy Bar

The Create Your Own Candy Bar area was quite exciting.  It all started with dressing up in our aprons and hairnets…no hair allowed in our chocolate!  You head to a kiosk and decide what kind of chocolate you want your bar to be.  Corbin and Suzannah chose white chocolate and Chris chose milk chocolate.  Then we decided what fillings we wanted in our bars.  There were so many to choose from; nuts, caramel, toffee, more chocolate, and many more.  Sprinkles or no sprinkles was the next question. 

After designing a wrapper for our bars, we followed our chocolate bars from start to finish on the conveyor belts.  Melting into the molds, carefully dropping in the fillings, then smoothing over the top and adding sprinkles.  Corbin was ecstatic!  Ok, Suzannah was too, because she loves chocolate.  The bars came in their own individual tins with the wrappers we designed.  It was a very cool experience and well worth the 45-minutes!!

Hershey Trolley Tour

The final stop on our chocolate-filled day was to take a tour of the Hershey Trolley Works.  The tour is on a historic trolley and takes you all over the town of Hershey, with the tour guide giving you bits of chocolate every mile or so.  The tour guide tells about how Hershey Chocolate was started 125 years ago and about the founder, Milton Hershey, and the legacy of goodness he left behind.  

Not only was Milton Hershey an extremely successful confectioner but he was also a philanthropist.  He founded a school for boys and girls that prepared them for success in life no matter who they were or what background they came from.  Most of the programs in the school are fully paid for, including room and board! Milton Hershey’s legacy can be seen all over the town; from the fancy botanical carvings to the famous Hershey Kisses lamp posts on Main Street. He inspired many community buildings, gardens, and cultural institutions that continue to prosper today.  If you would like more information on Milton Hershey, his life, and his foundation, please Click Here.

Our time at Hershey Chocolate World left us quite full…of chocolate. If you’re heading there we highly recommend you purchase tickets online as it can save you money. When you purchase online you get free parking which is a $30 value!! Also, if you bundle tickets (do more than one experience) you can save money overall on each of them. We chose the “Adventure 1” bundle for $44.80/adults and $37.80/children which included all of the experiences. Purchasing online also allows you to schedule your events, make sure that you leave plenty of time in between.

The Amish Farm & House

The next day we headed out to The Amish Farm and House for our long-awaited guided bus tour.  Do you remember the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover?”  Well, The Amish Farm and House is so much more than we expected.  As we started with a tour of the farmhouse, we felt we clearly knew nothing about the Amish and their way of life.  

It’s kind of like living off the grid without being off the grid.  The Amish can’t have electrical wires which connect them to the rest of the world so they use propane to cook with and heat their houses.  They have phone booths with answering machines to assist with businesses or personal needs but it’s usually one phone for a group or neighborhood.  The children go to school until grade 8 and then continue their studies at home so they can work the farm or whatever the family does for a living.  

The Amish do go to stores in town to get the basics, mainly Target or Walmart because they have a variety.  There’s even special buggy parking for them on the side. They are very interesting and inspiring people.

Again, we highly recommend purchasing tickets online. We chose the “Premium Tour Package” at a cost of $31.95 per adult and $21.95 for children. The package includes a bus tour, Amish stores for gifts, a house tour, and access to all the grounds and can take about 2.5 hours to complete. If you book online you’re able to schedule your times which is helpful when you’re limited on time. And you definitely don’t want to lose out on taking the bus tour!

Pennsylvania Dutch Country Tour

Our bus tour took us through the rich farmlands of Pennsylvania Dutch Country which is some of the most expensive in the world!  We saw Amish farmers and children planting tobacco crops by hand…fields, and fields of it.  Who knew you had to plant it by hand?  Beautiful houses and farms were everywhere.  There were little stands on the side of the road with various items for sale such as flowers or fruit.  Nobody monitored the stands, just put your money in the container, and take your purchase!!  Very trustworthy people.  

The tour also stopped at a couple of different shops with delectable pies, fruits, spreads, and many homemade items.  It was hard not to buy everything we saw and in the end, we went home with a couple of quillows, beautiful handmade quilts that fold into pillows.  The tours were truly an eye-opening and amazing experience. NOTE: The stores we went to did take debit and credit cards but definitely take cash just in case.

Snacks & Scooting

After the tour, we had some really amazing buttered pretzels, burgers, and fresh lemonade.  Oh, and the homemade cookies were out of this world!  There is also a track to try your hand at a little Amish scooting.  What a riot!  Their scooters are similar to a bicycle but without a seat.  Super fun and a bit challenging to ride.  Corbin took right off and mastered the scooter instantly.

For a few dollars, we also took a buggy ride around the farm. The Amish driver gave us a lot of information about the area and how they lived and was extremely nice. Then we walked around the farm and saw all the animals. Crazy goats and large long-horned cattle grazed lazily in the fields while chickens chased each other.  It’s just a great place to spend part of a day.  After about 3 hours it was time to go and we made a quick stop in the gift shop on our way out (the beehive is a must-see!).

On the Road Again

Our short time in Hershey. Pennsylvania was one for the books.  We left full of chocolate and with a lot more knowledge about the Amish.  It was a fun-filled two days on our long drive to Maine.  We were almost home but our journey still has a few more stops.

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