Vacation to Hershey!

I took a long Memorial day 'vacation' and left early Memorial Day with my girlfriend Alyssa for Hershey Park, PA. I live about 4 hours away and have never ventured longer than 30 mins away to a theme park, Kennywood being very close to Pittsburgh. Luckily, most of the ride was a straight shot on a toll road, unluckily it costs about $15 each way. Probably better than the extra hour+ ride and my likeliness to get lost on regular roads. We didn't make a single stop until right before the motel we stopped for a few groceries that we ended up not eating anyway. We passed the motel without noticing and the GPS finally messed up and took us in a huge unneccesary loop. The motel was America's Best Value Inn, and it was actually a great value. It was cheap and only about 5 miles from the park and came with a fridge, tv, nice bed, etc. and the people working there were very friendly.

Mmm, Dark Chocolate!

The way that the tickets work for Hershey is pretty awesome. They have a 'Preview' Plan in which if you buy a ticket and you're going to the park Tuesday, you can actually visit the park the night before for a few hours for free. We actually bought 2-day tickets but the plan is still available. We took advantage of this and rode a few awesome coasters and went to the free with admission zoo that is inside the park. It was surprisingly big and had mainly animals that aren't even at the Pittsburgh zoo. This was no petting zoo. Among the Crocodiles, prairie dogs, Bison, and the Harry Potter owl, my favorite was feeding the ducks and geese!

Tuesday morning we headed out early and arrived to the park with a mission to tackle the rest of the coasters. Halfway though the day, rain came and picked up quickly. They closed a few rides and because we were way ahead of schedule, we called it a day and explored the chocolate Factory, which you can walk to right outside the park. They had cool activities for kids and a ride that gave the history and make-up of chocolate with a free Hershey bar at the end. We bought tickets for an interactive 3D show that was entertaining and unique. Afterwards was the chocolate tasting tour that had a little too much history and not enough chocolate consumption! The factory was ripe with all things Hershey including 'the worlds largest chocolate bars' on sale to specialty cakes and desserts you aren't likely to find elsewhere. We headed out to eat at the local Red Robin for a great meal and headed home.

Oh, sh*t.

Wednesday's forecast was no better. Cool temperatures and constant rain led to the closing of the water park, which we were sorely disappointed we didn't get to experience. From the view at the top of the Ferris wheel, the water slides looked kick ass. We built up the courage to ride the Fahrenheit coaster and it was well worth it. From the get go you are lifted straight up and once at the top, you immediately are on your way straight down, at less than a 90 degree angle. It was nuts! That coaster rivaled for my favorite against another similar coaster in which you are launched right at the start into a loop and corkscrews. After hiding out in a theater for an hour, the rain encouraged us to leave early in the day; we had accomplished everything anyway. We didn't have to drive home in the dark and quickly drove though nearby Harrisburg, but nothing caught our eye other than the beautiful view next to the river.

This was a very quickly planned mini-vacation that turned out very well other than some untimely weather. If you live around Pittsburgh, Kennywood has nothing on Hershey. And if you are visiting central PA anytime soon and live for thrills or a relaxing day at the amusement park, make a day for Hershey Park, you'll love it!