On the Road Again
We had the great idea of shooting inland for a bit to visit a location that gave us great access to fun for the kids and some deep American history. The fun would be visiting a town that was literally created by chocolate and the history would be capped by visiting the location where Lincoln read the Emancipation Proclamation. Hersey, PA and Gettysburg. Now, I should have learned, having been traveling for a couple months, that long transition drives are brutal. This drive from the Cape to the Hersey, PA was no exception. 8 hours of congested and busy roads through 5 states. The kiddos did great. Mom and Dad however, had to make a sanity stop in New Haven, CT to gain some composure and have some world famous coal-fired pizza! Our good friend Clif suggested we stop at one of two pizza joints in New Haven. We chose Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and let me tell you folks, it was the bomb. Thin, crispy and full of flavor. Pizzas were served on sheet trays and everyone just grabbed for some pie when it came. This is a must stop for anyone traveling through this area. We had some of the more basic pie’s and didn’t learn until we left that one of the real gems there was the white pizza with clam and bacon. Oh well….Just another reason to go back!
Gettysburg National Military Park
After such a long drive we all slept well. Feeling refreshed the next morning we decided that this sunny day would be dedicated to learning about the Civil War at one of its most important locations. After about a 50 minute drive from Hersey, we pulled into the Gettysburg National Military Park visitor center.
If you’ve been following along with our posts you know that American history has been a big part of our experience. The kids, although young, have followed along very well and absorbed a surprising amount of information. They really got a lot out of this part of our journey, asking deep questions and attentively listening as Katie and I tried our best to do justice to the history around us. The visitor center had an excellent museum. There was a short movie that gave a detailed overview of the war and the what happened on the different days. After the movie, you go upstairs and view another presentation. This presentation highlights “Pickets Charge” and uses a 340 ft hand patined circular mural from the 1800’s to showcase it. The mural is mounted against the wall in a large circular room. It was very cool to see art and history so seamlessly blended to great impact.
Luckily we weren’t on our own in trying to relay the importance and accuracy of what happened during those three days to Colette, Sienna, and Lennox. Gettysburg has a Junior Ranger program! I can’t stress enough how cool these programs are. They are fun for the kids, make the history around them super accessible and give them a sense of pride and accomplishment once they finish. So after picking up the kids Jr. ranger packets at the visitor center we got back in the car and started our driving tour. This tour would take us through the three days of battle and immerse us in one of the most pivotal battles of the Civil War. There are over 1,300 monuments scattered around the battlefields. Some were simple plaques and others were ornate statues standing 20ft+ tall. What was impressed upon me most from this experience was how one battle, one moment in time born from thousands of decisions, set us on the course towards freedom and equality for generations to come. As you drove around the battlefields, you can’t help but feel the weight of the 10’s of thousands of souls lost during those three days. Powerful stuff to say the least. But, it was not all solemn during our tour. The kids found ways to bring happiness and we had a beautiful day to experience it all.
After a full day of visiting monuments and finding answers hidden on the tour, we ended the day with all three kids getting sworn in as Jr. Rangers!
This just happened to be close to the location where Abraham Lincoln issued the Gettysburg Address which referenced that most famous of executive orders, the “Emancipation Proclamation”, signaling the end of slavery and a march towards freedom for all. We even got to spend some quality time with Abe!
Random Act of Disney
When we returned from the battlefields, Katie and I had a surprise waiting for the kids. It just so happened that in the town of Hersey there is a huge convention center. And at this convention center happened to be a performance of Disney on Ice featuring all the new characters from Frozen and Moana. The kids were super excited. Having seen the ads for this show all my life but never having been to a performance I didn’t know what to expect. It turned out to be great fun. The characters flew around the ice, dancing, and interacting with the audience. The costumes were top notch and the visual effects were spectacular. It was a great night for all and a good lead-in for our next adventure in the morning…..Chocolate World!!!
The Land of Milk and Cocoa
So I went into this Hersey idea thinking it was going to be a cheesy hyped up money sink. I’m happy to say I was wrong. Now it is still a place that will make your kids want you to spend some cash, but it wasn’t that cheesy. Hersey’s Chocolate World is a well thought out branded experience that brings out the inner kid in all of us. When you walk up to the building you’re greeted by an awesome facade of candy bar characters and historical Hersey models.
Upon entering the building your senses are assaulted (in a good way) by bright candy colors, pleasing upbeat music, and the scent of Hersey”s chocolate. (I’m fairly sure they pumped it in) We opted for the full gamut of five activities that the experience offered. It’s a great deal and filled our day with Hersey goodness. We participated in a chocolate tasting with an official Hersey Paletteer.
We took an automated tour that was like a carnival ride. A little cheese here but it did give you a great overview of how the chocolate is made from sourcing to the shelf at the store. Very accessible for the kiddos which was nice. Best of all you got an original Hersey bar to eat at the end. We then watched one of those 4D movies about a chocolate mystery at the factory. Colette, Sienna, and Lex loved as it was in 3D and things sprayed at them and popped out from the ceiling and screen. The coolest thing came next when we got to make our own Hersey chocolate bar! You could pick the type of chocolate, what things went inside and on top, and you got to design the package it was delivered in. This was by far the most bang for the buck. We all really enjoyed making the bars and we all got these awesome Hersey Tins as keepsakes. This is a MUST DO if you come to the experience.
The final experience we had at Hersey was a trolly tour. This was a haunted tour so the kids got to dress up in their Halloween costumes early. The tour was fun. A couple of young men led the tour from the front of the trolly, They were actors and told jokes along with the history of Milton Snavely Hersey…and yes his middle name is Snavely! They passed out candy and we even sang songs. The kids laughed and had a blast. One very cool take away was that the Hersey’s could not have children of their own. Becuase of this they created a school for orphans and paid their tuition, room, and board. The school still exists today as the Milton Hersey Shcool. Since it began in 1909 each student from the school has been given a brand new $100 dollar bill upon graduation. Also, a certain percentage of the proceeds from every piece of Hersey candy sold goes to funding this school and numerous grants and scholarships. Old uncle Mitly was a pretty good guy it seems.
Our trip to Hersey and Gettysburg was a ton of fun and we probably could have spent a couple more days there. We didn’t even touch the amusement park so I guess we’ll have to come back for another visit. I know that the girls and Lex will be up for it. And nothing could more fitting to cap this post off than three kids getting whacked out on giant Hersey Syrup jugs!!
