One Sweet Getaway
by COCO D'AUBIGNE
I lived in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, all my life��Harrisburg for six months��and I��m a tad embarrassed to say I��ve never taken the family to Hershey, PA. With my name being Coco, you can imagine I��ve been the butt of many jokes on the subject. (It doesn��t matter that the name is VERY French and has nothing to do with chocolate.) So I decided it was time to stop the madness and ��coax�� (yeah, right) my brood into our new Pontiac Torrent for the extremely short ride to Hershey for the weekend.
With my very weak stomach, not to mention a fear of heights, speed, and fun in general, I knew what I was in for. So, knowing of the infamous Chocolate Spa at the Hotel Hershey, I decided that was the place we needed to stay. Sure, we could just stay at home in Harrisburg, but I wanted this to feel more like a real vacation from home. And after days of stomach-wrenching rides, fried food and crazy kids (that includes my husband who will henceforth be referred to as ��the big kid��), I knew I��d need some serious recovery time.
As I made the whopping 17-minute drive from Harrisburg to Hershey (did I mention I was embarrassed?) in the Torrent SUV, I began to lose myself in a daydream. Ahhh��.chocolate-scented massage oil, an indulgent Swedish massage, dipped berries, a glass of Champagne��OK, OK, back to reality for a minute��
We pulled up to the front of the Hotel Hershey and the bell hop promptly unloaded our luggage as the valet hopped in the Pontiac Torrent and drove it out of site. Before I could even slide the room key into or door, my kids (the big one included) were tugging at me to hurry up so we could get to HersheyPark. After all, it was 10 a.m. and time was a wastin��!
Since we were staying at the hotel, we didn��t need to drive the Torrent over there, they provide a free shuttle. So after unpacking a few things and getting settled after our LONG journey from Harrisburg, we were off to experience the 60 rides and attractions that Hershey, Pennsylvania, was famous for.
Imagine my shock to find that they had 10...yes, 10��terrifying roller coasters. My two sons, 10- and 12-years-old, suddenly yelled, ��GREAT BEAR�� and disappeared into the crowd (the big kid trailing behind and jiggling a bit, but moving faster than I��ve seen in years). It was then that I saw it��a massive loop of menacing-looking metal. It was an inverted steel coaster. INVERTED. That means you ride below the track, not above it. Oh, Lord. My six-year-old daughter and I watched in horror as the ride lifted them about 100 feet off the ground, then ripped down the tracks, then through a maze of massive loops. Ugh. That should quiet them down for awhile.
No such luck.
It took all 10 coasters before demands for food would be voiced. Meanwhile, my daughter and I had been strolling around, watching some of the colorful characters, catching a show at the amphitheatre and taking in a few ��mom-friendly�� rides. The Kissing Tower and Merry Derry Dip Fun Slides were all the excitement I needed. After a quick lunch at the Paddleboat Caf��, it was back to more exploring and adventuring until the sun started to go down. Time to go back to the hotel.
Amen.
The next day, the boys decided to head back to HersheyPark for another round of thrill rides. But my daughter and I opted to take a drive over to Dutch Wonderland. It��s just about 30 miles away in Lancaster and is perfect for easily-terrified mothers and small children��that��s us!! So, the valet brought around the Torrent SUV and my daughter and I cranked up some pop tunes on the Pontiac��s XM radio for the short half-hour ride to Dutch Wonderland.
This charming park was more like it. Very family-friendly��you can even milk Bossie the Cow (only mildly terrifying), ring a school bell, and visit with real live farm animals. My baby was mesmerized. We watched The Adventures of the Frog Prince Fairytale High-dive Show, hung around for storytime with the Princess of Dutch Wonderland, and played a little goofy golf.
Happy as two peas in a pod, and just a sleepy, we made our way back to the parking lot for our final adventure��tracking down our lost Pontiac Torrent (this is usually the ��big kid��s�� job, but alas��). Ah, ha! There it is��only took 20 minutes.
After arriving back at the hotel, we ordered up room service and a movie for the kids while my husband and I had an elegant dinner downstairs. It was a perfect precursor to my day at the Chocolate Spa tomorrow!
My husband and the kids decided to take a drive around town in the Pontiac Torrent to see some of the sites before ending up at Hershey Gardens for the day. No roller coasters��but it apparently features 20 acres of themed botanical gardens created by Milton Hershey in the ��30s. The Butterfly House is home to hundreds of fluttering, colorful creatures��.but I didn��t care. I was indulging myself in a day at the Chocolate Spa.
Harrisburg suddenly seemed thousands of miles away.
It was our last night before heading back home to Harrisburg and we were all recovering nicely from our collective ��chocolate high.�� We decided to have a casual dinner together at the hotel where we discussed the day��s events. The kids loved Hershey Gardens and the Hershey Museum��where they spent the second part of the day. We wanted to check out ZooAmerica but never managed to make it there. Maybe we��ll see it during our next ��road trip�� to Hershey��on Wednesday.
