Hello from Happiness

After a minor miscommunication with the car rental people (new slogan- "Enterprise! We Let You Down!"), we took off for Hershey, PA about 10:00 this morning. 

For those of you who have never been, it's not just a factory, it's an entire town built by Milton Hershey and his foundation. There's a library, a zoo, a golf course/resort area, an amusement park, the factory and a place called Chocolate World which was created to take the place of tours of the actual factory. We went to Chocolate World because we didn't feel like spending $180.00 to get all seven of us into the amusement park. We took a small ride through Chocolate World which showed how chocolate is made, and then a trolley ride through town. The trolley was good because it wasn't just a ride with someone droning on about buildings. The guide and another person sang and acted out parts and made the trip entertaining.

After a quick lunch, we hit the gift shop. What ill-informed lunkhead decided to take five overeager kids to a humongous chocolate store?!? Oh yeah, me. I was actually surprised that they didn't carry anything different than what could be found in a regular grocery store.  I thought here at Mecca, you would be able to buy the chocolate at a discount or see variations that they were testing (I've had orange flavored Kit Kats that were to die for). Alas, the same stuff.  This however, did not keep us from filling our basket.  We've been told that there is an M&M factory nearby but they don't give tours.  Perhaps that's just as well (Mrs. Kerr?  Please get your head off the conveyor belt.  Mrs. Kerr?  Please stop eating.)

Now we are back at camp and, after telling the kids for the past two days that we will have time to swim when we get to Hershey, THEY CLOSE THE POOL BECAUSE IT'S TOO COLD. But I'm ok because I have a big bag o'chocolate. So we played mini-golf instead. Princess Buttercup asked for a golf ball that matched her outfit. And she wonders why we call her Buttercup.

Tonight we finally made s'mores so our RV trip can be authentic. 'Cause you know, it ain't real 'til the fire's going and the s'mores come out.  It was a lovely time, hanging by the fire with the cherubs making yummy snacks. Bo mentioned that in two more nights we'd be home and I was actually sad about it.  All this wandering around and seeing new things has been a lot of fun. Despite 14 days on the road with five kids in this tin can, Bo and I are talking about when the next trip should be.  If only someone would pay me for being nomadic.....