July 3rd- On the road to the sweetest place on earth..Hershey. We were more interested in the chocolate side of Hershey, so we did not go to the theme park. Turns out that was a good thing, because I guess when it rains, all the rides shut down. We hung out in Chocolate World, riding the factory tour ride, playing factory worker, and the Hershey Museum. They had a nice food area, and super yummy deserts. We had 4 o%26#39;clock appointments at the Hershey Spa. It was a big splurge, but so much fun. Chocolate massages and body wraps...WOW! We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Lancaster.
July 4th- We started our day at the Julius Sturgis pretzel shop, with a demonstration and even pretzel-making demonstration. We then took a very informative buggy ride with Jessica %26amp; Aaron. Since it was still early and not busy, we got an extended tour into the countryside. We then enjoyed an Amish lunch at Plain %26amp; Fancy. The raisin bread was the best I have ever had. We then wandered out to Bird N Hand Bake shop for whoopie pies and a loaf of that wonderful raisin bread. Based upon tips from this board, we went to Centerville Bulk, an Amish supermarket. It was a wonderful peek into the like of the Amish. From here, we made our way into Philadelphia for the 4th of July festivities. We had reservations at the Sheraton City Center. We reserved a suite with the hopes that we could watch the fireworks from our room, if we were to tired to face the crowds. The room we were given was a Penthouse. It was amazing! We felt like we were seeing how the other half lives. As it started raining, we were SO happy that we could watch the parade, concert (simulcast on TV) and fireworks from the comfort of our room.
July 5th- We gathered our belongings, requested a late checkout, as our flight was not until 3:30pm, and headed out to ride the PHLASH to lunch. Unfortunately, the 12 minutes between trolley turned out to be 40-45. We finally made it to Reading Marker. My daughter still proclaims Campo;s as the best Cheesesteak. Another 40 minute wait for the PHLASH and we barely made it back to te hotel in time to load the car and head to the airport. (3 hours total!) nfortunately, we had a stressful end to our trip, as my mom dropped off my daughter and I with the bags and then went to return the rental car. Unfortunately, Thrifty had no signs showing where they were located, and even after calling twice, it took over an hour to return the car. We made it to the gate just as they were begining to board. Too close for me!
Overall, it was a wonderful adventure. If I did it all over again, I would:
*Book a guided tour for both Philly and Boston.
*Allowed for over $100 in tolls in my budget
*Put on bug spray before the moose tour began (as opposed to directions on website). Once the moose is there, you do not take the time to apply the spray, and the mosquitoes were unbelievable.
I didn%26#39;t ask many questions for this trip, but I did a whole lot of lurking. I learned about the Mainely Moose tour here, as well as the other things mentioned, ans many not mentioned.
Thank you to everyone for your assistance. :)
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