Love, Chocolate, and Childhood Memories

I hope that all of you readers in cyberspace had a nice February and a love-filled Valentines’ Day. Jonathan and I did. We had just sat down to dinner on February 14 when we both received text messages that we were going to get a new little nephew that very night. Congratulations to Jon’s sister Sarah and her husband Erik and their gorgeous baby son, Cupid.

Jon had plans to spend the holiday at a conference, so I took a few days off from work so that I could be with him in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Since chocolate is my favorite food, I got Jon to accompany me to  Hershey’s Chocolate World. This attraction which is located next to Hersheypark includes the admission-free Hershey’s Great American Chocolate Tour Ride.  Unfortunately, the exit for the ride leads right into a giant gift shop with an abundant selection of Hershey-brand candies, so it’s extremely easy to spend money at Chocolate World. My last trip to Chocolate World was during an August camping trip with my sisters, and since we didn’t have air conditioning in our tent, my purchases were limited to jars of hot fudge sauce. This time it was much harder to watch what I bought.

Jon and I stayed in downtown Hershey, directly across a set of railroad tracks from Hersheypark.  Since Jon loves trains, he was very happy to watch and listen to the Norfolk Southern at regular intervals through our entire stay.  Since I love roller coasters, I felt a bit sad looking at the closed park.

Jon and I also spent a few hours in our state capital, Harrisburg.

I am a native of Central Pennsylvania. My parents came to Perry County as newlyweds so that my father could get his first teaching job, and we lived there until I was seven. Afterward, we came back to Central PA for camping or cabin trips every few years. Since my parents have a large family, they were experts on finding free or low-cost activities. I would like to share two of these that are in Harrisburg. Jon and I didn’t have a chance to visit these during our short trip, but I think that these are both excellent:

1.) The State Museum of Pennsylvania. I believe that it was completely free when I was kid, and that it continued to be so when I visited it on a high school field trip. I see from the website that there is now an admission charge, but in my opinion it still looks relatively inexpensive for families. I remember viewing the Native American exhibit and learning about polymers at this museum.

2.) A tour of the Pennsylvania Capitol building. The inside of this National Historic Landmark was dedicated in 1906 and the interior is even more impressive than my below photo. As with the state museum, I visited this with my family and then later toured it again on a high school trip. Per my review of the website, I see no mention of an admission charge.

After Jon and I left Hershey and crossed the Susquehanna River, we took the scenic route home. The trip became even more scenic when I saw a sign on the interstate for Little Buffalo State Park. When I lived in Perry County, my dad worked summers at Little Buffalo. I directed Jon on a detour to the park and its old mill, and we had a short photo break.

If you look closely at this last photo, you may notice Christmas lights and a part of a binder clip. Yes, it appears that the mill’s water wheel was decorated for Christmas with the aid of binder clips.