I am not sure whether or not it is a record for the area but it is hot in Hershey PA, very hot. So what do we do? Head into Hershey Park with the cousins, of course.
We are fairly sure Melissa purchased premium parking with our advanced tickets. Unfortunately, the baby-faced children they had directing the parking didn’t really give us a chance to ask. Not really even sure if they would have known the answer if we had asked. Out to the north 40 we went to find parking. For some reason the trams were not running so we started hiking towards the entrance to the park. Did I mention it was hot? After what felt like 4 hours of walking on the surface of the sun, we spied sweet relief in the distance. Three hours later we entered the air conditioning of Chocolate World for the tour. Okay, okay it wasn’t 7 hours, it was really only about 10 minutes. The air conditioning was nice. Having been on the tour twice (once 18 years and once 30-ish years ago), I was looking forward to the cheesy, small world-like tour. Luckily the line was short and we were on the fast track for animatronic fun. Technology isn’t always your friend, all the old cheese was gone. The good news is all kinds of new cheese was on glorious display. Our favorites were they dairy cows dancing and singing at the start of the tour. Go Daisy and Cupcake!
After the tour, and our complimentary chocolate, we needed to verify everyone was tall enough to ride all the rides. The cousins thought it would be fun to have Melissa get in the line-up to see how she compared to all the youth. Of course, Melissa was the winner. She was the shortest of all the cousins. Lilly had her by at least 2 inches. Now that we knew who could ride what, we came up with a game plan. There were two camps, the roller coaster camp and the non-roller coaster camp. I was the only adult in the roller coaster camp and somehow became the ‘responsible adult’. Not sure that was the best choice, but I haven’t lost a kid yet. Olivia, Chloe, Sophia, Lilly, Audrey, and I set out to find the shortest coaster line, and Granny, Kelly, Melissa, Ryan, and Gillian went looking for anything to do that wasn’t a roller coaster.
Not knowing the names of the rides, we identified them by the color of their tracks. Yellow seemed like the shortest line so that is where we started. Audrey stood strong and rode yellow with us. The sign leading into the ride said ‘This is a very active ride’ and the park was not responsible for items that fell out of your pockets. The sign did not lie, it was a VERY active roller coaster. I’m not sure if the rocking and rolling made my neck worse or jarred it into place. I guess I will find out when I go to see my chiropractor next week. With yellow in the bag, we were on to brown. Audrey, not a huge fan of thrill rides, decided she would wait in the line but wasn’t going to ride the ride. Talk about commitment! We waited for an hour and ten minutes to get on. Did I mention it was hot? Audrey was able to walk out and went to meet the rest of the family. The remaining thrill seekers got on and rode the 2 minute and 15 second ride. The consensus was it was worth the wait. In retrospect, the 60 dollar fast track might have been a good investment. I say this as a working adult. As a child, my brother and I waited two and a half hours for a 2 minute roller coaster at Cedar Point. I guess it is a right of passage. While we waited in line, did I mention it was hot? The rest of the family took a leisurely ride on the monorail and then enjoyed a sea lion and seal show. Then they found a nice air conditioned snack area and waited.
After we all hooked back up, we headed into Zoo America. There were a variety of animal exhibits. The highlight for me was the tiny little praying mantis that was sure it was tough enough to take me on. Melissa was sure it was going to pinch my finger but good. Eventually it flew away to safety. Having visited zoos across the country, Zoo America can not be listed as among the particularly memorable. After the zoo, several of the girls decided to ride the log flume. That was fun for everyone involved, and the wait wasn’t even that long (remember, it was hot).
When we had previously visited Hershey Park, 18 years ago, I snapped a picture of Ryan wearing a Hershey Kiss hat. I was super excited to get a picture of adult Ryan wearing the same hat. It must not have been a big seller over the past 2 decades. We could not find the same hat. On the way out we found the closest approximation and snapped a quick pic. Not quite the same, but it will have to do.
With the park done, we headed back to the RV to freshen-up a little bit and get Kevin The Adventure Dog. Dinner was on the patio of a place in Hershey that could accommodate 11 humans and 1 dog. Our server was lovely and the food was fine. It was then time to say goodbye to Granny and Cousins and tuck in for the night in preparation of the drive to NJ the next day, or so I thought. Ends up our washing machine (yeah, yeah, glamping not camping) was on the fritz and we had to avail ourselves of the laundry facility at the campground. This was a very typical laundry room and there is very little story here other than when you start your laundry at 10:30pm, it keeps you up waaaay past your bedtime.
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