PHILADELPHIA ADVENTURE!!!!
June 1st, 2017
Ready for another vacation? It was 8 years ago this week when we went to Pennsylvania before. Jadeyn was only one year old when we flew out with Jessica and met up with Stephanie's family. Wow! We can't wait to go back. Kevin's parents are joining us for this trip and we are excited to explore all the historical stuff with them and introduce them to Hershey.
June 1st 2017
Ready for another vacation? It was 8 years ago this week when we went to Pennsylvania before. Jadeyn was only one year old when we flew out with Jessica and met up with Stephanie's family. Wow! We can't wait to go back. Kevin's parents are joining us for this trip and we are excited to explore all the historical stuff with them and introduce them to Hershey.
It was great to catch up with the grandparents. Jadeyn loves filling Grandpa in on his school year and having his undivided attention on all his slideshow presentations and reports he has written. Grandpa was quite impressed again with Jadeyn's work, drive and vocabulary. He really quizzed him on multiplication, definitions, and content to see if he really knew all that he claimed to know. Before Kevin left for work they gave us some presents from their trip to China. They are so full of stories from their trip and we are excited to hear more about their Adventure. They gave us a small replica of the Terracotta Warriors and a miniature tea set. The big hit was the Fidget Spinners. They are little devices that spin in your fingers and are all the rage. They brought quite a few so we could choose our favorite. Jadeyn had a really hard time deciding! It was great.
We finished all the packing while they tried to lose a few pounds from their suitcase. It has been a while since we have flown and Jadeyn's clothes are bigger now. It was tough to fit all three of us into one suitcase, but we are too cheap to pay for two pieces of luggage!
Darlene and I walked around the yard for a bit and talked about their Landscaping plans for their yard. It's pretty cool, they have quite a few of the same plants planned as we have. They have to make sure all their plants are deer resistant because they are right up against the foothills.
For lunch, we cleared out the fridge and took care of all our leftovers! Kevin got home at 2 p.m. and we are ready to start our adventure. Right before getting in the car, the skies opened up and it down poured and hailed and thundered! Welcome to Colorado spring time, or is it summertime? We have had so much rain these last few weeks and now that we are leaving town, the weather is supposed to be in the 80s and it is predicting rain in Pennsylvania! Oh well, maybe the rain will clear out the crowds. Lots of traffic on the drive to the airport, but we made it in perfect timing. Our flight left at 7 p.m. and we will end after midnight. Here we go!
Friday June 2nd 2017
We got to the hotel last night after a bit of an adventure. We collected our bags and went looking for the where the taxis are. A nice guy in a suit offered a taxi but when he heard which hotel we were in, he told us to go to the shuttles because they were free. Turns out our shuttle stops running at midnight. Back to the taxi and he offered to take us. Flat fee of $35. We were uncertain about him, all of our instincts were blaring but we went anyway. He took us out to the parking lot to a private SUV and off we went. Jadeyn was really apprehensive and kept his backpack with him and even noticed that there wasn't a taxi meter. The guy even drove weird, slowing down and even stopping at strange places. But, he actually took us to our hotel (which was a relief). He took our $35 and we were safe. We asked the hotel how much a taxi should be from the airport. $20. Oops, well, we won't repeat that Adventure again. He ripped us off.
Off to Historical Philly. Picking up the rental car went without a hitch and they even gave us an SUV to make sure we had five seat belts. Getting downtown wasn't as crazy as we thought. We stopped at The Visitor Center to get our bearings and found that we could trade in tomorrow's Independence Hall tickets for today. We walked a few blocks to where the Liberty Bell is on display. Before we saw it, we read all about its history and symbolism. The most fascinating thing we found was that it became a central symbol for freedom for so many movements, from Indian and abolishment of Slavery, to women's rights. Another thought was how this huge strong bell looks so impervious and strong, yet it has a significant crack. A lot like our freedom and liberty: strong but Fragile. The Liberty Bell was beautiful. We bustled around the crowded room to get our picture in front of it.
The Independence Hall tour was quite amazing too. Our tour guide was so informative and animated bringing history to life for us as he guided us through the old buildings. It's amazing still to realize just how young are country is. We feel that we are a real powerhouse in the world, and yet we are one of the newest countries. When we saw the room where the Declaration of Independence was created and signed, it was very humbling. We were in the exact, relatively small room, we're our founding fathers discussed and debated the ideals that would be our future. The original chair were George Washington sat and Benjamin Franklin commented on the Setting and Rising Sun was right there! One interesting thing was when Washington finished his eight years, the election between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. It was a heated and close election. The law stated that whoever lost, became the vice president! How would that go today!?
We loved the Benjamin Franklin Museum and spent several hours there. Benjamin Franklin has always been a favorite of mine and we learned so much more and gained a whole greater respect for him. He has so many qualities that we want to impress upon Jadeyn. Find something that needs improving and find a way to make it better. Be frugal. Make something of your life and improve life around you. What a brilliant man. Walking through the historical place with such a humbling and inspiring experience.
Saturday June 3rd 2017
We woke up to a nice drizzling morning, but it was only supposed to last until around 11 a.m. Breakfast was nice but, to Jadeyn's disappointment, no bacon! We were on the road by 8:30 a.m. back to historical Philly. We had missed getting into the tour of the Philadelphia Mint by only 15 minutes yesterday and really wanted to see it today. It was fascinating. We thought maybe it would be a duplicate of the Denver Mint, but it was actually quite different. A lot of emphasis on the history of the coins combined with the history of the country. We even learned how George Washington donated his silver spoons for the first coins for our country. We read all the informative boards and looked out over the huge warehouse floor. Amazing how many steps there are and how exact they can be. Jadeyn kept wanting to reach out and collect a few blanks! He even brought his blank penny from the Denver Mint to smash!
We headed towards Valley Forge. All we really knew about it where the basics, winter quarters for the Army. We learned a lot more! It really served as a turning point for the war. Almost a reinvigorating of the men where they learned new technologies and gain confidence. Many, many died due to disease and fever, but the winter there was rough to say the least.
There was an excellent Visitor Center and then we began the driving tour through the green Rolling Hills and forests. We have seen battlefields in the past but this was the first time I could really picture it all laid out before us. Beautiful country and it's hard to picture it devastated after the war. While we were looking at the log cabins they had built, we heard the most amazing bird singing away. It was an extremely average-looking bird, but had quite the song. We found out it was a Mockingbird. The variety of songs it was able to do was amazing. I think I have a new favorite bird. I even found a nest in one of the logs with a little baby in it!
All throughout the valley, impressive statues and plaques were erected in honor of the battles. We even got to see George Washington's quarters separated from his men. The stone home was impressive and the vast green lawn was amazing. We enjoyed it. On the next leg of the journey, winding through the hills and switching highways so many times. We went deeper and deeper into the country, I know we were passing towns left and right, but we couldn't see them because of the trees!
Knoebels Amusement Park! We were so interested to see this little amusement park. It is one of the last free admission, pay per ride parks in the country! Parking all over the grassy field and catching a trolley to the park. Had such a carnival sound and the smells were pure amusement park! We first had to find food because we were starving. Hot dogs and hamburgers. So funny, the ketchup was in a large bag hanging with a nozzle at the bottom. It was like milking a cow! There were so many unique things about the park. Every few hundred feet there was a ticket booth where you bought $1.50 and $0.25 tickets for the rides. Most rides seem to be between a $1.75 and $3. The ticket lady we first spoke to was hilarious! Us: what time does the park close? Her: I don't know, I'm leaving here at 7!
On to the rides! We were so impressed with Gordon, he took a Dramamine and went on almost every ride with us! The Phoenix was an old Woody with tons of hills and air time. I think Jadeyn practically flew out of his seat! Jadeyn and I went on the Looper which was similar to the hamster wheel. We sat on opposite ends and spun and spun! The haunted house was awesome for me and Kevin. Jadeyn, not so much!
The most unique ride was the Flying Curves which is a trackless, toboggan style coaster. Totally One of a Kind. A rolling cart in a wooden trough. It was fantastic! The craziest part was they had to weigh all of us before choosing which car and which order we would sit in. In line we talked with a coaster enthusiast who told us the history of each ride and the ages of them and development. Fun.
The Twister was a massive wooden coaster that was quite fast and had tight turns. Boy did it whip us around! And it was long too. We hooted and hollered and had a blast! We also did a mine cart ride that was we really could have skipped. Not too thrilling.
What a fun time in a sweet little park. We have never been to a park with dogs and they were everywhere! When I came, we split up so Kevin and I could try out Impulse which was very similar to the Lagoon ride Wicked. There was a 30 minute line, but we took the single Rider line and got right on! Nice. It was great. We are so happy we got to stop!
Our hotel was about 30 minutes away in Bloomsburg and they really took care of us. Hot chocolate and even made a soft little bid for Jadeyn on the floor!
Sunday June 4, 2017
Up and at 'em. Really nice breakfast this morning to spite me somehow pouring syrup off my plate all the way down the front of my shirt and pants, chair back and seat! How the heck did that happen? Off to Hershey Park!
Through the rolling and forested hills of Pennsylvania we go again. Still can't believe how many small highway changes we made in a short distance. As we approach the town of Hershey, suddenly all the chocolate hint started showing up. Kisses on top of light posts, Hershey written out in bushes and the factory stacks in the distance. It all brought back memories. We are staying at the Hershey Lodge. We got all checked in and were each given a full size Hershey bar! Since it was only noon in our room wouldn't be ready for a few hours, we checked out the hotel. The new water park and then the mini golf. It took about 10 minutes to wander our way through the hotel following Jadeyn's perfect directions to get to the other end of the hotel. Seeing the miniature golf area brought back great memories of 8 years ago, playing with Jadeyn and picking up every ball he came close to even if it wasn't playing!
We started 18 holes and it was a blast. We each actually got at least one hole in one which was pretty impressive! Halfway through, we paused to join a game of bingo. Kevin won black-out and got a small Hershey stuffy and Jadeyn won next and got a candy bar and a small basketball. We finished up our golf game and I announce the scores: Kevin and Grandpa tied... for second! I took first!
When are rooms were ready, we moved all our stuff are adjoining rooms. Jadeyn thought it was pretty cool that we could open up the doors in between. We had until 6:30 p.m. before we could enter the park for our sneak peek, so we caught the shuttle to the Chocolate World. This place is practically filled to the brim with chocolate! We went on the chocolate tour and learned about the chocolate-making process from the cows to the kisses and yes even got our free chocolate bar at the end! We shopped around the massive stores of chocolate and goodies and then Kevin and Jadeyn decided to do the 'create your own chocolate bar' experience. It was sweet. They donned Hershey aprons and hats, when into the lab and got to choose their ingredients, design the wrapper, and watch the process unfold. The bars were poured into a mold, then their specific ingredient choices were poured in and another layer of chocolate came next. Then they were tapped to get out air bubbles and then cooled, placed in tins and the labels printed out. They had such a fun time.
We had dinner back at Chocolate World before the parents left and had delicious cheesy broccoli soup in a delicious bread bowl! By the time 6:30 p.m. rolled around, the parents were a little wiped out and Darlene needed to ice her shoulder, so they headed back to the lodge. The three of us headed to the park for an evening of fun. When it rains, some parks just clear out and this one did! The lines were next to nothing and most of the time we could get right on! Now that's our kind of part! I think our favorites right off the bat were the wooden coasters. Jadeyn especially loved Lightning. It is a dual coaster that races. He and I went on one and Kevin went on the other. We went a few times and once Kevin was the only person on his coaster and at night that has got to feel weird!
There are three drop towers that are new. Kisses 81 ft, Reese's 131 ft and Hershey even taller. Jadeyn agreed to go on kisses and we went three times and were all ready and excited to go on Reese's. He did great! He said, tomorrow, he would like to do Hershey!
Jadeyn and I discovered a few new favorite spinny rides. The Howler was individual spheres hanging that you spin on your own kind of like the tea cups, but the whole thing rotates and Spins! What a fun first night at the park. So many rides on so quickly too! Jadeyn and I also discovered a giant swing that rotates around (not upside down) but around and up and down. Jadeyn was pretty apprehensive at first, but he loved it and said he wished he could ride it all night! We ended our first night at the park at 10 p.m. as the Park closed. Jadeyn lasted up until halfway through the bus ride home before falling asleep!
Monday June 5 2017
Ready again? We were on the shuttle before 8:30 a.m. to do our Sweet Start early hour. So nice to again have so few lines. We got to do Skyrush, Fahrenheit and all of the ones Kevin and I wanted to do together while Jadeyn hung out or rode with Grandpa. They even took him to the drop Towers which he proudly rode all by himself! Both Kisses and Reese's. So proud of him! Fahrenheit was very similar to Rip Ride Rocket and was a total rush. There wasn't anyone in line behind us so we got to stay on! When we did Lightning, the duel coaster, we went three times in a row! We were quite impressed with how many coasters Grandpa was able to go on. He was a real trooper. But, after Skyrush, he was a little green and had to take a nice long break.
We got to watch the seal show with a harbor seal and sea lion. The trainer was great and had such a sweet interaction with the animals. But man, we had a peanut butter pie and Jadeyn had a dip cone while we watched and both were Heavenly! Jadeyn was nice and covered with chocolate!
By 2 p.m. the rain really started to come down. Might as well continue the tradition of rain at Hershey's for us. It wasn't a sprinkle, but a pretty good downpour! Kevin, Jadeyn and I rode a wooden coaster in the rain. Not often you have to ride a coaster with your eyes closed! After about 30 minutes of rain, the parents decided that they had better head back so Darlene could ice her shoulder. We decided to walk back to the entrance with them and then we found ourselves at Chocolate World. Well, might as well do the tour again since we are here. We bought our tickets for the trolley tour while Jadeyn and Kevin did their 4D movie that was part of Jadeyn's package. I shopped and wandered with the parents. When we all got back to the hotel, Kevin, Jadeyn, Gordon and I went swimming at the hotel pool. It's an indoor mini water park and Jadeyn was in heaven. He and I went down the slide at least 10 times and practiced all his swimming skills while Kevin and Gordon soaked in the hot tub. Then Jadeyn and Grandpa played basketball and catch forever. We swam for about 2 hours.
Back to the park just as all the millions of high schoolers were leaving! Yay! Another evening of a nearly empty part! We had a delicious dinner at one of the restaurants and talk for a good while before hitting a ton more rides. Jadeyn was determined to go on as many spinning rides as he could and I was his companion! We stayed until 9:30 p.m. and then headed back.
Tuesday June 6, 2017
Good morning. Nice night. We did breakfast at one of the quick-service places in the hotel. Kevin and I ate our leftovers from yesterday morning and it wasn't half bad cold! Today is our Historical Day. By 9am, we arrived at the Hershey Story Museum. It's so cool to drive through this town. Hershey kisses on all the lamp posts the names of the streets are all chocolate related and the old buildings are amazing. We saw the different factories where they made Coco, syrup, kisses, and Reese's.
At the Museum we learned all about the life of Hershey. He was a real determined man who persevered through all of his trials and obstacles. He started his first company making caramels until he decided that chocolates were the way of the future. Before he even opened his Factory, he created the whole town surrounding it to support his workers. He even encouraged them to buy their houses instead of making them pay rent. He also encourage their creativity to create improved processes and they all succeeded together. The man who created Reese's was a competitor and Hershey encouraged him as well and even supplied him with the chocolate he needed and they succeeded together. His success was amazing. When he and his wife started a school for orphaned boys they donated 60 million to the school. He and his wife never had children due to an illness she had. The story we had heard about him and the Titanic was almost right. He did buy a ticket for the maiden voyage on June 11th, but had to cancel the ticket to take an earlier boat to handle an emergency back home with the factory. Otherwise, he would have been on that tragic Titanic trip. Crazy.
Learning about the chocolate process is always amazing and complex. Figuring out the roasting process and especially the double milk step had to have taken a lot of experimenting, but it was well worth it! We all got to do the tasting room again. We got one tray of drinking chocolate and started with the darkest and worked our way up to Hershey milk chocolate. I think my favorite was Venezuela around 60% dark. Yummy. It was fun to see how each of us reacted to each flavor, either liking it or not or how all our like after drinking another.
We ate lunch at the Hershey Pantry and this was one complete success! A raspberry vinaigrette salad and ham and provolone croissant for us and the parent's food was just as tasty! We enjoyed it so much that we didn't realize we wouldn't make it back in time for our 4 p.m. trolley ride. Oh no! No worries, we went to Chocolate World after I got our tickets changed to tomorrow.
Since we were already there, Jadeyn did the last of his package, a Chocolate Tasting Experience with me! It was great fun! We entered our 'lab' and learned the proper way to taste chocolate. First, look at it, shiny with a good luster. Second, hear it snap sharply when broken. Third, smell the aroma, and finally rest it on your tongue and allow it to melt and taste all the different levels of flavor. We did this for a 67% dark, milk, and Hershey dark and got to list off all the flavors we could taste and discuss them. The final one though, Jadeyn about died on. He can't stand carmel, and this one had a strong caramel undertone. He was practically gagging. So dramatic!
After the museum, I completely forgot to tell about the Rose Garden. So excited to see it on a non rainy day where the sun can heat up the petals for perfect smelling! Everything was in perfect bloom and they were so incredibly beautiful! Wow! There were so many we recognized and so many more that were new to us. There was even one with such a sweet smell it was just like cotton candy! Kevin especially wasn't heaven! We walked through the Children's Garden where Jadeyn played on the giant granite kisses just like when he was 1 year old. The Japanese garden was so beautiful to with the delicate Japanese maples. Wow. The rest of the garden had so much variety and was filled with such unique plants!
Finally we spent about 45 minutes and the Butterfly room watching the amazing creatures lightly fluttering around us. The colors of their wings flashed at us from the brown of their wings. There was a cage of the biggest moths we have ever seen!
When we got back to the motel we had 30 minutes to kill before Bingo started so we checked out some tennis rackets and try to hand out the court. Oh my. Not too bad, but definitely not good. Bingo was awesome! Just the five of us, so every time there was a winner, our family won! Nice deal. We ended up with about 15 candy bars and two grand prizes! We cleaned up! Back to the tennis courts, Jadeyn played basketball with Grandpa while Kevin and I play tennis. It was really really fun! We should try it at home!
What a fun day. Back to our rooms early for some relaxing!
Wednesday June 7, 2017
We started the day out right with three steaming hot chocolates!
Kevin, Jadeyn and I had a nice hearty (and normal) breakfast at the hotel before venturing out to the park. While we waited for the shuttle we contemplated the weather., what is it going to do? So at the last minute I ran (literally) back up to the room, even taking the stairs, grabbed a raincoat, and made it back before the shuttle got there. Whew! We were immediately grateful we had them. A nippy 57 degrees with a breeze with chilly. We had fun on the rides on our own this morning. The parents decided to stay at the hotel. Grandma doesn't think she can make it and it is too concerned about pain meds to take them.
For lunch, we had a delicious taco salad. So, there are quarter dispensers full of corn to feed the geese. We picked up enough corn off the floor to feed them quite a while, plus we found a nickel. Jadeyn said it was free happiness! I loved it!
Trolley tour. We signed up for the historical trolley tour, 75 minutes of Hershey history. The whole history of the Town, Park and Company is fascinating all together, but our tour guide really brought it to life. Both he and our driver are native to Hershey and their parents to all worked for Hershey. They used to sled down the hill below the Hershey mansion and work at the soap Factory. Pretty amazing. Here was our favorite joke about the Hershey Kiss lamp posts. They are the only diet chocolate that Hershey makes because they're light chocolate. When one burns out, it's dark chocolate. If one gets stolen, it is hot chocolate and the thieves are put behind Hershey bars! Oh my, but hilarious. We learned so much about the Hershey School and the amazing accomplishment the whole system is. Just over 2,000 students and over 90% continue on to college. So much more to tell to. We were really happy to have done the tour.
After the trolley tour we all headed to the park to watch a few of the shows and enjoy the music groups. The dance group sings so many of the old songs that Gordon and I enjoy. Pretty fun. Next was Zoo America, part of the Hershey Park created by Hershey when someone gave him a bunch of prairie dogs as a gift! Most of the animals are North American: wolves, Bobcats, cougars, Bears, elk and owls! The birds were amazing. A pair of snowy owls were incredible and one was even nested down. In the cool weather, the animals were all very active, the Cougars were very playful and even the ocelot was up and about. We all really enjoyed the zoo.
In the evening, we went from ride to ride again and just enjoy the general ambience of the park!
Thursday June 8, 2017
Kevin, Jadeyn and I decided that Dunkin Donuts would be the perfect way to start the last morning at the park. We got donut holes, glazed and chocolate bismarck's. We sat on a park bench and watch the crowds roll in. We took full advantage of the early entry and did coaster after coaster with no lines. Got to love it! At 11 a.m. we went back to the hotel to pick up the grandparents because today is the day we do the waterpark! We found a nice shady place for Darlene to relax and rest while the rest of us hit the tubes. There are five tube rides and we are so excited to do them. The Vortex is one that swoops you down into a giant funnel to switch you around before continuing down the tube. Another, which was awesome, dropped you into a toilet bowl where you went around and around before being flushed down. The other three were all awesome too! We all got to go in Paris which made them a ton more fun too. On the very last ride, Jadeyn and Grandpa came out backwards and turned just as they hit the water and over they went! Jadeyn popped right up (we were happy to see he could save himself) but when Gordon came up, he didn't have his glasses! Oh no! He and Kevin talk to the Lifeguard who didn't seem concerned, until another one came, whipped off his shirt, put on his goggles and found them right away! Whew!
Kevin and Jadeyn next tried the boogie board and did great! Kevin had wanted to do it so much eight years ago. They wiped out a few times but had a great time! So, it was about 75 degrees it was actually pretty chilly once you got wet, but Jadeyn begged so he and I hit the Splash Zone. Water flying everywhere, up and down the stairs, splashing and sabotage! We did two of the long tube slides and once, while in line, the giant bucket dumped its contents right on us as we were shivering and teeth chattering! We were soaked from head to toe but Jadeyn was so happy!
We had lunch. While we were eating, we watched a crazy squirrel dumpster dive over and over for French fries!
Since it had already been a wet day, Jadeyn and Grandpa decided to do the Tidal Force plunge, one big boat, one big hill and one gigantic Splash. Drenched from head to toe and huge Smiles. They even stood on the bridge for the next boats wave to hit them! They ended up going on it for more times. Might as well since they were already soaked.
We all headed back to the hotel to get changed and made it back just in time for Bingo. A little extra bonus they did trivia in between and I am married to a coaster fact guy. He knew so many of the answers! We all scored big-time!
After Bingo, Kevin, Jadeyn and I returned to the park for the final hours! We loved it! Hershey's Park has such a special feel to it.
Friday June 9 ,2017
Last morning at Hershey's. Last night was such a great send-off. Maybe will return again in another 8 years! Check out is at 11, and too bad the tennis courts don't open until this afternoon. Jadeyn said that this was the last remaining thing he wanted to do, poor guy. We went down to breakfast at the deli and shared a really tasty ham and cheese bagel. It took awhile to get all our stuff organized and back in the suitcase. After 5 days in one place, you really start to spread out! Also, I believe we gained at least five pounds of chocolate between what we bought and what we won! Funny. But we all made it downstairs and checked out and in the car by 11 a.m.
On the road to Gettysburg. We called ahead to see if we could check in early and thankfully we could. There's no way our chocolate would survive being left in the car. After bringing all our luggage up to the room (we are all sharing one room for the next two nights, hope they are okay with that!) We headed to Gettysburg Visitor Center. It has been quite a while since history class and to be honest, I tested really well but didn't retain a lot of the details. So, I was excited for the refresher and to gain a greater respect for the whole Civil War.
We were able to purchase a package which included a movie, a Cyclorama and the museum. The Cyclorama blew us away. It is a 360-degree painting in a round room that spanned the length of a football field! We stood in the middle and listened to the narration of the battle, the strategy and the outcome of the battle. Sections of the painting lit up and highlighted each part of the canvas as the Cannons roared and thundered around us. Wow! The painting had such an amazing detail that it felt totally real! Wow! The painting was done in the 1860s, right after the war and has been preserved and restored. What a work of amazing history.
Next, we entered the Gettysburg Museum. Jadeyn was right when he said it was the longest Museum he has ever seen! Longest because it went around and around from room to room chronicling the progression of the war. It was, I think, the longest Museum I have ever been to on a single subject!
The details of every aspect of the war were amazing. Personal sides, letters and quotes from soldiers and Generals alike. The focus was of course on the Battle of Gettysburg and the turning point of the war, but the museum covered so much more. This was the war that had the highest casualty rate of any of the wars we have been in and wow, $620,000 total. That was 2% of the population of the us at the time period equivalent to 6 million today. The things that I took from it all today was what a short time had passed since the establishment of our country in 1776 and why our country was founded: For Freedom. Just like Lincoln said in the Gettysburg Address, it is time to make our country back to the principles it was founded on. Freedom for all.
Another point that impressed upon me was on segregation. I had to sit down and explain to Jadeyn how we could fight an entire massive war for freedom and then within such a short time slip into segregation and equality for the next nearly 100 years. How can you explain that? It is such a tragic thing and so hard to explain to a boy who has never witnessed any segregation. Each section of the war was set in a different room with a video that tied together all the displays and story surrounding us. The uniforms, journals, weapons were amazing. There was even a whole section of evidence of the war from the civilian side. Holes on bed posts and clocks. There was a cannonball that shot clean through seven ceiling beams. Even though the museum was quite long for Jadeyn, he was able to appreciate enough of it and the rest of us really really enjoyed it. Funny though, the museum was freezing! Kevin, Jadeyn and I even stepped outside just to warm up!
We went out to dinner at Friendly's, a famous Pennsylvania food joint that used to be owned by Hershey. Great food! Then a surprise! We raced home, grabbed a few Hershey bars and went to see Wonder Woman in the theater! It was fantastic! And we ate way too much popcorn!
Saturday June 10, 2017
So, seeing a Battlefront field first-hand really puts things into perspective and brings the events of History to life for us. Even watching all the videos and reading at the Museum yesterday still felt distant, but now, seeing the gentle Rolling Hills and the slight rise across and open Valley allowed us to really picture the soldiers and feel how desperately close and personal the war was. The audio tour was a 16 stopped or through the historical Gettysburg That was supposed to be a three and a half hour tour. We did it in 9 hours!
The Battle of Gettysburg is really a three-day battle that was a pivotal point in the whole War. It was the closest of the Confederates came to winning the war. July first second and third and each day of the battle was laid out clearly for us as we worked our way through the tour. So many lives were lost in the close quarters with the cannons, muskets and bayonets. Scattered all throughout the Valley now stand hundreds of sculptures and monuments honoring the brigades and regiments, generals, leaders and regular soldiers. This makes it the largest Sculpture Garden in the world with over 1,500 statues. Wow. They were beautiful too.
So many of the buildings, homes and barns still stand across the Valley from 1863. Even a large brick building with a perfect Cannonball hole through it. One of our favorite stories was about a dog who stayed with her Brigade through most of the war. During one of the battles they couldn't find her. Afterward, they found her still out on the battlefield refusing to leave her Fallen comrades. there she was represented on one of the sculptures and bronze. There was only one civilian killed during the three-day battle. A young girl who was baking bread for the soldiers was killed by a stray bullet. You should these stories and so many more came to life for us. There is no need for me to go into the strategic details of the decisions the generals made, but enough to say how much more I respect them for the choices they had to make and their perseverance.
We ended our tour at the National Cemetery where so many of the Union Soldiers are buried and so many graves are marked unknown. It was very solemn brain. There is a memorial of President Lincoln as well with a bronze copy of the Gettysburg Address. The most impressive marble statue was a four-figure surrounding one in the middle. They represented War, history, peace, and plenty. The one in the middle is Liberty holding a reason Victory and a sheathed sword of battle.
On a side note, at the cemetery I saw a beautiful red cardinal and was able to track him long enough to hear his song. Wow, it almost sounded like a car alarm! we so enjoyed the auto tour and we're so grateful for the sacrifices made by all those brave men.
This evening, we were looking for a place for dinner and tried one of the local historic taverns only to find that the wait was way too long! So, down the street was another old place that was totally different. Wall-to-wall old celebrity photos, hundreds of baseball hats from all areas of service, Etc. But the food was really good! We spent the evening walking up and down the old town. In a very small way it almost felt like Vegas, every few buildings we were asked if we would like to do a haunted history walk tonight. They were everywhere scattered between ice cream shops! We read all of the info plaques about each home and even went in one. You can actually see bullet holes through the brick from the war.
Back to the hotel around 8:30 p.m. We showered and got ready for bed. Gordon asked me to go through my journal and give him the highlights of the trip each day. Wow! We really crammed in a lot.
Sunday June 11, 2017
So tonight is our flight, how should we fill our last hours before heading to the airport? After breakfast and cramming as much as we could into our luggage, wow, we have a lot of chocolate. We hefted our suitcases and it felt much heavier than the way in. So I even crowned the swimsuits and even some dirty clothes in my backpack. All the large kisses went into Kevin's backpack and the rest of it went into the suitcase. We'll see how it survives a 90-degree day! We headed to The Visitor Center since our plan was to join a ranger hike at 10:30 to cemetery Ridge. Because it is going to be a hot day Darlene was apprehensive about how long the hike might be, she decided to stay at the visitor center while we hiked.
We were so happy we went. So far we have yet to be disappointed on a ranger program. Arrange was very knowledgeable and really knew his history. Funny though, he said he was a historian and wouldn't answer any questions about math or science! Jadeyn immediately wanted to ask him the answer of 1 + 1! Later, I asked him about the call of a cardinal to make sure I had the right sound and he said: now that's a science question!
He guided us through beautiful pathways of lush green everywhere! The trees were so tall and undergrowth was so high as well. On a previous Ranger hike, we learned that the undergrowth would not have been this thick during the war because the livestock would have kept it trampled or grazed down. I wish we could have slowed down to investigate all the bushes and trees. The other day Jadeyn picked up an interesting plant that turned out to be a wild onion. Boy, his hands smelled. As we watch the ranger focused on day two of the battle and described the muscle, brain, heart, arteries, etc of the armies. He told us entertaining details about the officers and circumstances. Any question we asked, even about a random monument that wasn't even right in front of us, he was able to tell us details about. Our hike took us to Cemetery Hill where he laid it out the whole battle for us explaining where each regiment was and why the union had a weak point right in the middle, how the Confederates took advantage of that weakness and struck with Pickett's Advance 250 Confederates broke through before the union succeeded in pushing them back. Fascinating.
We finished with the ranger shortly after 12 p.m. and then had to hoof it back to the visitor center. All in all we hiked 3 miles and boy, where we hot when we made it back! Since the high can run over a little, we knew we needed to rush a bit to make sure we weren't late for the airport. Funny though, there is no hurrying in Pennsylvania. There are so many small highways and we hardly ever got above 55 miles per hour. We patiently progressed and talked about a lot of different things.
When we were about eight miles from our rental car return, I decided to call them to make sure they had someone ready to take us to the airport. It's a very good thing I called because I found out that they close at 1 p.m. on Sunday. What? How did I miss that! What do we do now? We quickly switched the GPS to the airport car rental area while I called the 1-800 number for Enterprise to make sure we could return the car to another location. They said yes so we made it there. So 3 hours later then we had apparently agreed to return it and even dropping it off to another location, they didn't charge us extra. We will definitely keep renting from them because they even gave us an SUV upgrade. We would have been a lot less comfortable in a car!
Anyway, shuttle to the airport and we were really getting nervous about how close we were to departure. Thankfully no line at check-in, but the grandparents suitcase was 5 pounds too heavy. We opened it up right there and started cramming and stuff into backpacks.
So, now off to security. Nice line there. A little chaotic too. We got separated so we weren't able to help them through the line. They got stopped and had to completely unload Gordon's backpack. The reason? Too many of one single item is suspicious. They had 20 of the meeting Hershey kisses and all of their chocolate bars! Oh dear! So we finally made it through the line! Now to the gate. We made it on time, use the bathrooms and we're finally able to breathe easy. Fun time joking around and talking. Jadeyn did draw blood on the back of Grandpa's hand on accident. Oh dear. Our flight finally took off 35 minutes late!
What an amazingly fun trip!!
