ROAD TRIP 2008-2009 - Hershey, PA

Today we awoke at 6 am ready to start the day... Breakfast was nice, so we ate. We had an in-day at the Hotel. The boys frolicked in the pool and on the waterslide, played mini golf and arcade games, and generally had a blast. Samantha watched television while Zachary and I took a snooze. Jon woke us up at 11:40 am just in time to have lunch and make our way over to Dallastown, PA for a visit and dinner with Jon's friend from college, Anthony Wolfe and his wife and 3 daughters. We journeyed there at 1:15 or so and arrived around 2:30 pm. When we arrived the two older girls were downstairs playing with their new Christmas gift, the Wii video game. Lisa was in the kitchen prepping meatballs for dinner, and Anthony was carrying Katrina around in his arms. Once the girls came upstairs, it took a while before they and the boys would talk to each other. Pretty quickly, Benjamin and Joshua found their way downstairs and became acquainted with the Wii. I stayed upstairs with Lisa chatting, while Zachary wreaked havoc on their toy areas. Lisa was gracious and offered hot cocoa and cookies to the kids as their snack at around 3:45, which she said is the usual time that her girls have their daily snack after school. Her homemade cookies were delicious- chocolate chip, oreo cookie-like ones, and gingerbread men. Samantha liked the small trampoline in the basement and was happy doing that for a while. She and Katrina were having a bit of a turf war about it, but Eva was such a great mediator with the little ones that things worked out fine after some intense negotiations. Anthony had asked Jon in advance about what the kids eat, so of course Lisa was fabulous in obliging us by providing Joshua with a hotdog on a bun instead of the regular fare that everyone else ate, spaghetti and meatballs and sausage with pasta and salad. Thanks so much! Dinner was wonderful. We enjoyed their company very much and are grateful to have people like them who welcomed us with open arms when we announced we would be coming to their area. Our boys and their girls were upstairs in their rooms doing who knows what for some time. They really seemed to take to one another at some point. Personally, I think Benjamin has a crush on Eva, the 8 year old. After dinner, Anthony was excited to show us the stars in the sky with his very high tech telescope. Joshua was most excited about this since he wants to be an astronaut. Even I was thrilled to see the craters on the moon through his viewing lens! When they came back inside, Anthony took out his books and began showing Joshua various constellations. I don't know who was more into it, Anth or Joshie! Lisa then offered us brownie sundaes for dessert, which we took her up on no questions asked. Again, Lisa's offerings were scrumptious. Before we knew it, it was 7:00 pm and we had to say goodbye to our friends. Lisa and I discussed the possibility of meeting somewhere in CT since they travel there frequently to see her parents. Lisa mentioned Sturbridge Village, which our kids have never been to. An exciting idea! We arrived home at 8:00 pm and everyone went straight down to sleep. That is, except for Jon and me. He went on the computer and I went to check out the Hollywood Casino up the street from our hotel. I donated $25 to the PA Gaming Commsission (or whoever gets the proceeds of the casino's earnings), but I was there for almost 2 hours and I had a fun time. I mostly played the 1 cent machines, so not too much strain on the wallet. When I got back here, Jon was still awake. Now, it's off to bed for me. Tomorrow is our day at Hershey's Chocolate World... Talk later.