Yesterday Karen and I had some free time just before going to the track in Maple Grove. So one of the places that has always been on a to do list while we travel has been Hershey, PA. We left in the early afternoon from Carlisle, Pa., where we had spent the night and arrived very easily in Hershey.

As you can see from the pictures the streetlights are shaped like Hershey Kisses! That was just the beginning of our adventure. We headed to the Hershey Gardens. Even though we are toward the end of the growing season it was a beautiful place. Mrs. Hershey loved flowers and especially roses. There were a whole section of just roses. The workers at the gardens have developed some and others are great old standards. That was just a small part of the entire gardens. There are several types of gardens in addition to the rose gardens. They focus on type of plants and methods of planting. There were herbs, special trees, decorative grasses and a special memorial garden.

As you walked the garden you can see the amusement park with some awesome looking rides and one that rotates around and elevates us in a spaceship looking elevator style ride that has kiss shaped windows. This allows you to see all of the city of Hershey.

At the back of the gardens is the Butterfly house. The butterflies were everywhere! There were also very nice volunteers that explained all about the life cycles of butterflies. We also got to watch as they laid eggs, saw caterpillars, and the cases in which they are incubated before hatching. Karen was real special because one landed on her foot for a ride around the house.

We then stopped at the “sun dial” garden and tried it out. As you can see we were there right at 1:30 p.m. in the month of August.

Our next stop was the Hershey Museum. Mr. Hershey was truly one of the great men of his time. He came from a very simple beginning and only had a 4th grade education. He had a dream and even though he failed multiple times he remained focused on his goal which was to make chocolate affordable to all. His life story can be found on the Hershey web site (attach it) and is truly remarkable. He was a very successful man who gave back to his community and the world. He and his wife, Catherine, established a school for orphans and children who were disadvantaged which is still in existence today.

Our final stop for the day was at the “Chocolate Lab.” There we learned that chocolate has been around for many years. It is found in the warmer areas of the world and will only grow below the 20-degree line. The pods form on the trunk of the trees. These pods are harvested and then opened where the chocolate seeds are found in a pulp inside of the pod. These are then sundried, crushed and the nibs from inside the seeds are then crushed to extract the coca butter which is the beginning ingredient for chocolate. We were given sample of white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate which were smelled and then allowed each to melt in out mouth. We then had to describe the taste and texture. We learned that white chocolate is truly chocolate, it is just mostly coca butter. It is smooth and creamy with a strong vanilla taste, then the milk chocolate which is sweet and creamy with a definite chocolate taste and finally the dark chocolate which is more waxy and bitter. All very different but still chocolate.

Then we got to make our own chocolate bar, only after preparing to cook by placing hats on our heads, washing our hands, and putting on an apron. You can see how beautiful we look and what our chocolate bars looked like.

We had a great day and I would highly recommend a stop in Hershey, Pa., if you are in the area. If that isn’t possible take a look at Mr. Hershey’s life, a truly determined man who never let today failure stop him from tomorrow’s success. Thanks for letting me share our day.