Hershey, PA anyone?

I don't really know that much about the Poconos. One thing I would suggest in Lancaster though is go to Miller's Smorgasboard -- the food is AWESOME there. Any time we're in the area we go there for a meal!

The Amish country bus tours are actually really fun. I don't remember which it was that we did last time, but it included the Amish theater experience (I know, weird) - but it's really entertaining (or at least we thought so...)

I think I forgot to mention Hershey Gardens. It's beautiful, historical, and very unique in my opinion. Funny, notice on the main page for Hershey Gardens they have a wine festival as well as a Biergarten festival!

A few other things I found:

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-3001547-phipps_conservatory_and_botanical_gardens_pittsburgh-i;_ylt=AuEbRLYj1JyoL8HcjcsyuuesFmoL

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-3001715-steamtown_national_historic_site_scranton-i;_ylt=Aqa28Edn..v0GpnBYqW7VPGsFmoL

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-travelguide-3001701-lackawanna_coal_mine_tour_scranton-i;_ylt=AgSUU2W1WHJDp7T01VuOz9WsFmoL

http://attractions.uptake.com/museums/pennsylvania/scranton/everhart_museum_17414692.html

**edit: Weird. I have no idea why the last link shows up that way. I did not have those spaces when I posted it. I even went back and edited it more than once. Even when I moved it to a different part of the page, it still shows up.

LIFL is the local Hershey expert, Chris!!! I just remember doing the chocolate tour when I was a kid and LOVING IT!! Will you be going to Hershey Park?

That's right, I didn't mention anything at Chocolate World because I figured that was a given There are a number of real fun things to do there, including a trolley tour of Hershey.

It's safe to assume that if chocolate is within easy access, no one would ignore it.

Did you see the Samantha Brown Great Hotels episode where she stayed in the giant Hershey Hotel? She went to the chocolate spa and had a few treatments there. That might be worth a try...

It's a beautiful place. We haven't stayed there, but we've been to a number of functions there. They have four and six bedroom cottages in addition to the normal rooms and suites. That's where I'd stay if it were me (although expensive) because you have to figure the hotel is 75 years old so the normal rooms are pretty small.

I don't know that a chocolate spa treatment would be all that great for me. I'd just start wanting to eat the chocolate, and I'm guessing it wouldn't taste all that great

I have to say when I was in PA I was pretty unimpressed with the food I tried. Probably went to the wrong places. We got some great preserves and stuff from the Amish though. We went to some huge market in Lancaster that I can't remember the name of and I think if I were going again I'd save some room for eating there. It was more impressive than the restaurants we tried.

The big Amish supermarket is called Shady Maple. The only thing cooler than that is the Farm Show, but that's in the winter. There it's like a foodie's WDW. There are lots of other things to see and do, but the food is out of this world. Meats and vegetables (and everything in between) literally fresh from the farm. Believe it or not, people come from all over the country (at least the eastern half). Interstate exits are backed up for miles to get to the farm show.

Living here, I guess we have an advantage in finding good places to eat. We haven't eaten at many places that weren't very good because the places we do eat are always recommended by friends or coworkers. Next time you come, I'll give you some recommendations dsoup.

I used to go there every summer as a kid and loved it! We would always take a day and tour the underground caverns in PA and also go to the train museum. Maybe you would be interested in those. Have fun!

I like cave tours! We did the famous ones in Missouri, the name of which is escaping me now, when I was a kid. What are those caves called?!?

We went to Hershey Park again yesterday (had just been for a spring preview they do a couple weeks ago). It was all sorts of fantastic and was not crowded AT ALL. We got there around six PM, as it was cooling down nicely. We were able to ride all our favorite rides with minimal waits. We did have a few new experiences though. We went on this:

for the first time. It was pretty scary, but good fun. I'll go on anything once, but there are some rides that (to me) although scary are just not that fun. Have to have a good mix of the two, and DW and I both felt this one did. Will we run over to go on it every time, probably not, but it's fun.

The other first was getting bombarded with bugs on a coaster. Most of us who are coaster geeks have had the odd bug hit us now and then, but this was just crazy. We had bugs smacking us the whole ride, it was hilarious. When we got off we were picking dead bugs off us like you would expect after a long motorcycle ride with no helmet.

I have mentioned it here at least once before, but I have to say again that Great Bear (at HP) is one of my favorite coasters anywhere. It is a blast from start to finish, especially in the front row.

Yikes! I wonder if they were swarming for some reason. Driving around here a couple of times per year the sky will just fill will bugs and you'll get a new paint job of smashed ones on your car. It's not pleasant. I wouldn't want to ride a rollercoaster through that.

Thankfully they weren't big beetles or anything. They were just gnat-type bugs, so it was more funny than anything else.

Possibly Echo Caverns? Or I could be making that up. haha Check the webiste for things to do near Hershey I bet they list it!

Yeah, it's called Indian Echo Caverns. I didn't mention that one as I've heard mixed reviews. Some loved it, some didn't but it's pricey for what it is.

One place that I love in the area is Boyd's Bear Country. If you know anyone who is a Teddybear collector this is the place to go!

We visited Boyd's on a trip to Gettysburg one year, so it's in the "neighborhood". Have fun!! Oh the restaurant there serves good "home-style" cooking!!

Are you a teddy bear collector Millie?

I do have "some"...I don't have them on display right now since space is an issue. I have been know to have a weakness!! )

So cool LIFL! I loved the mini trip report!

And chipanddalefan, those caverns were a favorite class trip as a kid!

Usually when the word "some" is in quotes it indicates you might need a dumptruck to move them all.