Next stop: Chocolate World!

Day 5, one of the hottest yet, took us to Hershey's Chocolate World to learn about Milton Hershey and his chocolate.
We first boarded a little "boat" to learn how chocolate is made:
Some singing cows taught us about milk chocolate:
And we saw how many candies were being produced:
Of course, the "ride" dumps you straight into the gift shop, full of souvenirs and CANDY!!!
We found extra long Twizzlers and GIGANTIC Reese's cups. (I love Mom's face in this picture... enough candy for her!!!)
Then we took a trolley ride to see the town and learn more about Mr. Hershey:
Our tour guides told great stories and kept it interesting:
The Hershey Mansion:
Hersheypark, originally started as a place for factory workers to relax with their families:
Milton and his wife could not have their own children so they started a home/school for orphaned boys. The school still operates today for needy children:
After the tour, it was time to make our own Hershey's bars! It's a brand-new exhibit, and they are still working out the kinks. We waited a very long time...
Ready to go!!
Finally... time to pull the lever and bring out my bar:
Down the conveyor belt:
I chose chocolate cookie pieces:
Zoom, zoom...
Time for a chocolate bath...
All the excess chocolate is piped overhead to a big vat:
Sprinkles:
And into the cooling tube:
While we wait, it's time to design our packages:
OH! Here it comes:
Into my box:
And there they are!!!
After loading up on sweets, we went next door to the outlet mall for lunch and a quick peek inside a couple stores (including Disney!). Then it was back in the minivan for the drive to Philadelphia (just over the border into New Jersey, actually).

Still seeking the local fare, we asked the hotel clerk for a dinner recommendation. She suggested Ponzios, a famous diner.
Mom and I split this beautiful salad and seafood scampi:
Brad was looking for something light and ordered this chicken sandwich, which turned out to be deep fried and covered with fried onions. Oh well... at least it was yummy!
We returned to the hotel more than ready for a good night's sleep. I pulled back the covers on our king-size bed and found this:
What the heck!?!?! I was so tired that I laughed and laughed as I shook my head in disbelief. Seriously... the housekeeper just left it like that?!?!? Turns out that it was the fitted sheet for the full-size hide-a-bed in the suite's living room. But why in the world would he/she leave it on the king bed?!?!? WOW.

:)