July 28, 2024 - August 18, 2024 -- Thousand Trails Kenisee Lakes, OH to Thousand Trails Hershey, PA
Written By: Wendy
Our first couple of days in Ohio we were by ourselves. We took this time to recover and get back into our travel groove. It has been 2 months since we'd been alone, just our family of 4, for more than just a few hours, so we took the time to reconnect. After a few days, our travel buddies, the Herds, arrived. We had plans to travel on and off with them for 4 months until Thanksgiving. We'd been telling our kids that we would be with their friends for a long time, and Parker was beyond thrilled that the moment had actually arrived! He would be with his buddies for the next 4 months. The next morning, we had plans to all go to Cuyahoga National Park, but Parker awoke with hives and a slightly swollen foot (he was stung by a bee the previous night and getting over hand, foot, and mouth, so it was hard to sort out what was what). We had already missed 4 other national parks due to sicknesses, and we could not miss another! Parker was acting normal and not even complaining about his foot, so we decided to go for it. We did an awesome hike at the Ledges Trailhead where the kids were able to climb around on boulders and hike through a narrow cave. We even stopped at a lovely winery on the way back, and all the four adults enjoyed a somewhat relaxing moment while the kids played in the grassy field behind the winery. It was a great day, and we were glad we went. The next morning, though, Parker's whole foot and leg were swollen, and we ended up in the ER for an infected foot. Oh parenting.
From Ohio, we headed to Hershey, Pennsylvania with a one night stop at a unique Harvest Host that had everything from life size dinosaur replicas, a brewery, mini golf, a mini train museum, and an ice cream shop. A little something for everyone. We stayed at Thousand Trials Hershey for 2 weeks, and we were so ready to just really settle and be somewhere for a while. We all ended up loving the area and decided that 2 weeks wasn't long enough.
One of the highlights was spending the day at Hershey Park. It was a hot and humid 90 degree August day, and we came ready to beat the heat and conquer the waterpark. I never had strong opinions on waterparks prior to this day, but I became a huge fan after this day, especially for little kids. The kids didn't have to wait in lines for rides, and they had 4 splash pads or small pools to choose from. The day ended in a downpour, but we had already been wet all day, so what was a little more water? All in all, it was a day well spent, and Caroline is still asking about when we will go back to Hershey Park, 2 months later.
Our other Hershey highlights were Hershey gardens, which had an amazing children's garden section, complete with interactive games on lifecycles, huge Hershey Kisses blowing out water, and a boat to play on. We were even able to meet up with my cousin and her husband there, which was very special. We also enjoyed a day at Chocolate World and did a trolley tour of the town to learn about the history of Milton Hershey.
Central Pennsylvania is also Amish country, and we spent a day learning about the Amish and visiting a few different Amish farms. Caroline rode her first horse (mini pony), and she was hooked. She was all ready for us to just leave her at the Amish farm and become Amish herself. She beamed from ear to ear during the ride and did not want to get off the horse after her ride was over. Luckily, I have an aunt who has about 15 horses of her own that can Caroline can learn from if her infatuation with horses grows.
In addition, we went to two different local festivals. Scott and I have repeatedly agreed that one of our favorite parts of traveling is being able to go to all the local festivals. It is a great way to really learn about the community and see what makes that particular community tick. We've also met some great people at local festivals and enjoy being part of the community, even if only for a few hours. While in Pennsylvania, we went to a peach festival one weekend. It was late August, and the perfect time for peach everything. We enjoyed peach ice cream and turkey and peach salsa wraps and brought home plenty of peaches to make peach pie and cobbler at home. Yum! The next weekend, we went to the Mt. Gretna Art Festival. Mt. Gretna is a small community, nestled in a thick forest of old growth trees. It is a Chautauqua community that focuses on education for adults and is a haven for artists. It was a gorgeous setting for an art festival, and the kids loved all the free art projects that were set up just for them.
Our time in central Pennsylvania was coming to a close, and I grew sad about leaving the bounty of the area, the little produce and bakery stands that were everywhere along the road, and the great trails close by that provided scenic hiking and running trails. But we had other places to see, and the ocean was calling our name.