Hershey, PA & History (Washington D.C. & more)....
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TroianRae · 10-15-2007, 03:45 PM

After arriving back home from WDW 9/30 (and even knowing that we have a "tentative" September 2008 WDW trip booked), DH & I are ACTIVELY exploring the possibility of going to the East Coast in July 2008.

As of right now, our plan is to leave SD on Friday, July 4 and drive to South Bend, IN for the night; then on Saturday, July 5, we would drive from South Bend, IN to Harrisburg, PA.
We've penciled in Sunday, July 6th for the Hershey Chocolate World. Then our goal is to drive to Philadelphia on Monday, July 7th - we would be there until Tuesday, July 8th. Philadelphia would include Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell.
At that point we would head to the D.C. area (actually the Virginia side) where we plan to have our home base for the next 10 nights (8th - 18th). During our 10 day stay, we hope to see the White House; the National Mall; the monuments; Arlington Cemetery; Mount Vernon; Annapolis, MD; and more.

Here's where I'd appreciate any information and/or advice.

What is a MUST SEE or MUST DO in any of those areas??

What are some KID FRIENDLY activities?

Do you know of any WEBSITES that contain any MUST HAVE information?

DH is VERY excited for this trip.
I'm excited too, but I really looking forward to exploring a new area.

We'll be adding LOTS of new states to our list: Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, District of Columbia, Virginia, and possibly more.

Feel free to PM me any information. Thanks.

**Colexis Mom** · 10-15-2007, 03:59 PM

There's lots of kid friendly sites in Washington DC. The Smithsonian exhibits are great (Air and Space, Natural History, not sure if American History will be back up and running before you get there). The outdoor exhibits are great as well (WW2, FDR, Korean, Jefferson, Lincoln....I'm sure I'm missing some). There's also the Air and Space at Dulles, VA, which I'd highly recommend. It's a huge hangar, lots of room to roam, and very kid friendly

Just be prepared for lots of heat. At that time of year, it's very HOT and HUMID in that area (my DSIL lives in Northern VA). She comes up here for the summer to escape the heat

RobDVC · 10-15-2007, 04:45 PM

The "tour" of the chocolate plant isn't a tour of the real plant, it's an informative ride that dumps you out into a merchandise store... sound familiar?

Hersheypark is a fun place to visit with children, and ZooAmerica is a neat little zoo. There are also the Hershey Gardens to visit.
If you weren't planning on going to Hersheypark, there really isn't much to do there for kids.

As for Philadelphia, you *must* go to Independence Mall and visit Independence Hall, The National Constitution Center and the Liberty Bell. If you were spending more than one full day here, I'd give you some more ideas.

TroianRae · 10-15-2007, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RobDVC

The "tour" of the chocolate plant isn't a tour of the real plant, it's an informative ride that dumps you out into a merchandise store... sound familiar?

.

Oh well, the kids have asked to go to Chocolate World. Ya do what ya gotta do sometimes, ya know?? LOL

Quote:

As for Philadelphia, you *must* go to Independence Mall and visit Independence Hall, The National Constitution Center and the Liberty Bell. If you were spending more than one full day here, I'd give you some more ideas.

Those 3 things are what we plan to do there; I wasn't sure about anything else so I changed our stay from two full days down to just one.

Should I reconsider??

What else would you suggest??

JoanW · 10-15-2007, 08:26 PM

In Annapolis, there are tours Annapolis Maryland Walking Tours, Private Yacht Charters, Chesapeake Bay Sightseeing Cruises: Watermark which also has Pirates of the Chesapeake tours which everyone raves about. The tours downtown are by guides in colonial costume and cover a variety of places, including the US Naval Academy. You can do both in 4 hours, I believe.

Ginns1 · 10-15-2007, 09:35 PM

Being a former "Baltimoron" I say you have to see the Inner Harbor! The Science Center and the Aquarium are wonderful! You can take short cruises around the harbor that are fun. Also, the zoo in Baltimore is great for kids!

**chezp** · 10-16-2007, 01:54 AM

What a great plan - we love Philly and DC.

I'd agree - definitely see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. We also loved the carriage ride we took around the city, it was a lot of fun. Don't miss Reading Terminal Market - it's an amazing place and we also loved the view from the top of City Hall. That was a really cool place. You also have to see the LOVE sign and the Museum of Art, as well as Boathouse Row in Fairmount Park. They all make for some great photo opportunities. I would stick with two days, as there is plenty to do in the area and at least you won't be rushed. We went to Longwood Gardens as well and saw their festive lights and that's worth a look as well.

How neat to have ten days in DC - don't miss the Air and Space Museum, both the part in the Mall and the part at Dulles, Arlington Cemetery, going up the Washington Monument or the Capital. I've heard a lot of good things about the Spy Museum, although we didn't make it there on our last trip. We did go to the Zoo and were impressed with that. In the past, we've really enjoyed taking a night-time tour of the monuments - they all look wonderful at night.

scarlettsmom · 10-16-2007, 08:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TroianRae

Oh well, the kids have asked to go to Chocolate World. Ya do what ya gotta do sometimes, ya know?? LOL

Those 3 things are what we plan to do there; I wasn't sure about anything else so I changed our stay from two full days down to just one.

Should I reconsider??

What else would you suggest??

You should consider doing Philly for July 4th. The festivities are awesome!!!! tons of stuff going on. The places you picked to see are good. Also, South Street is a tourist spot. Broad street area has all of the theaters. They usually have some good ones if you like the Broadway thing. They just opened a Lucky Strike bowling alley that is amazing right off Borad Street. Old City (second street) is sooooo pretty. All of the cobble stone streets and Brown stone houses.

Hershey should def. Be a solid day. Do the park with the kids then do the tour and sleep there at Hershey Hotel. Pricey but awesome. The spa is wonderful too

scarlettsmom · 10-16-2007, 08:24 AM

DUH! Do the philly zoo too! Reading Terminal is a must (thanks Cheryl. I forgot) also. And do the Baltimore aquarium. AWESOME

DebbieG · 10-16-2007, 02:28 PM

How old are your kids? Outside of Philly is Sesame Place that's lot of fun for the little ones. Also consider the Please Touch Museum in Philly Please Touch Museum | Where Learning is Children’s Play | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Debbie

scarlettsmom · 10-16-2007, 03:37 PM

I'm not a fan of Please Touch though. It SERIOUSLY has the same stuff (not changed) since I went there as a kid 24 years ago. My daughter thinks its kind of boring and its semi costly for the 2 hours you are there. I think its $10 a person AND adults have to pay to watch their own kids. That just annoys me. We have season passes to Sesame Place and we love it there. Very awesome. The water rides are super

LBAK · 10-18-2007, 12:48 PM

I would try to add an extra day to Philly. With kids I think the Franklin Institute and the US Treasury are a must. My DD loved them as well as a carriage ride around the city, the Liberty Bell, Independce Hall, the National Constitution Cent, the Hard Rock, the Reading Terminal Market and she loved running up and down the "Rocky" steps at the Art museum.

WeatherTed · 10-18-2007, 09:25 PM

We're looking at going to Hershey and DC area as well (June 2007).

mitchg · 10-23-2007, 10:53 PM

My kids love the chocolate 'tour' at Hershey chocolate world. We went a few times this summer and my 2 yr old keeps asking when we'll go again. The trolley tour is corny, but fun and informative. If you decide to go to Hersheypark, definitely take your swimsuits and check out the boardwalk/water park area. On a hot, humid day, it's the best place to be in the park.

kewbrickny · 10-24-2007, 10:24 AM

We took the kids to DC this summer. We first stopped at Mt Vernon. My DD10 still can't stop talking about it. She was so impressed with the house and the exhibits. It was almost a full day there. When going to DC, don't forget that for the Washington Monument the park service gives out free tickets, but they go early! You can get "special" reserved tickets online from the park service for a (very) small fee. It is worth it. You also need tickets for the Capitol tour which are given out daily as well (no "pre" tickets here). Washington (Walkington as we call it) is spread out and you will do a lot of walking. The Air & Space museum is great, The American History is great too; If it reopens in time (They have a temp exhibit in the Air & Space Museum). Another great spot is Fords Theatre. They have a great exhibit of everything surrounding Lincoln's assassination and then you can go across the street to the boarding house where he died as well. The kids found this fascinating (we did too).

As previously stated, Chocolate World is like an attraction at WDW. Hersheypark is great though! If you want another fun amusement park, Kings Dominion is 90 miles south of DC.. Keep clicking those states off - it is alot of fun to do - I have 2 left! Enjoy!