Lancaster, PA - Finally on Vacation! - Day 5 Added About This Page:

[BabieeMelly]

Hey Everyone! I've seen some general trip reports on here so I thought it would be fun to do one. If this is in the wrong thread then sorry about that!

Pre-Trip Info
*Our Party - Me (Melissa, 17) *Trip planner* 4th trip to Lancaster, my mom (Debbie, 40-something), 5th trip to Lancaster, my dad (Ray, 40-something) 5th trip, my brother (Michael, 16) 4th trip, my aunt (Stacy, 34) 3rd trip, my uncle (Alan, 40) 2nd trip, my cousin (Alison, 3) 1st trip)
*Our Journey - August 30 to September 3, 2004 - Driving from NYC to PA
*Our Lodging - Lancaster Host Resort, two connecting rooms (1 with a cot and pet friendly)
*Special Plans - Hershey Park, Amish-related attractions, relaxing around the resort and just enjoying our first vacation in 6 years!

Hey everyone! I'm Melissa and I'm 17. You may know me from around these boards. Anyway, when my brother and I were younger we went on vacation every single year. Our annual summer vacations were always looked forward to and greatly enjoyed. From 1990 to 1998 we went to Hershey Park, the Catskills, Orlando, Hershey Park, Virginia, Hershey Park, Lake George, Lake George again and Atlantic City. Then in 1998, the year I graduated from elementary school, we got a dog. My mom did NOT want this dog, but my dad went ahead and bought it for us anyway My brother and I were psyched! My mom... well, not so much. But all that changed very quickly...

My mom has grown so unbelievably attached to our dog! She is now 6 years old and is a small, 10-pound Shih-tzu. She's a cutie, but she's so spoiled that she can get vicious when she doesn't get what she wants ...or if my brother and I look at my mom, or if we look at the dog the wrong way Haha, yep, this is the dog you see being carried to a dry spot to go to the bathroom when it rains while it's wearing a big fluffy coat and a diamond-studded collar, haha! My mom's crazy, I know! So for the 6 years that we've had the dog we could never go on vacation since my mom wouldn't want to bring the dog and there was no way we were leaving her home - despite the fact that my aunt, uncle and cousins are DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET, and my grandparents live right next door to them! So for six years we simply didn'tgo on vacation

In 2001 for my JHS Senior Trip I went on a week-long trip to Orlando with my friends, teachers and a few parent chaperones. I hadn't been to Orlando in 9 years and was so beyond excited to go back! I wound up being in a group, and rooming with, people who's goal seemed to be to make my week miserable, but I was still completely fell in love with the place. I begged my parents to take us back for several years after that, and each year they promised we would go, yet we never wound up going.

Finally, in October of 2003 I decided that enough was enough! Traveling is my favorite thing to do and this summer we were going on vacation! We were originaly set on Orlando since I had spent 3 years telling my family how amazing it is and how much it had changed since we were there in 1992. We then realized that it might be a little much to drive 18 hours with the dog and put a lot of time and money into a trip that may be a disaster. We wanted our first trip with the dog to be somewhere a little closer. So, we settled on Lake George. We had already been there twice and I absolutely LOVE it! My Aunt Stacy (who I grew up being extremely close with, she was like a cool older sister who game my brother and I candy when we weren't supposed to have it and had a party with us all night when she babysat, lol!) decided she would like to come too, along with her husband Alan and my cousin Alison (who is like a little sister to me since I see her at least three times a week!) Aunt Stacy had come on vacation with us on her own 3 times before (to Lancaster and then Hershey Park twice) so we were all really excited to be going back. Then in June there was a tragedy within the family (my Grandma passed away at only 65 and it was very sudden - no one even knew she was sick) and we were all devestated. We thought of cancelling the vacation but everyone wanted to just get away from NY for a while so we changed the week in Lake George to 4 days at a resort in the Catskills.

As time went by and we got used to the idea of what happened (well we didn't get used to it but we began to accept it a little bit more) we decided that we might be bored at the resort and so at the last minute, two weeks before we were set to leave, we changed the vacation yet again to Lancaster. My dad found a hotel that accepted pets and we called up and booked two connecting rooms that same night. Within the next two weeks we came up with an itinerary and went to AAA to get discount tickets to Hershey Park, a Trip-Tick for driving directions and some more brochures and info on the new things to see and do in both Lancaster and Hershey, Pennsylvania. Finally the day arrived and I couldn't have been more excited!

[Tara O'Hara]

Oh Melissa! I Hershey Park and Lancaster!! I am looking forward to hearing of your adventures there!

[denwol]

We live about 20 minutes away - Can't wait to hear your report!

[BabieeMelly]

Day One - Monday, August 30, 2004

I had hardly gotten any sleep the night before since I was so excited about finally going on vacation again! My cousins from Westchester had been over the day before so we hung out at in my Grandma and Grandpa's backyard all night with my cousins from across the street. Needless to say, I was tired! However, my adrenaline was pumping due to all of the excitement so it wasn't too bad.

We decided that we were going to leave a little later on, instead of around 7:00 AM like we usually do to go on vacation, so we could walk to dog at a normal time and try to miss the morning rush hour traffic around Manhattan and Philadelphia. I got dressed quickly since I had taken a shower the night before and I brought my suitcases downstairs. My brother loves to sleep late so he decided to stay home and sleep a little later, so my mom, dad and I left at around 8:00 to meet my Aunt Stacy, Alan and Alison at the Kings Plaza Diner. We got a table and were in the middle of our meal by around 8:30 (I got French Toast ... mmm, my favorite! ) We were finally done and back at the house by 9:00.

My brother was up and dressed, much to my surprise, and so we all hung out and relaxeda little bit. My mom and dad loaded the rest of our luggage into the car and then walked the dog while my brother, Aunt Stacy, Alan and I watched some of Starsky & Hutch on HBO while Alison played with some of Oreo's toys (she loves the toys we have that play music, lol!) At around 10:30 we all piled into our cars and were on our way - waving to my Grandma who was waiting on her porch before we turned off the block!

We stopped a few blocks away at a Hess station that recently opened up a new convenience store which is really nice so my mom, Aunt Stacy and Alan could get coffee. Then we were finally on our way. The NJ Turnpike had no traffic, as usual, and after getting about an hour into Jersey we stopped at one of the rest stops. We took a bathroom break, got some mini cinnamon buns at Cinnabon and looked at the bags, pocketsbooks and sunglasses that were being sold outside. They were pretty nice and Aunt Stacy wound up buying a pair (since it was a rest stop, though, they were way overpriced!)


The rest stop on the NJ Turnpike

We continued driving thorugh NJ until we got to the PA Turnpike. It was starting to rain so Igot upset since we had somestuff planned to do for that day. It was only a light rain, though, so it wasn't bad. About an hour and a half into PA we stopped at another rest stop, it was a McDonald's. We all ran in to use the bathroom and get some McDonald's for lunch. We wound up only getting fries and drinks, though. We continued driving down the PA Turnpike, listening to the radio. It was so funny, every time a good song would come on my mom would call my Aunt Stacy and tell her to put it on, and then we'd look at their car behind us since they followed us the whole way and Aunt Stacy would be dancing in the passenger seat, lmao!


Oreo in the car, with her doggie seatbelt on, lmao!


The McDonald's rest stop on the PA Turnpike

When we finally got to Lancaster of course we got lost, lol! We were looking for Rt. 30 which would turn into Lincoln Highway East which was the street the hotel was on. We took Rt. 30 West and were driving for a while, probably around 10 minutes, and it still hadn't turned into Lincoln Highway East. According to our AAA map it should have happened already! So we went back to where we started and went down Rt. 30 East. We drove for around 15 minutes and then saw signs that we were going back up north towards Philadelphia. Ugh! So we turned back around and continued driving on Rt.30 West and finally found it! If we had only gone a minute or two farther the first time we would have seen we were going the right way! We still weren't sure exactly where the hotel was so we stopped on Lincoln Highway East at an Arby's to use the bathroom. Then we continued driving and a quarter of a mile later we found the resort!

We pulled into the main parking lot and all went into the front entrance, taking the dog with us. The lobby was GORGEOUS! It was all marble with chandeliers, a huge lounge and bar, a fireplace and more. It was really, really pretty. The adults went and checked in while my brother and I stayed with my cousin Alison. Right next to the front desk was a little play area for kids with a rocking horse, toy chest, and table and chairs for coloring. She loved it! Check-in took a few minutes and then we all went back to the cars to drive to our entrance.


Mike, dad and Aunt Stacy checking in at the front desk


Alison on the rocking horse in the kids play area

The resort was in a sort of octagon shape, with the pool outdoors and in the middle, and we were in Entrance C. We drove to the Entrance C parking lot, parked the cars and began to unload everything. I took Alison and the dog and went ahead of everyone else. We had a lot of stuff so there was some trouble balancing everything, but eventually we got it all. We walked down the hall to our rooms, which were right in the middle of the long hallway - we were in room 270 and Aunt Stacy was in Room 272. We didn't think the resort actually had connecting rooms but we were psyched to find out our rooms were connecting!

The rooms were so nice! They were done in a kind of old-fashioned, colonial decor but it wasn't stuffy at all. It still had a very modern feel. We had a large bathroom, two double beds, a desk, a table with two chairs and all the typical hotel room amenities. And what a location we had! We were on the first floor since we had the dog and were on the side of the pool (instead of the parking lot). We had a little deck in front of each of our rooms, which was really nice, with a table and two chairs. We were able to sit out on the deck and the pool was RIGHT there! Awesome!

We unpacked a little bit and explored the rooms before Alan and Alison decided to go in the pool. They changed and were outside in no time, lounging around the kiddie pool (it was around 2 feet deep). My mom and dad finished unpacking while my Aunt Stacy and I sat with our feet in the kiddie pool, and my brother lounged around the room. We could see our rooms from the pool since it was only around 20 feet away. It really was great!


Alison in the kiddie pool

Alan and Alison changed and my mom, Aunt Stacy, Alison and I went to get ice (we always make a big deal out of getting ice...it's juts one of those fun things you can only do on vacation, lol!) Then we decided to go for dinner. Me being the compulsive planner I am, lol, I had found a restaurant that looked really good. It was in a different part of Lancaster,a less touristy area, and we had to drive through the slums of Lancaster to get there. It was so weird seeing the rundown houses and parks and stuff in Lancaster - it was almost worse than some of the worst neighborhoods in NYC! Who knew?!


Mom, Alison and Aunt Stacy walking to get ice


Alison and Mike in the car on the way to Cactus Willie's

We finally got to the restaurant which was called Cactus Willies Steak Buffet. It was pretty crowded and we were seated in a large room in the back. Our waiter was sooo cute, lmao! He was like 19 or so and just cute, so I was happy we picked this place haha! The food was delicious! Not at all like typical buffet food - everything was hot and fresh. They even had a steak area where you could get made-to-order steaks with the chef cooking it right in front of you to your liking! I had some fried chicken, mashed potatos, salad, a taco, a piece of mini pizza and some vegetables. The desserts were good too - there were Amish pies, pudding, cookies and more. I made an ice cream sundae and it was so good! Everyone really enjoyed it and was glad I had found such a great place.


My dad and mom enjoying the food


Me, Ali and Mike at the restaurant

We then headed back to the resort area (back through the bad neighborhoods!). Dutch Wonderland, a popular small amusement park for kids that we had gone to on our three previous trips, was directly across the street from our hotel. If you were in front of the hotel's main entrance you could see the roller coaster! We decided to skip Dutch Wonderland since my brother and I are older and wouldn't be able to go on a lot of the rides, and Alison wouldn't know the difference whether we went or not. We did decide to go to the Dutch Wonderland Miniature Golf, though, which was right next to the amusement park. By now it was around 7:00 and the sun was setting, and it was gorgeous! We went in to pay and get our golf clubs, but first we stopped at the small arcade in the front of the main building. Alison went on a Garfield quarter ride, while my dad, Mike and I all played pin ball.


Alison on the Garfield ride


My dad and Mike playing pinball

We got out to play at around 7:30. It was so much fun! The course was really small but nice. There were a few waterfalls and the characters from Dutch Wonderland (the princess and the dragon) were animated and moving around the middle with another waterfall. There was a small cave or two, also. This was Alison's first time at miniature golf and she loved it! It was so cute seeing her try to get the ball in, and then seeing how excited she got when she finally succeeded! All day had been humid and rainy and around the 16th hole (out of 18) there was lightening in the sky every few minutes. One of the employees told us a storm was coming up from Delaware so we tried to finish up quick. I kept the ball (I always do, it's a souvineer!) and then we headed across the street back to the resort.


Alison in front of a waterfall


My mom playing mini golf

We hung out in our rooms and just relaxed since we had been up since pretty early. However, we were on vacation and we couldn't just sit around all night! We all went out on the terrace and relaxed by the pool. Luckily the storm that was brewing farther south never reached Lancaster! We took some pictures and just relaxed, enjoying the atmosphere and the pool. Then my mom, Aunt Stacy and I decided to take a walk to the lobby. You were able to reach the lobby by walking through the parking lot entrance and going that way, going out our deck entrance and walking by the pool to the front of the resort, or by walking though the maze of connecting hallways. We wanted to stay inside so we went that way. We went to the lobby and I relaxed in the lounge while mom and Aunt Stacy got some coffee. I was surprised at how empty the resort was! (And how cute the bartender was.. lmao!) A few other families were there but it was so quiet!


My dad videotaping us relaxing in the room


Aunt Stacy and Alison in their room

Dad, Alan and Alison met us in the lobby and I played with Alison in the kid's area. Michael had decided to hang out in the room and watch TV. We went to the gift shop which I loved! The lady working there was the cutest thing. She had been retired and working at the resort for 20 years and knew all the ins and outs of Lancaster. We talked about our previous trips and she got a kick out of watching Alison play with the stuffed animals and beanie babies. She thought Alison was adorable! I wound up buying a pink Lancaster nightgown, a cute keychain (it's clear and has an Amish family holding hands and walking engraved on it, and when you turn the handle it lights up in green) and a People Magazine. We then went next door to the small gym and Alison had fun sitting on the bike.


Alison in the gift shop


Aunt Stacy in the lobby

We then decided to go back to the rooms, again walking through the halls. It was a pretty long walk to get all the way around the Section C (about 3 and a half hallway lengths) but it was fun running through the halls! We got back to the room and Alison had fun running back and forth. We pretty much always left the adjoining door open so she had a blast running back and forth! Then we sat outside some more and just enjoyed the atmosphere. We really did have a great view! By that time it was around 11:00 and my dad goes to sleep pretty early so he fell asleep. My brother and I weren't tired but it had been a long day so we settled down. I took a shower and then braided my hair (so it would be crimped the next day). The 1st night somewhere new I always have a hard time falling asleep and this night was no different! The air conditioning wasn't working right. The thermostat was broken so either the air was FREEZING or you had to shut it off all together, and it was too hot to do that. It was blowing directly on my mom and dad's bed and my brother and I hardly felt it. I said we should switch beds but my mom was being a pain and had to be in the bed closest to my dog's stuff, even though the dog slept in the bed anyway, so we just stayed put. My brother and I tossed and turned all night since he's around 5'11" and likes his space and I had to squish up in a little spot!


Alison and dad relaxing in bed


Alison on the patio


Me and Alison on the patio


Dad, Oreo, Mike and Alison relaxing outside


Alison falling asleep in our room near Oreo's stuff - yes, that's the dog's carriage to the right lmao!

All in all it was a GREAT start to what turned out to be a truly amazing vacation. We loved the hotel, the restaurant, the mini golf... everything. We were so excited to finally be back on vacation that we didn't let the little things, like the air conditioner, get us down!

The Weather Was... Pretty hot and humid - it also rained on and off
The Best Thing Today Was... Just finally being on vacation again, the great resort and our perfect room location! Oh, and the cute waitor Lmao
The Worst Thing Today Was... The rain, although it only drizzled on and off, and the lightening during miniature golf (which was fun to watch, though, even though it was a little scary!)
The Funniest Thing Today Was... Watching Alison play miniature golf for the first time!
Today We Tried... Cactus Willie's Steak Buffet
And the Result Was... Wow, it was DELICIOUS!
The Most Magical Moment Today Was... Meeting the woman in the giftshop and having a blast looking around the small store!

[GoofyMom]

I'm very sorry to hear about your Grandma. It sounds like this vacation was a good idea.

I can't wait to read more. I'm loving reading about how fun it is for you to see your little cousin enjoying everything!

[Irene]

Melissa, what a great trip report. Pictures are wonderful. Cannot wait to hear more. I'm sorry about your grandmother.

[loobyoxlip]

Yep, you've got the right forum for your TR. Sounds like a lot of fun so far! Great pictures, too. Thanks!

[wdwlovers]

Great job Melissa! Looking foward to more!

[BabieeMelly]

Day Two - Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Today we got up early and got ready pretty quick. Mike was a pain to wake up so we all hung out in our room while he tried to sleep as late as possible. I don't know how he did it, though, with Alison jumping on the bed and everyone laughing and being loud! Me and Alison sat outside for a little while and took some pictures.


Aunt Stacy, Alan and Alison in our room


Alison on the stairs leading to the deck of room above us


Our view of the pool and the front of the resort from our patio

When everyone was finally ready we went for breakfast. We decided to try one of the restaurants in the hotel. It was called Vista's and had a buffet. The food was really good, but only Mike and I liked it. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and I had waffles, eggs, bacon and hashbrowns. We were seated near one of the large windows and had a GORGEOUS view of the resort golf course... it was beautiful! When we were finished with breakfast we went back to the room to get Oreo. We then walked her around the resort and enjoyed the grounds. The golf course was huge and really pretty so we took some pictures.


Mike, Mom and Alison walking Oreo in the parking lot


Alison on the golf course

We then all got in the cars, including the dog, and drove to the front entrance. We were planning on going to Kitchen Kettle Village today. We had gone there on two of our past three trips and thought it would be fun to go again. My dad ran into the lobby to get directions from the concierge and came back with a big map and information on other fun places to go. We wound up first going to the Bird-In-Hand Bakery. Bird-In-Hand is an Amish town. We drove through the corn fields and the AMish villages and it was truly an amazing experience. Although we had been to Lancaster many times before I was always too young to really acknowledge and appreciate the Amish culture. The past few months I had been watching Amish in the City on UPN (a group of Amish kids on rumspringa - they're right of passage toexperience the world before deciding whether to live the rest of thir lives Amish or not - live with a group of city kids in LA and they have to learn each other's ways and adapt to all the changes) and I absolutely LOVED it. Now getting to see everything first hand amazed me. It was so interesting driving through the backroads and seeing Amish men and women riding in their buggies, and Amish children zipping through the streets on their scooters and roller skates. I was in awe of the beauty of the countryside and it was so cool to see the kids playing outside of their homes, while the cows grazed a few feet away from them and horses galloped in the backyard. If you've never been to Amish country I FULLY reccommend it. It's one of my favorite places in the world - so peaceful, magical and truly amazing ...it's like stepping into another world!

The Bird-In-Hand Bake Shop was located directly across the lane from an Amish farm, and many Amish men were working the fields both by hand and on tractors. When we first got there a large bus was in the parking lot and the place was pretty crowded. A tour group was enoying the grounds and shopping inside. We parked and went to the small play area for kids. Alison pet the ducks and went on the swings. She also started to play with a little girl on the slide and small jungle jim. We all sat on a large swing, too, with a large table in the middle and took some pictures. Then Michael watched Alison and dad waited outside with the dog while my mom, Aunt Stacy, Alan and I went into the shop. There were homemade Dutch pies, cakes, cookies and more, as well as Lancaster souvineers. The entire shop was being run by Amish teenage girls, all around my age, and it was so interesting seeing their clothes and hearing them talk about their lifestyle. Finally the tour group left and we were the only ones in there. My dad carried the dog in and Alison and Mike came in, too. We looked around and had a good time looking at the hand-made wooden puppets (I was making fun of my brother since he's afraid of dolls and anything that looks like a doll - he claims he say Child's Play when he was too young and it scarred him for life, lmao!). Mike was PSYCHED since they had Snickerdoodles - cinnamon cookies that my Aunt Lynda usually makes for him. They're his favorite! We bought those and my mom bought some pumpkin bread (mine and her favorite!) I wound up getting a keychain of an Amish family holding hands and walking in the road (a very, very cute keychain that I still absolutely love) and a Lancaster pen.


Mom, Dad, Mike and Oreo in the parking lot


Ali in the play area


Mom and Oreo on the big swing


Mike pushing Alison on he swings, with an Amish house in the background


Dad, Mike and Oreo on the large, wrap-around porch of the bakery


An Amish man working the fields across the street


Dad, mom, Oreo and Aunt Stacy in front of the bakery


The Bird-In-Hand ake Shop Sign I took a picture of as we were leaving

We were then going to go to a working mill. We followed the directions, again through the backroads, and found the mill. However, it was very small and it didn't look like there were many people there so we decided to skip it and just go to Kitchen Kettle Village. At first the scenery was GORGEOUS - all farms with cows, horses and beautiful homes. Then we drove through miles and miles of cornfields! A few weeks before that Mike, my cousin Cari, Aunt Stacy, Alan and I had watched Children of the Corn so we were joking around about that, haha! I really couldn't believe how many corn fields there were, though!


The Amish Farmlands


Someof the corn fields!

We then got to Kitchen Kettle Village. It's a really cute place. I remembered it being pretty big, but I was suprised to see how SMALL it was! I guess I remember it being bigger since the last time I was there I was, like, 7! Unfortunately my camera battery was dying so I only got one picture of everyone in the parking lot when we first arrived So we went into the village, and today we decided to try out Oreo's new carriage. Yes, the dog has a stroller, lmao (but I warned you... I told you my mom was crazy, haha!) We pushed her around in it and you would have thought we were celebrities - we got so many looks! People stopped us left and right... they laughed, took pictures, asked where they could get one. I was cracking up! Anyway, Kitchen Kettle Village is a small village with 30 different stores. There are homemade candy and fudge shops, Lancaster Souvineers, clothes stores, Amish goods, etc. We spent some time in the food store (they had Amish foods, bakery goods, homemade candy, etc) and then my mom and I went into a souvineer shop. We really didn't buy anything, though, so after about an hour we were done and we headed back towards the resort.


Everyone in the Kitchen Kettle Village parking lot

When we got back to the resort it was around 12:00 and we had eaten breakfast at around 8:00 so we were all pretty hungry. We ordered some food from Pizza Hut and hung out in the rooms whilewe waited for it to be delivered. We watched tv, Alison ran around and my dad relaxed in bed. The food finally came after about a half hour and we all sat in Aunt Stacy's room to eat.


Mike eating pizza


Alison having fun in the room


Ali annoying Oreo, lmao! Two cuties

We then decided to take a walk to the playground. Aunt Stacy and Alan hung out in their room while Mom, Dad, Mike, Alison, Oreo and I all walked over to the small playground. It was a LONG walk! Once we got there we were disappointed to see how small and run down the park was, but Alison had a great time running around and playing on the few things there. After about an hour Aunt Stacy called to tell us she was going to come meet us, but she wasn't able to find the park (it really was a long walk) so she just went back to the room. We then decided to head back to the rooms - about a mile walk uphill


Alison on a little Merry-Go-Round


Mike and Ali on something in the park - whatever that is, lmao!


Everyone at the park, haha!


Mike in the Jungle Jim-like thing

When we got back to the room we decided to relax and hang out. My dad, however, who loves to shop, had a different idea ... so we decided to go shopping! Alan and Alison went in the pool and Mike decided to stay in the room (he wound up falling asleep!) Mom, Dad, Aunt Stacy and I headed down Lincoln Highway East to a shopping center. Mom, Aunt Stacy and I went to a Dollar Store (like the 99 cent stores here in NYC) and Odd Job while dad looked around in K-Mart. We then drove over to a liquor store so they could get some beer and then we headed back to the hotel. We had some trouble getting into the room. We had somehow forgotten our keys and Mike was sleeping, and Aunt Stacy's door was locked since Alan and Alison were still in the pool. Eventually I knocked loud enough to wake him up, lol!

We then decided to hang out outside, and Dad and Mike joined Alan and Alison in the pool. Alison LOVES the pool but she wasstill afraid to go in the main pool, even though she had on a life jacket AND swimmies! Mom and Aunt Stacy hung out on the patio while I took pictures around the area. We then all hung out on the patio, drying off and enjoying the beautiful day.


Alison in the kiddie pool


Dad, Mike, Mom and Aunt Stacy relaxing on the patio

By then it was around 5:30, we had been hanging out around the pool all afternoon, so we decided to go in and change. I watched TV while everyone took showers and changed. Mike and I then watched Alison in our room while my mom and dad went to the front desk to get a cot for our room and then go to the gift shop. The cot came within a few minutes, before they were even back, and we all hung out until around 7:00.


Alison lounging in my bed


Mike making Ali laugh, lmao

At arund 7:00 we were all hungry so we decided to go for dinner at Friendly's. There was one right doen the road on Lincoln Highway East so it was a short drive. The place was kind of small, though, and pretty crowded, so we had to wait a few minutes to be seated. We wound up sitting right in the front in two booths across from each other. We all got burgers and stuff (I think I got the Rueben but I don't really remember, lmao!) and sundaes. The food was so good!


Aunt Stacy, Alison and Alan in their booth - I like Aunt Stacy's face here!


Mom, me, Mike and Dad in our booth

We were in Friendly's until around 8:30 and then we decided to go to Walmart, lmao! We don't have a Walmart by us - only a Target and a K-Mart. This was a Super Walmart, with a supermarket in it (it was seriously the size of a big Waldbaums, and that was only HALF of the place!) ... it was HUGE! I loved it, though, because Disney has a partnership with Walmart and they had the cutest stuff! I wound up getting a cute Tinker Bell pocketbook, Tinker Bell pajamas and a plain grey zip-up hooded sweatshirt. Alan had decided to go back to the room at around 8:30, so at around 9:00 Aunt Stacy and Alison squished into the car with us and we went back to the resort. It wasn't a big deal, though, because it was right down the road.

When we got back to the resort Alison took a bath and changed into her pajamas. Then Mike, Alison, Dad and I watched The Ring in our room. I kept telling Mike to shut it off since Alison shouldn't watch it, but then Alison would scream, "No, I LOVE this movie!" even though she had no idea what it was, lmao! It didn't bother her, though... the scary parts went by too fast for her to even notice. We then watched the World Poker Tournament on the Travel Channel while mom, dad, Alan and Aunt Stacy walked to the lounge in the lobby to get coffee.


Mike and Alison watching The Ring


Alison in her room, looking through our adjoining-room door


Oreo, Mike and Alison watching the World Poker Tour


Alison, Oreo and Mike in our room


Alison trying to scare me, lmao!

When the adults got back we all decided to sit out on the patio again. The resort was still pretty quiet! We sat out there, drinking coffee and beer (I HATE beer but my brother had a some shhh, don't tell lmao!) Alison had a great time running around in the grass, as did Oreo! It was a fun night. Wewound up going to sleep pretty early again, around 11:00, since my dad fell asleep so we didn't really have a choice That's why I'm really glad we're renting a condo in Florida next year so we'll have the whole house and our own bedrooms to relax in so we won't have to worry about anyone falling asleep!

The Weather Was... Beautiful! Chilly in the morning but warm in the afternoon. The skies were blue and the sun was shining!
The Best Thing Today Was... Finding so much cute Disney stuff at Walmart
The Worst Thing Today Was... My dad falling asleep so early again!
The Funniest Thing Today Was... The reaction everyone had to Oreo being in the dog carriage, lmao!
Today We Tried... The Bird-In-Hand Bake Shop
And the Result Was... Really delicious food, interesting Amish girls and a fun playground for Alison
The Most Magical Moment Today Was... Definitely driving through the backroads of Amish country. It was amazing to see the children in their Amish clothes walking through the streets barefoot and riding scooters. It was also amazing to see the Amish men and women working the fields and taking care of their children in front of their modest homes

[GoofyMom]

Amish country really sounds (and looks!) beautiful. I'm looking forward to reading about what you do and see tomorrow!

[luvnwdwgal]

We live about an hour away from Amish country here in Ohio, and my DH and I always enjoy visiting it.

[BabieeMelly]

Day 3 - Wednesday, September 1, 2004

Today we were up pretty early again. Well, most of us were... as usual Mike took forever to get up! While he was finally getting up and getting ready we took some pictures around the room, and I sat on the Patio with Alison. We also took a walk around the pool to the lobby entrance and back. She's such a cutie, lol! We were really excited - it was our Hershey Park day! However, we were also a little upset - this was our last full day in Lancaster Well, at least we thought it was... More on that later!


Aunt Stacy and Alison relaxing in our room


Alison on our walk around the pool


Alison with a flower in her hair, lmao!

At around 9:00 we went for breakfast at Lapp's, a family restaurant right next door to the hotel. It was a buffet for a good price with really good food - eggs, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, pastries, bagels, etc. The typical breakfast fare. When we were done eating we drove back to the hotel.


Alison at Lapp's

When we got back to the hotel the maid was by our room so we took the dog and went into Aunt Stacy's room. We sat outside a little bit, walked the dog and watched TV for about 20 minutes. When the maid was done we all moved over to our room and hung out for 10 minutes. Alison watched PBS Kids and we got our stuff ready before leaving the dog and heading out for Hershey Park!


Everyone hanging out in Aunt Stacy's room

It took about an hour to get to Hershey Park. The going to bed late and getting up early, and running around all day in between, was starting to get to us, so my mom and Mike fell asleep while I dozed off a little bit listening to my CD player. When we got into Hershey we had some trouble finding the actual park, even though we had been there 3 times before! There were signs all over the area saying to drive carefully because school was back in session, so we were really hoping the crowds would be low. We finally found the Welcome Center, parked and went inside. The crowd situation wasn't looking good... there were tons of people! We finally got into the building and went right to the Hershey Chocolate Tour. We have video of us standing in line on our past 3 trips and the line was always HUGE! Today we walked RIGHT ON! Literally, we didn't stop once! The ride is a lot like Spaceship Earth - the floor moves and you have to hop into one of hundreds of cars all on a chain. We all fit into one car so it was fun to all get to go together. The rides takes you through the "Hershey Chocolate Factory" - it'snot the actual factory, though, it's just a replica. They show you exactly how the chocolate is made with large tubs of milk chocolate all over the place - mmm! There were also animated Hershey bars and the famous Hershey song - "Hershey chocolate, Hershey chocolate, it's a Hershey chocolate world. Wherever you go, no matter how far, you'll always see a Hershey bar. Hershey chocolate, real milk chocolate. Hershey - the great American chocolate bar!" Haha I love that song, it brings back so many memories ... but it always gets stuck in my head!


The Hershey Chocolate World entrance


Huge Hershey chocolates on the ride

After the Hershey Chocolate Tour we went to get tickets for the Hershey Really Big 3D Show. The next show was only 5 minutes away so we really lucked out. We were one of the last few let into the pre-show area. This was such a cute show! In the first pre-show room a really animated and fun lady told us about the fun that awaited us in the "Magical Chocolate World". There were tons of kids there and they were all so excited! After her telling us a bunch of cute stories we moved into the second pre-show room. Here we all stood around a big room and a screen in the front of the room played a movie on the history of Hershey, PA and Milton S. Hershey, the man behind the famous name (sounds familiar doesn't it... kinda like a place a little farther South!) Then we moved into the main theater. We all got our seats and 3D glasses and the show began... there was a girl in the front of the room who was supposed to be a scientist and kept trying to explain the scientific side of chocolate. Whenever she started, though, a cute talking Hershey kiss on the screen would take over and wreak havoc on the place! There were a lot of singing and dancing Hershey bars singing songs about chocolate to the tune of different show tunes. There were also cute special effect - in one part a bunhc of Hershey kisses are shot out of a canon towards the screen and they shoot puffs of air at your legs so it feels like the kisses are hitting you. At the end there were bubbles, confetti and more, which was a fun ending. Alison had enough half way through, though, and was afraid of the 3D effects so she took the glasses off.

When the show was over we explored more of Hershey Chocolate World. Of course we did a lot of shopping! First we went to the main chocolate area and got a bunch of stuff. They had some really good deals - 5 large bags of mini-bar chocolates (regular, peanutbutter cups, and other kins of Hershey chocolates) for around $7 so we bought a bunch as souvenirs. We also got some of those really big solid Hershey kisses and I got two little Hershey bars. Then we went to the other souvenir area. Alison had a field day, haha! Of course she wanted the HUGE hershey bar stuffed animals they had, but my Aunt Stacy got a smaller Hershey Kiss one instead. I already have a white teddy bear holding a hershey kiss in my room from our last trip, I'm looking at it right now, haha!, so I only got a keychain. WE bought all our stuff and then went back to the car.

When we got back to the car we remembered Hershey Park being right next to Hershey Chocolate World but we weren't sure so we decided to drive around to the Hershey parking lot. Of course it was completely out of the way, but it was fun seeing all of the Hershey-kiss topped street lights! It must be so weird actually living in Hershey, lol! We finally got to the parking lot and had to park ALL the way at the end. It was getting sooo HOT! We hopped on a tram to get to the main entrance. Aunt Stacy had the carriage so her and Alan sat with it in the last sea since there was room for a carriage there, and then me and Alison sat together and mom, Mike and dad sat right behind us. When we got to the entrane what do you know... there was Hershey Chocolate World! Right next door... probably 20 feet away! Oh well, at least it was a fun tram ride, lmao!


Mike, mom and Alison on the tram

When we got into Hershey we were psyched to see that it was empty! Really, really EMPTY! NYC schools started late this year so everyone else was already back to school. We were so glad to be able to take advantage of the short lines! So, after a short bathroom break (ok a long bathroom break ... the bathrooms had the longest lines we encountered all day!) we went to the carousel. My brother and I don't really care about the merry-go-round anymore but the carousel is Alison's FAVORITE ride so she went on it and had a great time! Then me, Mike, dad and Alan went on The Comet. It was a fun wooden rollercoaster that really knocked you around! Then my dad, Mike and Alan went on an upside down steel coaster. I forgot the name I LOVE rides, espcially all those crazy coasters, but I just wasn't in the mood today. It was too hot!


Dad and mom in front of the coaster the guys went on

We saw a whole row of ski-ball tables so of course we had to stop - we LOVE ski-ball and play at all the amusement parks we go to. We wound up winning a bunch of really cute stuffed Kermit keychains! Then we all headed over to the flume. Alison had never been on a flume before so we were excited to see her reaction. Me and Alison sat in thr front cabin while Aunt Stacy and Alan were in the back, and then mom, dad and Mike went in the log behind us. There were a lot of small but bumpy drops before the main one which Ali did NOT like. We got to a part right before the drop where a bunch of animatronic guys are working at a mill and she was distracted for a few seconds, but once the drop came she didn't know what was going on! She didn't like it and whenever I ask her now if she wants to go on the flume she says, "No, it's too scary!" LoL, the picture they take on the ride came out cute but Alison wasn't looking at the camera!

We then headed over to the antique cars. There are two rows so four people can go together. Me and Alison went on our own with me driving, Aunt Stacy and Alan were behind us and then mom, dad and Mike went together. I didn't let Alison drive at first since I didn't think they would let her but she kept begging me so I told Aunt Stacy and Alan to stop behind us and I stopped our car and we switched quick halfway through, lmao! she LOVED driving! It was so cute. Afterwards we went to the Hershey Kiss observation tower. We weren't going to go on it but there was no line so we hopped right on. I'm a little weary of heights so being up there for so long, around 3-4 minutes, I was a little apprehensive but it was fun. I'm a baby, haha, I know! Ali was scared too, but had fun. The view was GORGEOUS!


Ali and Mike on line for the Vintage Cars


Mike and Mom on the observation tower


The view of Hershey from the observation tower

By this time it was around 2:00 and it was getting really, really hot (in the 90s for the first time all summer, and it was already September!), and we were getting pretty hungry. Of course the "where are we gonna eat" fight broke out since everyone wanted different things. We finally ended up at a general burgers and fries place. We got seats and the food was pretty good!


Alison with Kermit at the restaurant

After we ate we went over to Storm Runner, the new ride at Hershey. This is the tallest and fastest coaster in the country and it's CRAZY! Mike, dad and Alan went on. What happens in the car moves up to a long, flat track. Then a countdown begins in a deep, crazy voice- "3...2...1..."And then you shoot off at 70 miles per hour down the platform, you go STRAIGHT UP 125 feet, then STRAIGHT DOWN, do a loop and then come back to the station! Wow that thing was fast! It's gonna be beat this summer, though, by Kingda Ka - the new rollercoaster at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jersey! It's gonna be faster and taller - that's crazy! We've gotten season passes the past four years and have been going since we were littile but we're skipping it this year since we're going to Disney instead. We'll have to try it for Fright Fest in October!

We then went to the kiddie area and Alison went on a bunch of rides. She had a ball! After around a half hour we were all really hot and tired so we decided to leave. Not before Alison got another ride in on the carousel, though, and took pictures with some Hershey characters.


Aunt Stacy and Ali on the monster trucks


Ali on the airplanes


Ali on the swings - she loved it at first and then when she came around to our side one time she said "Mommy, it's gonna make me sick!" The lady running the ride was cracking up, she sounded so mature it was hysterical!


Ali with a Reeses Peanutbutter Cup


Alison with a Hershey Kiss

We took the tram back to the car and drove back to the hotel. We were more hyper on the way back than we were going! -What you read next may be shocking, beware!- Halfway back home my mom looked at my dad and said... "I think we should try to book another night". The one who didn't even want to go on vacation now wanted to stay an extra night?! I was PSYCHED! She called my Aunt Stacy to see if she wanted to stay, too, and of course she did, so we were set. Labor Day weekend was coming up, though, so we weren't sure if a room would be available since the hotel was getting pretty crowded now.

When we got back to the hotel me and Mike watched Alison in our room, Alan relaxed in his room and mom, dad, and Aunt Stacy walked to the front desk to try to book another night. After getting our hopes up so much we really hoped we wouldn't be disappointed. While we waited for them to come back I went on a walk with Alison to our entrance to get some ice. After 20 minutes they were back and they booked another night! YES! By then it was around 5:00 and dad, Mike, Alison and Alan decided to go in the pool. Mom and Aunt Stacy dropped our laundry off at the washing machine in the front of our entrance near the ice machine, and then the three of us sat on the lounge chairs around the pool.


Alison in our room before going in the pool

Ali in the kiddie pool, with Alan and Aunt Stacy sitting on lounge chairs to the right. For some reason I really like this picture!

Mom, Aunt Stacy and Oreo around the pool

Mike, Ali and dad under the fountain in the pool - she finally wasn't afraid of the big pool and she ABSOLUTELY LOVED swimming around!


Aunt Stacy getting Ali's swimmies off - the sunset was unbelievably BEAUTIFUL that night! Ahhh it was SO nice watching it around the pool... I miss it!

At around 7:30 everyone got out of the pool, took showers and changed. The laundry STILL wasn't done, though. The dryer was taking FOREVER! So we all hung out around the rooms. We watched TV, I think the World Poker Tour again, and then finally the laundry was done at 9:00. That was the longest laundry EVER, haha! We were hungry since we hadn't eaten since that afternoon at Hershey Park so we headed to the Pizza Hut down the road. We waited around for a few minutes but the place was GROSS so we left. Thank God the Pizza Hut we ordered from the day before was from a different place! We headed a little farther down the road back to Friendly's. We sat in the back and all got sandwiches. The food was so good, I love Friendly's! By the time we got out of there it was around 10:15. Wow, that was a late dinner. We never eat that late - we eat dinner at like 5:30, lol!

When we were done we drove around both the Tanger and Rockvale outlet centers which were right down the road from each other. We were planning on going to the outlets the next day so we wanted to see what stores they had. The Tanger outlets in Long Island were better, this one didn't have THAT many stores, but the Rockvale Center was HUGE and had around 5 different centers!

We then went back to the hotel. Dad and Alan decided to relax in their own rooms, and me, Mike, Alison, mom and Aunt Stacy walked to the game room. We decided to walk around the back by the pool since it was so nice out. The game room was kind of small and run-down, but fun. A lot of the games ate our money! After putting money in a bunch of broken games we saw the big sign that said "No Refunds" in big, bold letters! Haha! A lot of the games were working weird and flipping out, too, so Aunt Stacy said the room was possessed and was gonna start telling us to "Get Out!" We were cracking up, and then Alison started saying in a deep voice, "Get Out!" Haha, it was so funny! After about an hour we headed back to the rooms and sat on the balcony. Then we all went to sleep at around 1:00 since it had been a LONG day!

The Weather Was... Nice in the morning and at night, but HOT in the afternoon... really hot!
The Best Thing Today Was... Having NO crowds and long lines at Hershey Park!
The Worst Thing Today Was... The heat and fighting over what to eat at Hershey Park, lmao!
The Funniest Thing Today Was... The longest laundry ever and the "Get Out!" Game Room!
Today We Tried... The Lancaster Host Game Room
And the Result Was... A fun and funny time, but a lossof some money lmao!
The Most Magical Moment Today Was... Definitely sitting around the pool in the late afternoon/early evening. It was so incredibly relaxing and the sunet was absolutely, unbelievably GORGEOUS! I LOVE sunsets

[GoofyMom]

I love that sunset photo of Ali getting her swimmies off. Beautiful!

Cool that you can stay another day!

[luvnwdwgal]

So glad you all had such a fun day!!!

[BabieeMelly]

Day 4 - Thursday, September 2, 2004

Today we got up early and decided to go for breakfast at Lapp's again since it was really good the day before. As usual, it took forever for Mike to finally get up and out of bed


Mom, dad and Alison relaxing around the room before breakfast - Mike's still in bed!


Oreo loved the beds, haha!

We finally all got ready and out of the hotel. We drove over to Lapps's which was right next door to the hotel. We sat at the same table (ahh, I love tradition, lmao). The food was great again! About a half hour later, though, Mike didn't feel good so I decided to walk back to the hotel with him, and we took Alison. It was a 2 minutes drive to the restaurant but wow,what a walk! It was an all uphill walk and it was so hot that day! We finally made it back, though, and since it was so hot we decided to go in through the lobby and walk through the indoor corridors rather than walking around outside to our entrance. We all relaxed and watched TV, and I called my friend Jen back at home who was planning on going on vacation to Lancaster in two weeks. I caught her up on what we had been doing and I gave her some hints and tips on the new things to do in Lancaster. This was going to be her first trip and I wanted her and her family to have a great time! After about 15 minutes of talking on the phone and watching PBS Kids with Alison everyone came back and met us at the hotel. We hung out for a little while before getting the dog and heading out to the Tanger Outlet Center.

I had gone to the Tanger Outlets in Long Island the month before. My family on my dad's side has a vacation home on the beach in Rocky Point, at the end of LI, and we go all the time. In July my brother and I had gone up with my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. Us girls had spent SEVEN hours at the outlets (it was my Aunt Debbie and Aunt Vicky, me and my cousins Cari (16), Jessica (15) and Samantha (13)). So with 4 teenage girls we were in and out of every single store and there were hundreds of them, lmao! However, the Tanger Outler Center in PA wasn't as good. There weren't as many stores, but the ones that were there were pretty good. We walkedaround and spent some time in Skechers, Nike, Big Dog, PacSun and Claires. The dog loved wlaking around, and the few people also shopping loved her Although there weren't many stores we still managed to spend a pretty penny After a few hours we were tired so we decided to head back to the hotel.

We hung out around the hotel, watching TV and pretty much just relaxing. With Labor Day just around the corner the hotel was getting CROWDED! The past few days we had been some of the only ones in the pool and hanging out on the patio. When we got back to the room and went out onto the patio we were shocked to see the pool was PACKED! There were hundreds of kids and adults alike swimming and having a great time! We decided to skip the pool and just relax.

After about an hour we decided to head out to the Rockvale Outler Center, which was just as far as the Tanger Outlets but in the other direction. There were hundreds and HUNDREDS of stores! Wow, I had never seen anything like it! We just drove around to the stores we wanted to go to, though, since the getting up early and running around all day was starting to catch up with us a bit. First we went to Cracker Barrel. We don't have any Cracker Barrel's here so it was fun looking around and seeing what they had. We also went to Big Dog again (we love that store, but there aren't any in NY so we always take advantage of them when we go to the outlets on vacation!), Payless, Sony and The Book Warehouse. I got some really nice stuff! We then left the outletcenter and drove over to K-Mart. My dad wanted to see if they had a small golf bag for my brothers golf stuff. They didn't have any, though, which probably didn't matter considering my brother and dad haven't gone golfing in quite a while, lmao! It was pretty late by then so we decided to head over to Cactus Willie's. Once again the food was great - we need one of these in the city!

We then headed back to the hotel to hang out a little bit. We watched TV and looked at all the stuff we had bought at the outlets.


Alison being a brat, lmao!


Dad, Alison and Oreo lounging around the room

It was a gorgeous night, well the sun hadn't gone down yet but it was around 6:00, and the pool had completely emptied out so dad, Mike, Ali and Alan decided to go in. Mom,Aunt Stacy and I lounged around the patio and on the lounge chairs next to the pool. We had usually only stayed around the area for an hour or so, but tonight we were there all night! The pool closed at 9:00, since the summer season was over but the Labor Day weekend hadn't officially started yet so it closed pretty early, and we stayed out until then. It wasso much fun


Ali posing in her bathing suit, haha! I told her to pose like that, she's not THAT bratty lmao!


Everyone in the pool


My dad in the pool


Mike in the pool


Alison in the little play area next to the kiddie pool


The entrance to the pool - I LOVE this picture!!


Playing basketball in the pool


Mike swimming under the bridge


Alison lounging around the pool

At around 9:00 everyone got out of the pool and changed. I lounged around the room and watched Will and Grace. The second to last 2 episodes were on and a repeat of the season finale. OMG it was hysterical, I absolutely LOVE that show!

When everyone was done changing we decided to take a walk to the lobby, while Alan waited in the room. Me and Mike sat with Alison in the kids area, my mom and Aunt Stacy sat at the bar drinking coffee and my dad relaxed in the lounge. We then went back to the gift shop to pick up some last minute souvenirs and then headed back to the room.


Alison in the concierge area looking at brochures


Mike and Alison in the kids area (the little cow she got at the gift shipis sitting on the table - it was like an inch high but according to Alison it needed it's own spot lmao!


Dad in the lounge


Mom and Aunt Stacy at the bar


Everyone in the kids area

When we had gotten back to the room we looked through some of the brochures and tourguides given to you to find a nice place to go for breakfast the next morning. There wasn't much info, though, so my mom and I walked back to the lobby and got some brochures from the concierge on restaurants and some farmers markets we wanted to stop by in the morning. When we got back it was 10:30 and we decided to head over to the game room.

We walked around the outside to the game room. It was so nice out that night. We were usually the only ones int here, but there were two teenage guys in there at the time. They were in the back room, though, so we hardly saw them. We played ski-ball, basketball and pinball. My mom and I also played a game of air hockey before I got sick of it and my dad took over for me. Then dad, Mike, Aunt Stacy and Alan played two games of pool. After they finished their first game Alison was getting cranky since she was sick of the games so I decided to go back to the room with her. I didn't want to walk back by myself, though, even though the room was close by, so my mom walked us to the room before heading back to the game room. Me and Ali lounged around in bed watching The Simpsons, Seinfeld and then Conan (I love Conan, lmao!) I was so sad that it was our last night in PA After about an hour everyone came back to the rooms and we changed and went to bed on the last night of our vacation


Alison playing ski-ball


Mom and dadplaying air hockey


The first game of pool

The Weather Was... Gorgeous - hot in the middle of the afternoon but nice and cool in the late afternoon and at night
The Best Thing Today Was... SHOPPING!!
The Worst Thing Today Was... The LONG walk back to the hotel after breakfast
The Funniest Thing Today Was... Acting stupid in the game room lmao
Today We Tried... The Rockvale Outlet Center
And the Result Was... AMAZING! HaHA I Love shopping!
The Most Magical Moment Today Was... Just relaxing around the hotel on our last night at the Lancaster Host Resort