Hershey Weekend

I spent a relaxing, pampered Girl’s Weekend in Hershey, PA the past couple days. We stayed at the Sheraton in York, PA which was a lovely, luxurious hotel with all the amenities and at a discounted price.

The first night, we went to Crimson American Grill, where I shared both an appetizer and a meal. For the appetizer, I got to try Loaded Fries- fries with melted cheddar, bits of bacon and green onion. It was delicious of course. As for the meal, I sampled the seafood platter, which came with fried cod and fried shrimp, crab cake, lobster… It was all very tasty. We also got a side. I chose the rice pilaf, but it was basically just rice. There weren’t really any vegetables, even though they’re supposed to be included.

Later that night, I went out with a couple of the girls to The Hop, which was across the street from the hotel. It looked like it was in a barn and it was fun in a hicks town kind of way. However, I couldn’t stand that everyone was allowed to smoke in there, so we didn’t stay for very long.

Next morning, we all met for complimentary breakfast at the hotel. It was good- Bacon, eggs, potatoes, pancake, orange juice. We decided to head to Hershey Gardens after that, and it was gorgeous! Rolling landscapes, beautiful fountains, Hershey-kiss shaped sculptures, pretty roses, colorful flowers,  lovely brooks and bridges.

We also got to check out the Butterfly House, which was wonderful and charming. Nice little waterfall, leading into a small pond with golden fishes and pretty flowers all around. There were quite a few different types of butterflies in yellow, orange, pink, dark blue and deep purple. They were also quite friendly – A few of them landed on my clothes and fluttered close around me.

We went to The Hershey Pantry for lunch and were very lucky to get a table right away (since there were 9 of us). I had the turkey club with bacon, lettuce, tomato, melted cheese, and chips. It was scrumptious- everything was fresh, crisp, flavorful and went together beautifully. And since Hershey is known for chocolate, I just couldn’t resist dessert- I tried the chocolate peanut butter pie, which was simply divine. I loved the taste of the chocolate, merged with the peanut butter on top.

Next on the agenda was Chocolate World, which I was most excited for because chocolate is one of my favorite treats. Chocolate World was huge, and quite crowded but definitely worth it.

We started off doing the free tour around the Chocolate World factory which took place in a ride. It was really cool to see the process of how they make Hershey’s Chocolates.

Then we did a Chocolate Tasting, which was held in Hershey University. We got to try Hershey milk chocolate, extra dark, Bliss, Artisan Confections, kisses and really savored them so we could identify the flavors, whether they were fruity, woodsy, earthy, citrusy, floral, coffee, nutty and/or buttery. Afterwards, we received a Hershey’s University Masters Degree in Chocolate Tasting, signed by Milton S. Hershey, Founder and D.P. Quigley, Master Chocolatier! Pretty awesome to have that distinct honor.

We also got to do a trolley ride that went through the town of Hershey, PA and got to learn about the history of Milton Hershey, the man himself and how he built his Hershey empire. It was really quite an inspirational story, especially because Hershey had failed so many times, but instead of giving up, he kept trying and look at what he accomplished through that tenacity. And the story was told in a fun, lively way- There was our main tour guide who was very knowledgeable and very sweet, and there was also an actor playing different characters from Hershey’s life. It was over the top hilarious, and thoroughly enjoyable. They also sang some songs, and passed out chocolate samples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was so much fun to visit Chocolate World, and made me feel like a kid again. We headed back to our hotel after that and just relaxed, hung out in the pool (which was really gorgeous!) and jacuzzi for awhile.

We ended up having dinner in the hotel, and prices were actually not too bad. I ordered the crab cake sandwich with french fries. It was quite good. The crab cake was made of flavorful lump crab meat, bread crumbs, milk, mayonnaise, eggs, yellow onions, and seasonings. It was melt-in-your-mouth delicious and made even better with tarter sauce.

After eating, a couple of us went out to a club called Banana Max. I didn’t love it, because smoking is prohibited and I get headaches if I’m exposed to smoking too long, but at least it was better than The Hop. It also had a cover charge, which I pretty much never pay in NYC. However, Banana Max did have a nice dance floor, played great music and was pretty hoppin’.

All in all, a great trip with fun people, full of delicious meals, beautiful places, chocolate, lots of laughter and good conversation!