Planes, Trains, Automobiles.... and Chocolate! (day 2 updated 6/1) About This Page:

[Politzania]

Day 1 - Wednesday, May 17

We'd taken Spooner to my parents the night before & found a petsitter for our foster dog earlier in the week, so we were ready to go Wednesday morning. We woke up about 5:30 and were on our way about 7:30 - a gas stop & other prep stuff slowed us down a bit. It was foggy and cool at first, but finally had a bit of sun after about a week of clouds & rain at home.

We took the scenic route from Central Indiana over to Dayton Ohio and arrived at the Air Force Museum around 11:00. We had a quick picnic lunch that we'd brought and then went in the museum. We decided to focus on the Disney exhibit, which was easily located in one of the hallways between the large display areas.

“Disney Pins on Wings” is the title of the exhibit - they have a mockup of an animator's desk with an in-progress sketch, as well as a newsreel clip combined with a slideshow of insignia, as you enter, then the original insignia hanging on partitions, along with some display cases with other items.

Nearly 50 WWII insignia are on display - mostly from Air Force units, but other branches are represented. While other artists' work is on display as well, (Warner Bros characters & other comic strip folks) the majority bear the official Walt Disney signature. I was surprised to find that the units could contact Disney Studios directly with their requests and that there was a special 5-man crew dedicated specifically to these requests, eventually creating nearly 1200 designs within five years. Not surprisingly, Donald Duck was the most popular character, showing up in over 200 designs!

There were some other elements on display - bomber jackets and a couple of fighter jet sections with noseart from the first Gulf War, where the insignia was copied from a WWII design. It's not a very big display, and only there through June 11 - but if you're in the area, I'd recommend stopping by.

We spent about an hour looking around and taking pictures, then got back on the road. We stopped at Heart of Ohio (a huge antique mall) for a little while, then were on our way again about 2:00. The landscape gets a bit hillier east of Columbus Ohio and we were definitely in a mountainous area by the time we reached our stop for the night in Triadelphia, WV about 5:00. There wasn't a whole lot in the area - our hotel at the top of one hill, and a restaurant at the top of another hill across the highway. We went back one exit to Cabela's - the largest outdoor outfitter's store I've ever seen! - and looked around a bit, then stopped at Cracker Barrell for dinner about 6. Back to the room to rest & watch TV before going to bed.

The weather today was - foggy at first, then partly cloudy & cool... temps in the mid 60's.
The best thing today was - the “Disney Pins on Wings” display
The worst thing today was- a minor detour due to an accident.. hope everyone was OK.
The funniest thing today was overhearing a groundskeeper at the Museum start to tell a dirty joke, then realize we & other visitors were still in earshot.
Today we tried packing a picnic lunch to save some money
and the result was yummy! Everything stayed cool & nothing was too smushed.
The most magical moment today was heading into the mountains... Indiana is awfully flat!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[loobyoxlip]

Great start - my son has been to that museum in Dayton - he loved it.

[lauren-roxy]

Great start!! We love Cabelas, there is so much to see there!! Can't wait to read more!!!

[WEDway Guy]

You're off to a great start!

The display at the museum sounds pretty cool. i never knew that Disney officially provided designs for military aircraft during the wars. Very cool. Hope you enjoyed the hills.

Now, on with the chocolate!

[crystalloubear]

Great start. The museum sounds pretty neat. You're right about Cabella's - it is huge!
Can't wait to hear more!

[Politzania]

Day 2 - Thursday, May 18

Up around 6am - on the road about 7 after a Holiday Inn Express breakfast with cinnamon buns! We continued east on I-70 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. We got on the PT about 8:15 and made pretty good time despite the rain. I would have to wait til the drive home to see the mountains in sunshine. Since I drove that day, I didn't get that good a look at them, being too busy with the road itself! The tunnels were interesting, especially the two that are one right after the other, with a teeny valley inbetween.
We made 2 stops on the Turnpike for breaks and exited around Harrisburg & arrived in Hershey around 11:15. I'm not sure the whole town smells of chocolate, but I definitely noticed a rich cocoa aroma within a few blocks of the main plant downtown.

We arrived at Chocolate World to see quite a few schoolbusses, both there and next door at Hersheypark... we thought we were being smart to visit during the week, but it turns out these destinations are popular for end-of-the-year outings. We took the free Great American Chocolate Tour - Scott said the cows & the packaging machines at the end had been added since his visit in February 2004. The ride system was a variation of an Omnimover, loading off a turntable instead of a conveyor belt, with the exit on the far side of the turntable. They were passing out fun-sized bags of Kissables - the candy-coated mini-Kisses = their version of M&M's. Did I mention I was feeling a bit subversive & was wearing a t-shirt from M&M WOrld in Las Vegas? I wore a denim shirt over it, as the day was still rather cool (mid 60's), but a couple of Hershey employees noticed it & jokingly gave me a hard time. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

We also did the Factory Works Experience - you put on a paper hat, and at the direction of a "supervisor", position a plastic bowl under a conveyor belt machine & press a button to measure out a few handfuls of kisses. You then close the bowl, shake it up & put it on a conveyor belt, with a "kiss" goodbye. Kinda silly for anyone over the age of 8 or so, but by gosh, we wanted the whole experience (and the certificate).

We walked around the gift shop/snack bar area for a bit & looked at souvenirs, then bought our tickets for the Really Big 3D Show at 1:00. We were a bit rumbly in the tumbly, so made a stop upstairs at the KIT KAT “Gimme A Break” Café - they had soups & sandwiches that were pretty good & decently priced for a "captive audience" situation. We got in queue for the show about 15 min early, in a room with lots of old ads painted on the wall - Scott got some good pics of them. The movie itself was fun, tho perhaps not worth the $6 admission price - about the level of ITTBAB, with interactive elements more on a par with Muppets 3D. Not to start a chocolate war, but the 3D show at M&M World in Las Vegas is almost as good, and it's free (up 4 levels & a bit hidden away, but free!)

We then got tickets for the trolley tour at 3:45. Scott said he'd really enjoyed the tour when he was here about 2 years ago. We had about 2 hours before the tour & since they start charging for parking after 2 hrs, we decided to drive around town a bit & check out the outlet mall area. The sky had finally cleared & the sun was shining, but not for long. We got back to Chocolate World about 20 min before our tour, so we took the Chocolate Tour again (hey, free goodies!) before going out to wait for the trolley. It started raining again about 15 min before the trolley came - fortunately, we were under a covered queue, but it was raining awfully hard for a bit, there! We did have our rain jackets (bought on clearance from DisneyShopping.com!) with us... they came in handy later on our trip.

The trolley arrived right on time - we waited for the previous tour to disembark, then got on & waited about 10 min for any last-minute riders. Not only was it pouring, but the wind started picking up - I was thankful to be inside the trolley, where it was dry, if a bit chilly - they had to put the AC on to keep the windows from steaming up.

For me, the trolley tour was the highlight of our trip so far. It was a 45 min tour of the town with a very knowledgable and entertaining conductor (with a separate driver, who was able to concentrate on traffic & the weather). He combined the story of Milton S. Hershey, Hershey the town and Hershey the company over the past 100+ years with jokes worthy of a Jungle Cruise skipper! He also passed out candy at appropriate moments - Kisses, a Hug, and a mini Reese cup (Reese was a Hershey employee who started his own confectionery with the assistance of Milton; the Hershey company bought out Reese several decades later) and a full-size Hershey bar at the conclusion of the tour. Unlike the movie, I felt the trolley tour was worth every penny ($10/person, if I recall correctly).
I had read The Emperors of Chocolate : inside the secret world of Hershey and Mars just before we took this trip and it was interesting to hear what the tour confirmed, as well as what it left out. (the 1934 strike & several near-bankruptcies)

We finished up our souvenir shopping and left Chocolate World around 5:00. By the time I got around to making hotel ressies, the two Holiday Inn Express hotels closest to Hershey were already booked (there was a BIG car show that weekend), so we drove about a half-hour southeast to Lancaster. The rain had pretty much cleared by then, and we drove through some pretty countryside on our way. We checked in and then spent about an hour at the Rockvale Outlet mall, which was right next to the hotel. We had to burn off some of that free chocolate! We got back to the room & ordered pizza and took it easy the rest of the evening.

The weather today was - cool (mid 60's) & alternately clear and rainy.
The best thing today was - the Trolley Tour
The worst thing today was- realising we were tired of walking around the Outlets when we were at the furthest point from our hotel - and the tram wasn't running.
The funniest thing today was the corny jokes that the conductor told during the tour
Today we tried eating more chocolate than was probably good for us... [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
and the result was [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/facelick.gif[/img]
The most magical moment today was how quickly the weather changed from sunny to pouring down rain!

[crystalloubear]

It does smell like chocolate everywhere in Hershey - know why??? Besides the chocolate made there, the mulch in all the flower beds is actually made of the shells from the cocoa beans.
Sounds like a good day. Those outlets are huge. I think I know which hotel you mean and that is a hike!!
Can't wait to hear more.

[lauren-roxy]

Great update!! Sounds like you had a really fun day!! Can't wait to read more!!!