Chocolate chocolate everywhere in Hershey, PA...

24 - 25 March 2022

Hershey, PA  

Marc-  This is our last entry for our winter trip and it is a sweet one.  We made it to Hershey, PA, the home of the Hershey Chocolate Company.  We headed out for a look at the downtown as soon as we set up the camper in the new campsite.  What is truly different about Hershey is how the City is centered around its three chocolate factories.  The Hershey name is everywhere, even on the new Hospital.  There is a large amusement park, HersheyPark, that is not open yet.  We went in search of Hershey Chocolate World, a factory tour of sorts with lots of retail a la Disney.  We went to a tasting class and we made our own candy bar.  After our visit we enjoyed lunch at the Hershey Hotel, a landmark 5 star hotel on top of the highest hill right across from Hershey's Chocolate World and HersheyPark.  The food was superb.  We are too early in the season to enjoy Hershey Gardens.  We really enjoyed our visit here.

Following these signs led to confusion.

This was a good sign to follow.

Unfortunately I turned into this street which brought me to the main factory gate.

Success on the next try with a more informative sign.

Now this sounds good.

We made it!

We begin the tour.

Our guides.

Where does the milk come from?

Ingredients...

Cocoa trees

Milk and liquid cocoa 

Mix them all together and stamp out milk chocolate bars

Or produce mechanically made kisses

We decided to try this on our own.

A very special milk chocolate bar.

A very special dark chocolate bar.

Fun to watch the conveyor belt respond to our commands.

A few parting photos

Now that is advertising

Hershey Hotel

The second floor lobby

We go underground in the Shenandoah Valley...

 23 March 2022

Harrisonburg / Shenandoah Valley Campground, Virginia

Marc-  Since it was raining on and off most of the day this was the perfect day to head for the caverns.  The Valley has several caverns suitable for visitors:  Luray Caverns, Endless Caverns and Shenandoah Caverns to name a few.  We chose to explore the Luray Caverns since they are listed as a National Historic Landmark and we have a family connection there (my sister-in-law Annie was given the middle name Luray by her parents because the place is so beautiful).  The underground hike did not disappoint with its underground pools among huge Stalactites and Stalagmites. The tunnels seem to go every which way, some large and others small.  At one point we arrived a a large chamber with a brick floor and an organ at one end.  The docent explained that this was once a dance hall with a wooden floor.  The organ is connected to the stalactites by hidden wires that cause rubber-tipped mallets to tap the stalactites producing musical tones.  This is the largest musical instrument in the world.  We heard a performance of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" and it was excellent.

The rest of our day was spent searching above ground for low cost diesel fuel and groceries.  We found both in the village of Front Royal.

The descent.

Reflecting pool

A spelunker

This was about 20 feet tall.

What is around this corner?

Stalagmites reaching for the ceiling

Some of the pathway

Worlds largest organ

Very clean water

Further adventures in Shenandoah National Park...

 23 March 2022

Harrisonburg / Shenandoah Valley Campground, Virginia

Marc-  A second day of blue skies and warm weather and a return to the park.  We entered via the Swift Run Gap and proceeded to Bearfence Mountain (3560 feet) to hike a bit.  It helps a lot to start the hike on a road that follows the ridge of the mountains roughly in parallel with the Appalachian Mountain Trail.  Within a 1/4 mile of the parking lot we took part of  the Appalachian Mountain Trail to the top of Bearfence Mountain (only a two mile hike) involving some vertical and rocky parts.  The view from the top was great.  Off in the distance I spotted the top of a ski area on another mountain to the west of us with some snow on two trails.  

Our second stop was to visit the Byrd Visitors Center at Big Meadows.  A museum here documents the development and the people who created this Park.  We enjoyed a picnic lunch at the campground (doesn't open for campers until April 1) and headed out for our second hike to a nearby waterfall (about two miles - elevation 3070 feet).  The highest elevation in the Park, near here, is Hawksbill Mountain at 4050 feet.  We took a horse trail / fire road to the base of the Falls.  Very pretty area.  There were even two fly fisherman trying their luck at a pool about halfway up the series of cascades that form the Falls. 

The last bit of excitement was passing through Mary's Rock tunnel before exiting the Park at Thornton Gap.  The road builders dug and blasted their way for several months to get through solid granite.

Age has its privileges - free with a lifetime pass

I guess we are still in the South.

A ski area with some snow left on a western ridge.

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Big Meadows Visitors Center

Bronze version of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) boys who built the roads and many of the buildings here and in other National Parks from 1933-1942.  My Dad and his brother were CCC boys in Connecticut.

Great place for a picnic in an empty site.

We visited the Falls.

Hitching rail for your horse.

The Falls are a series of cascades that drop several hundred feet.

I missed this sign.

Mary's Rock Tunnel