Day 13 & 14: July 31 & August 1st

Days 13 & 14:  Sandusky Ohio - - Great Wolf Lodge

Total Miles traveled:  2,800 something - it's all blending together

Total paper towels used:  1.5 rolls

Total wipes:  1/2 a brick

9.1% Alcohol Beer consumed 4 bottles

Ice cream stops to date:  eight

Animal fact:  Owls are the only animal that can see the color blue

Memories:

Gordon:  Grace screaming on the water slides

Danny:  Leaving the campground; splooshing people from the water bucket; finding out about the silver dragon at MagiQuest; the girl ice dragon

Therese:  The kids' reaction when we surprised them with a stay at the GWL; Using the underwater camera

Grace:  Finding out about the GWL; MagiQuest on all four floors of the lodge; getting beaten by the Silver Dragon

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We got outta Dodge around 9:30 - we tried our best to impress our neighbors with our expertise.  The kids helped and also caught frogs.  They mostly caught frogs.

The car ride was long again.  Danny was very concerned that because we didn't have time to swim in the campground we might not get to swim at all on our vacation.  Gordon and I promised him that if the place we were staying in Sandusky, Ohio didn't have a pool we would turn around and go somewhere else.  {{Wink, wink}}

Pennsylvania is one long state.  It cost about $30 to ride on their expressway but it took less time to drive more miles on this leg of the journey than it did to drive the shorter, previous leg.  We also drove through the beautiful mountain ranges in PA.  The kids got a kick out of the tunnels that took us right through the mountains.

We rolled into the parking lot of the Great Wolf Lodge at about 6:00 pm.  The kids thought we were turning around.  We sprang the good news on them and they were thrilled!

http://youtu.be/NC3xR4N4MHY

We had been promised something special at the Lodge since we've stayed at the Dells GWL so many times.  They gave us two bottled waters, a small bag of plain pop corn and six dum dum lollipops.  Royal treatment.  We were mildly disgruntled.

Nevertheless, the kids enjoyed the Lodge.  The water park is only about 1/4 the size of our usual place and the MagiQuest game is sprinkled throughout the four floors of the lodge.  Grace, who is watching over my shoulder also added (for the MagiQuest enthusiast) that it has quest stones instead of a quest tree.

Although the water park is much smaller, we really enjoyed the water slides.  I liked them better than the Dells place - they were much faster and wove outside of the Lodge which was cool in the sunshine.  I had loaded up on a fresh batch of sunscreen but it turned out the outside pool was quite small so we stayed inside the whole time.  My ears are still ringing from Grace's screams on the water slide.  Every time we blasted through the tunnel the lifeguards on the other end seemed to be on high alert.  

I am also glad to see Grace getting so comfortable in the water.  We played in pretty much all the areas of the water park except the kiddie pool.

The other big feature of our time in the water was our new waterproof camera.  We got a bit carried away trying to do an underwater selfie.  It was nice to be able to carry a camera every where we went without worry.

As we were getting ready to have dinner we got a call from the front desk.  They had a gift card for us that we were supposed to have received at check-in.  $50!!!  Alright, disgruntled-ness: gone.  Since we didn't have any more expenses planned for our stay, the kids were each able to get a MagiQuest accessory and ice cream. We have enough left over for two more scoops tomorrow before we head out.

Our plans are changing a bit on for the last two days.  The thought of a nearly 7 hour drive to Naperville, IL and a long bus ride into the city the next day is a bit daunting.  We're ready to wind down.  So we will be driving a little over four hours tomorrow to the Indiana Dunes State Park area.  Sunday we will spend some time in the dunes and drive three hours to Milwaukee and crash at Paul's house.  Monday we hope to spend a little time on the Lake Front and head home - wow that went fast!

Day 11 & 12: July 29 & 30th - - Hershey, PA

Day 11 & 12:  July 29 & 30th - Hershey, PA

Miles traveled:  376

Anecdotal Research Results:

 Most NPR stations:  Massechusetts

 Most Classic Rock stations:  Pennsylvania

 Rudest Drivers:  Massechusetts

 Most Considerate Drivers:  Pennsylvania

Average clothing changes/day due to excessive creek activity: 3

Memories:

Danny:  Create your own candy bar

Therese:  Create  your own candy bar

Grace:  Create your own candy bar

Gordon:  Create your own candy bar

Other memories:

Grace:  Riding the Hershey Trolley

Therese:  Making new friends at the campsite; chocolate tasting

Danny:  "meeting the girls"; toasting marshmallows

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Loooooong drive.  Thankfully we were well rested due to the extreme care, sheltering and cooking from the Sherman family.

We arrived at the campsite well before dark and I got to work making soup and grilled cheese sandwiches while Gordon and Grace set up the tent.

We were very lucky to end up next to two grandpas and four of their granddaughters.  After hurried introductions, the only names I remember are G-Daddy and Pappa-G.  Their granddaughters ranged in age from 8 to 13.  The eight year old who was considerably taller than Grace was rather crestfallen that she hadn't moved up a notch from being the youngest girl.  

It was when G-Dadddy and Pappa-G were extolling the virtues of the Senior Discount (age 55) we made the rather disturbing discovery that we were the same age as they were.  Oh well...parent/grandparent...we were still hauling around a crew of similar ages and so as usual, the kids ran off and had a blast together.

The Hershey Campground (Hershey Camp Resort) was very nice.  It was the cleanest campsite I've ever stayed at.  I could go on and on about the showers with the actual doors and the ample changing alcove but I need to get to the real action.

Our campsite was situated along a very shallow creek.  Campers of the younger variety enjoyed stacking stones from the creek to make little dams and charming little waterfalls.  That and the baby frogs made for an irresistible attraction which in turn created a lot of laundry.

Our new neighbors invited us over for S'mores.  We shared our freaky rainbow fire stuff and both groups broke out glow sticks which fought numerous fire-flies for attention.  What a wonderful introduction to the sugar-fest that awaited us the following day.

(Side note - - flash forward to Sandusky Ohio where I am writing this and drinking a "Lake Erie Monster" pale ale.  Beer from a supermarket: 9.1% alcohol content.  Needless to say I am using the spell-check more than usual and I'm only 1/4 into the bottle.  I may get rambley)

After our missed Boston Duck opportunity, I was worried that a late start to Hershey World might mean that we would miss some attractions.  But even so, we got a late start.  I made crepes and pancakes to satisfy everyone.  I had forgotten to put the bacon in the cooler so I attempted to use the Oscar Meyer salami as a bacon substitute.  No one bought it.

The campground provided a bus which dropped us off at Hershey World.  Whatta place!  The whole thing was extremely well run.  Even for a person who cringes at things that are too touristy (and yet, here I write this from a water park) I enjoyed the well run, well presented offerings.  

Thanks to the money we saved by staying with Hana, we were able to splurge on the "Chocolate Enthusiast" package.  This entitled us to: Chocolate Tasting; 4-D mystery movie experience; Hershey Trolley tour; and "Create Your Own Candy Bar."  In between these activities we took the "factory tour" ride which was free and came with samples of the Brookstone Dark Chocolate Covered Pomegranate Seeds.  So we did this several times.

Each activity came with free samples and the Chocolate Tasting resulted in a diploma!  The kids loved the 4-D movie which included several scents, water, rumbling, seats that kicked us, blasts of air and a candy bar at the end.

We all liked the Trolley tour.  It was very educational and also entertaining enough for the kids.  Perhaps we drank the Hershey Koolaid, but we were very impressed with the legacy of Milton Hershey.  During the depression he commissioned many building projects to ensure that no one in the town of Hershey would be without a job.  Since he and his wife were unable to have children, they opened the Hershey School for orphan boys.  (They had observed that girls were much more likely to be adopted into families.)  The school provided a lodging and education and every student received $100 upon graduation.  Hershey endowed his shares in the company to the school and it continues today as a coed private school serving underprivileged kids.  After primary school, the kids are given up to $80,000 in tuition money for college.  

The highlight of the day was the "Make Your Own Candy Bar."  We each chose between milk, dark and white chocolate bars and added fillings of our choice.  We also designed the wrapper for our box.  Then, we got to watch our actual candy bars from start to finish.  The assembly line displayed the name of the candy bar's owner as it rolled down the production line.  We finished with our 6 oz candy bar (that's a really lot of chocolate!) packaged in a silver tin and wrapped in our personal label.  Super cool.  Gordon and I haven't tried ours but the kids have been nibbling.

We made a quick stop in the gift shop during which time we talked Danny out of spending his entire trip allowance on a massive Hershey Bar.

Our neighbors were heading out to the amusement park (yes, there is also an amusement park) so we had a quiet night of yet more sugar in the form of yet more S'mores.  The kids attempted to catch fireflies and we all attempted to catch a few Z's before we  hit the road the next day.

My final memory of our time in Hershey is of Danny, tired and cranky the next day, defiantly sucking down a standard sized hershey bar in the hot sun while Gordon and I broke camp.

A few more toads were caught and goodbyes were exchanged with our wonderful neighbors and we were off to our next destination.

Day 8, 9 & 10: 7/26 - 28: Boston

Day 8, 9, 10   Boston via Lexington, MA

Miles Traveled:  362

Screen Time: 1 hour per kid

Early Arrivals:  1

Rain on our parade:  twice

Silver Linings:  too many to count

Memories:

Grace:  Clam chowder in a bread bowl.  Reuniting with Jacob and Isabelle.

Therese:  Spending time with Ruth.  Relaxing at the ocean.

Danny:  Tag with Jacob and Isabelle, fun books discovered at Hana's house and sleeping on the comfortable bed.

Gordon:  Meeting the Weil cousins.

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While the Chandler family prepared breakfast, we broke camp in a hurry.  We took time to enjoy a superb breakfast and hit the road before 9:30.  We wanted to leave early as we had a very long drive ahead of us.  The drive was supposed to be seven hours without any traffic and without any stops.  We anticipate quite a bit of both.  We assumed we would arrive after dinner.

My friend Ruth's sister Hana had very graciously offered to host our family in her  beautiful, comfortable home.

We made good time and perhaps because we had been so well fed, we were able to drive much further than we anticipated before we made a stop.  We even took the scenic route through the rolling hills and farmland of the New York countryside.

After a quick rest stop, we were off and running again.  

It became apparent that we would arrive well before the dinner hour.  Ruth and her sister were visiting friends quite a distance away when we called to say were were on the front doorstep.  A quick tutorial on the garage door and alarm codes and we were snug in our new home away from home.

I felt terrible that we had arrived so early but glad we could get ourselves presentable before meeting many members of Ruth's family.  (Silver lining #1)

When the family arrived, a yummy, healthy dinner appeared as if by magic.  I got to meet many of the family members I'd heard Ruth talk about and the kids were able to catch up with Jacob and Isabelle.  

I can't imagine a nicer place to stay with good energy and a very kind host.  We were comfortable and well rested during our entire stay.

If only Mother Nature had been as welcoming.

We had planned to spend Sunday in Boston exploring the city and soaking up some history.  At first it looked like we were going to catch a break in the weather. But first we had an adventure in parking when we discovered that none of the convenient underground parking lots had enough clearance for our car's carrier.  After irritating the local drivers (this was quite audibly apparent), we stumbled on a surface lot in China Town.  As it turned out, we were only a couple blocks from the Boston Common which was just where we wanted to be.  (Silver lining #2)

No sooner had we reached the visitors center than it began to pour.  All the tourists on the Boston Common crammed themselves into the little visitors center.  We had hoped to ride the Boston Ducks (amphibious vehicles) but they were sold out.  We finally settled on the cheapest trolly tour as an alternative that would keep us reasonably dry.  

Our driver was highly entertaining and informative.  It is much more fun to be on the giving end of driver irritation.  We disembarked at the Quincy Market and joined the rest of the population looking for lunch and someplace dry.  We settled on a place boasting award winning clam chowder.  The kids were thrilled with the concept of bread bowls.  I got to relive a favorite Seinfeld episode as the cooks ordered the two women ahead of us to move along and demanded quick, concise ordering from Gordon and me.

Wow, the chowder was good.  The kids were good as well.  On a day no  one would be blamed for complaining, they hung in there with good spirits.  So we told them we'd reward them with a desert of their choice.  They picked frozen yogurt that came, with any health benefits completely offset, with chocolate and sprinkle covered waffle cone bowls embedded with  gummy bears and two huge scoops.  I can't even bring myself to tell you how much they cost.  We talked about how nice weather would have kept us from enjoying so much delicious food.  (Silver lining #3)

The sun came out briefly and we did a bit of touring and finished our trolly ride.  Our next stop was a barbecue hosted by Shawn Weil and his family and including a number of other Weil cousins.

Although the sun had come up, we stayed inside at the Weil's house as things were still a bit damp.  It was wonderful to share conversation with family and to observe the kids, who had never met before, laughing and playing together.  There were 12 Weils in one room.  More than I've ever encountered before.  While the kids watched Star Wars and simultaneously had pillow fights, we grownups enjoyed a relaxing and tasty dinner.  Our Weil hosts surprised Danny with a birthday cake to top off the evening.

Much to our surprise, our day was not yet over.  Ruth and the kids and more of her family were at another sisters house.  There was more ice cream and more carefree kid play before we called it a day.  I went home fat and happy and laden down with food and paper plates for the next camping adventure.

We fell asleep dreaming of tomorrow's sunny day at the beach.

BOOM CRASH!!!  Grace's scrambled eggs flew  into the air as lightening struck close enough to rattle the window panes.  What had happened to our sunny beach day?

I was ready to give up, but Ruth and her kids arrived on schedule ready to make a quick visit to Walden Pond before we met with Grandma Lois' brother Paul and his partner Jean.

On the way to the pond, we ran through torrential rain to the Lexington Visitor's Center to see a movie about the Minute-man march and the origins of the Revolutionary War.  

We were able to peek into Thoreau's replica house and take in the beautiful vista of Waldon Pond before heading on to our next activity.  But before we left, we logged our first official injury.  Danny stepped on a sharp rock or piece of glass and had a pretty impressive gash in his heel.  The lifeguards sprang into action with latex gloves, distilled water and questions about Danny's exposure to blood born pathogens.  They bandaged him up with a waterproof dressing and off he went.  

We dashed off to our lunch with Paul and Jean.  They couldn't have been nicer and continuing the tradition of Massachusetts good eats, lunch was delicious.  After getting to know each other and sharing stories of Grandma Lois, Jean gave each of the kids a memento of Lois'.  She had a beautiful little garnet ring for Grace and a small pouch of foreign coins collected by Lois for Danny.  Once again, we were so happy to have connected with family.

We headed back to our home away from home for a quick change into beach things.  The sun had come out and the rest of the day looked perfect.  (Actual silver lining.)

There's not much to say about a day at the beach, the kids first visit to the ocean.  Pictures of sand creations, beach combing and tide pool exploration tell the whole story.  Bliss.

After a quick shower we headed for one last dinner with Ruth and Jacob and Isabelle.  Ruth and I relived our past days as neighbors by going grocery shopping together.  

In a wink, our three days were over and it was time to say goodbye to our excellent hosts and dear friends and head out on our next adventure.