Hershey's Chocolate World - Pennsylvania

This morning we had a nice quiet breakfast at a restaurant inside our hotel. After breakfast, we gathered all of our belongings and left them with the bellhop before heading over to Hershey's Chocolate World. What an amazing place! We started with a tour of the chocolate making process. You get to ride in a "car" and the tour takes you thru the entire chocolate making process.

After that we took a Trolley ride thru Hershey where they showed us all of Milton S. Hershey's properties and accomplishments. The tour lasted about 45 minutes. Upon completion of the tour, we saw the Hershey 3D Movie. After a quick lunch, we did some shopping in the Hershey store. Ohhh, so much chocolate. I should mention that when we checked out of our hotel this morning, the front desk gal asked if we would like chocolate for the road - who can say no to that? Then at Hershey, they gave us more and more chocolate.

After our shopping, we picked up our bags and headed south to Silver Spring, Maryland - just outside of DC, where our next hotel is. The drive took about 2 1/2 hours. We arrived by 6pm. The hotel is in downtown Silver Spring in an area I would describe very closely in all respects to the Pioneer Courthouse Square area. We grabbed a bite to eat at a Red Lobster nearby and are now back in our hotel. Michael and Evan were thoroughly bummed when they said that the pool is for people 14 and over only.

Tomorrow we're off to the Spy Museum in Washington DC. We're going to take the train downtown - it's supposed to be about 2 1/2 blocks from our hotel. We're going to see if we can also get tickets to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving. Two possible hiccups - tickets go extremely fast and they don't allow backpacks of anykind and that's what we're traveling with. Maybe they have lockers? I guess we'll find out tomorrow. Or maybe we'll see Ford's Theater (the outside - the inside is being renovated :( ) and the National Archives, which are near the Spy Museum.

A fun day at Hersheypark

Nope, not a typo. Hersheypark is one word although I really want to type it as two words. After a quick breakfast of bagels and muffins at one of the little cafes in our hotel, we headed off to start our day. We spent most the day at Hersheypark - the amusement park that Milton S. Hershey built right here in Hershey. After we arrived at the park, Evan proclaimed that he was not going on any rides and asked when we could go back to the hotel. What kid doesn't like an amusement park? Matt wanted to know if I was sure he was related to us :)

Michael and Matt started the day off on the Comet - the first rollercoaster that was built in Hershey in the 1940's. It is an old fashioned wooden roller coaster. After that, they went on a somewhat tamer good old fashioned steel coaster with some upside down loops. Moving along in the park, we found they had some drive yourself race cars on those foolproof tracks. Evan perked up and said, "let's go on those." Yes - success! Michael drove me around the track while Evan drove Matt. Then we all went on a Hershey Kiss tower tour of the park - inside a round room that goes up high and turns around the park so you can see all. Okay - we're on a roll right? So I say, let's go on the "boats". I "forget" to mention that to Evan that the boats have a sudden drop. He gets on and all is well til he sees the drop. He says, "I don't think I'm gonna like this." He holds on with all his might and down we go. At the bottom he proclaims - "that was fun - let's do it again!"

As the day wore on, Michael and Matt went on over 10 roller coasters including one called the Fahrenheit that went up at a 90 degree angle – yes, they were on their backs and then straight down at a 90 degree angle – yes, looking straight down at the ground. They were then treated to many fun corkscrews. The Big Bear coaster involved sitting in a seat and your feet dangling down. The coaster spun in many loops and went upside down.

Fahrenheit - What a coaster!

Evan and I went on several tame rides while waiting, like the Ferris wheel. We all went on the Whip (a ride originally created in the 1950’s) and Music Express together. We saw several Hershey characters that the kids had their pictures taken with.

At the end of the day we went to visit the Hershey Museum and learned all kinds of fun facts about Milton S. Hershey and his company, his life, and the town he created.



Tomorrow we’re off to Hershey’s Chocolate World and a trolley ride around Hershey. After we’re done here, we’re packing up and driving down to Silver Springs Maryland where we’ll stay for the remainder of our trip.

Hershey Pennsylvania

Howdy from Hershey Pennsylvania. We arrived in Baltimore Maryland about 5pm after a long day of flying. Today we discovered that Evan seems to have a fear of flying. He was very nervous as we took off, gripping the arm rests, repeating over and over that he felt sick. It probably didn't help that Michael kept telling him things that could go wrong outside the airplane. Once we were in the air, he was much better and more relaxed. Once we started our decents, he again got very nervous and hung onto those armrests with everything he had left. After we landed in Baltimore, we got our luggage and rental van.

We drove about an hour and 45 minutes to get to our hotel - The Hershey Lodge in Hershey Pennsylvania. When we checked in, we were each given a Hershey's chocolate bar. We enjoyed a nice dinner followed by a marshmallow roast with what else...Hershey chocolate bars. Can it get any better?

We tried to watch some fireworks, but a thunderstorm moved in and the kids became quickly bored watching under cover, so we headed back to our room where we are now. The boys are "trying" to go to sleep, but that's just not going so well. Hopefully, we'll have some nice weather tomorrow. I'll post some pictures of our trip once we arrive back home.

That's all for now.

We are Family

Here are a few snapshots of our extended family that we took at Michael's birthday last Saturday.

Emma loves to hold things in her hands. Pam's watching her play with the belt on her pants.

Pam and Emma smile for this picture. Well, at least Pam smiled for the picture. Emma's scowl is classic! Yep, she's definately related to me - already a skeptic.

Grandpa Tony sits and relaxes while watching Michael open his presents. Ain't life grand? But now where's that beer?

Geez Grandma Judy - this is the third try at this picture! You've got to learn to keep those peepers open.

Owen looks for a place to sit and Grandma Sue kindly offers her lap - well, Michael and Evan's Grandma Sue, not Owens :)

Enjoying the weather

Ahh, the joys of summer!

Matt returns from work and Evan asks him to play a game of football with him. Matt and Evan relaxing after a long game of football.

Michael and Evan decide to have a water fight today. They each get out their super soakers.

Michael refilled his super soaker and is ready to attack Evan.

Evan hides around the corner to ambush Michael.

Braces Update

Michael had the wires changed on his braces today. They put on a stronger upper wire and just changed the lower wire. He got to pick out new band colors. He chose red and blue in honor of the upcoming 4th of July holiday. He'll go back at the end of July and most likely have the wires and bands changed again.

The Beginning of Summer

Michael just celebrated his 10th birthday with 7 of his friends. We took them all to play laser tag (yes, both Matt and I played along with Evan also). Then we brought everyone back here for pizza at our house. Following this, the boys played lots of Wii. The hot game of the night was Mario Kart. His birthday this year was a sleepover again. Can you believe the boys actually slept this time? They were all asleep a little past 1am.

Michael and Evan are also taking swim lessons. Michael is in Lobster and Evan is in Jellyfish. They are both working very hard on all their strokes. They really like swimming in the outdoor pool.

Family Blog Created

Welcome to the Kupperman Family Blog. This is something new we're trying to keep our friends and family updated on our lives. Most of what we will post will be bits and pieces of the kids lives - in both pictures and stories. Bear with us as we get this up and running.