From New Jersey, we headed to Delaware by ferry. It was an hour and a half ride and fun to be out on the water. We even saw several pods of dolphins leaping through the water. It did not really save travel time, but it gave Troy a break from driving. We made a stop in Lewes, DE to make sure we got a photo. Troy got some coffee and a caramel roll to share. We also came across a toy store with Pokémon cards, so Timothy bought a Pokémon Go pack.
We also made a stop in Annapolis, Maryland for an afternoon treat and a photo opportunity. Troy had a great ice cream shop picked out. Unfortunately it was in a very busy, heavily touristy area. Troy found a sort of parking place after awhile, but when we got to the store, the line was super long. So a quick google search lead us 10 minutes away to a lovely, uncrowded shop. Parking was easy, no lines and delicious ice cream!
From Maryland, we made our way to Washington DC. Troy booked us at a hotel that was about a 10 minute walk from the mall! You could see the capitol from our roof top pool. The pool was cool, but it was also very busy, so we did not do much swimming at this stop. After dinner we walked to the mall and got on the Circulator (a bus that brings you to the monuments). We saw a couple monuments from the bus and hopped off at the MLK Jr. memorial. That one was new since Troy and I had last been to DC. We saw the Korean War memorial, the Vietnam Memorial and the Lincoln Memorial. We planned to get on the bus again, but it shut down early on Sunday. Troy ordered an Uber to get us back to our hotel. Interesting music for the ride and a strong smell in the car, and Troy enjoyed chatting with the driver--another memory!
On the 4th of July we set out on the metro to Virginia and the Arlington National cemetery. We walked around looking at some of the graves. We did not hike all the way to the Tomb of the Unknown soldier. The kids were indifferent, and it was hot. We chose to conserve our energy.
Our next stop was DC and the Museum of Natural History. Timothy looked at the insects and mummies a bit. Teresa liked the animals and the ocean area. Teresa also did a little shopping in the stores--choosing a new fox. There was a parade happening right outside of the museum, so we found a spot on the curb and had lunch while watching the parade. We watched for awhile and then walked to the Holocaust museum. Teresa was very interested in this as she has read a lot about world war 2. All of us found various parts of the museum interesting. Timothy had studied the war in school too.
We took the later afternoon off and had some downtime at the hotel. After dinner we set out to see the fire works on the mall. We debated about where to go, but decided to give the mall a try. We were pleasantly surprised at how uncrowded it was. There were certainly people, but we had no trouble finding a spot to sit. We had to wait about 45 minutes.
The fireworks were beautiful with the Washington monument in the background!
The next morning Troy and the kids walked to the capitol for a tour. We were only able to snag 3 tickets, so I stayed behind in the hotel room. Luckily the check out time was noon. I packed things up while they took a tour. By 11:30 we were on our way to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania.
We first visited Chocolate World when we arrived in Hershey. There was a 4d movie to watch. A "factory" tour to learn about chocolate making, and finally a chance to design our own chocolate bars. There was also a store with lots of candy and candy themed merchandise for sale. Troy later bought a Hershey shirt there.
The create your own chocolate bar was fun, but a little slow. We had to put on hairnets and aprons like we were actually working with food. We actually designed our bar on a computer picking the filling and kind of chocolate. Then we get to watch the bar move along a little conveyer belt and get made. We also designed a wrapper with our names. It was a memorable activity!
We checked into our hotel and had a quick dinner before heading back to the park for our 2 preview hours. Troy and Timothy did quite a few bigger roller coasters. Teresa went on a couple and I mostly just waited for everyone else. I did go on Wildcat and was not a fan. I was happy when it ended!! After two hours we were tired, but excited for the next day.
The park did not open until 11am, so that allowed us to sleep in. The hotel also offered breakfast, so it was a nice morning! Soon enough we were headed to the park ready to start the adventure. Once we made our way in we headed to the back of the park to a ride that often gets long lines. Everyone but me rode a few coasters in that area and then we got to go on the Ferris Wheel for me!
Timothy went on almost all of the really big coasters! He rode many alone, but Troy joined him for some of the ones with out loops and twists. The picture above is the jolly rancher remix. Teresa went on some of the medium coasters, I went on a tiny one. I think I liked the monorail best! Teresa really liked the Coal Cracker which was a water ride. Timothy and Troy also went on the Tidal Force which is a ride you get drenched on! It was a hot day, so it sure cooled them off. We stayed the whole day and were pretty tired by the end. We picked up some dinner on the way back to the hotel at 8pm!
We had a long drive the next morning, so we tried to get an early start. We had a 9 hour drive, but at least this time we gained an hour. We broke up the day with another Slurpee stop! Our destination was Indiana Dunes and the town of Porter.
We checked into our hotel and then unpacked. For dinner we went to the Dunes state park. There was a restaurant right on the beach. It was a lovely place to eat outside and see the beach. We were all a bit tired and a touch cranky, but the food was good. After dinner the kids played in the water until the beach closed at 7pm. Timothy said the water was warmer than the ocean. The waves were smaller, but still fun.
It was a wonderful trip, with so many memories. We drove the 4 hours home on the last day. I begun unpacking and washing clothes so we would be ready for our next trip two days later. I am thankful we stayed healthy and safe the whole trip. As I write this and look back at pictures, I wish we could be reliving it all again!
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