Day 22, May 7, Philly Bound!

This was another rainy, cold day....all day long. However our hearts were warmed by two things. One, we stopped at Hershey Park in Hershey, PA on the way to Philadelphia. Yesterday, we thought we may have to skip this neat, little side trip. However, today we were determined to not let the wind and rain stop us from this once in a lifetime visit. Patrise had always wanted to see this place. She says, when she was a very young girl, she imagined that Hershey world had buildings made of chocolate.

The buildings are not made of chocolate, of course; still it is a fascinating piece of Americana -- this Hershey world of chocolate and candy, which began as one man's vision of mass manufacturing, quality chocolate, and has since morphed to become one of, if not THE, dominant candy maker in the world.

So we had an opportunity to fulfill a dream, to see Hershey the town, the candy manufacture and the whole amusement/entertainment world that chocolate has built.

Here are some photos of the trip from Hershey Park.

You never know who's going to show up at these places (LOL).

The second reason our hearts were warm on this over wise chilly day was that we arrived in Philadelphia, where we would stay with our friends Bob Kaufman and Jane Shure. Bob and I went to high school together in Cincinnati. Interestingly enough, it was not until our senior year that we began to hang out with one another, but since then, even though we went o college in separate cities (Philly for him, Atlanta for me), we have grown closer and closer through our adult years. We were looking forward to spending time with Bob and Jane.

Doug and Bob

From left to right: Patrise, Doug, Jane, Bob