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(TGA) - Destination Expert  

The following was originally written as part of a post in the Pennsylvania forum in response to a question about things for "seniors" to do in the Hershey, PA area. Someone in that forum suggested it also be posted in the "Seniors" forum for folks like us who might be considering a visit, but discouraged by all the attention given the thrill rides at Hershey Park. So....

Everyone's tastes are different, but we spent a week in Hershey in October. As a couple of retired "seniors", we found plenty to do, including....

-- Chocolate World at Hershey Park. If you've never seen "the story" of how Hershey candy bars are made, this relatively-short, relatively-entertaining ride will take you from Cocoa beans to finished chocolate bar. At the end of the tour, you'll exit through a showroom with opportunities (but no pressure) to buy every kind of candy bar (and other products) manufactured by the Hershey Corporation. We didn't buy much, but had a good time chuckling at some of the old-time candy bars we thought were no longer made, but are here in plentiful supply.

-- The Hershey Trolley Works Tour was one of the highlights of our trip... It's reasonably priced and departs from the visitor's center at Chocolate World. In addition to a tour of parts of downtown Hershey, it features the life of Milton Hershey, founder of the company, and, more importanty, gives you a unique look at the Milton Hershey School which he founded for children in need. The visit to Founder's Hall on the school grounds, was a tour highlight for us.

-- Warmer months should be a great time to visit Hershey Gardens. By the time we arrived in October, it was a little late in the season to truly appreciate it, but we're sure in Springtime it would be worth several hours for a decent visit..

-- The Hotel Hershey is a grand old hotel if you're into period buildings. Their round dining room is a signature feature.

-- We spent almost half a day at a two-story antiques "mall" housed in an old barn at the junction of Routes 322 and 743, just outside downtown Hershey. It features individual booths or stalls from what seemed like about 100 antiques dealers and featured everything from old tools, to books, clothing, collectibles, you name it. It was one of the cleanest, best arranged, customer-friendly places of its kind we've ever visited.

-- The Hershey Outlets Mall, just down the road from Hershey Park, has a nice diversity with outlet prices comparable to those you'll find in Reading or Lancaster. A great place to spend part of a rainy day.

-- In about 15 minutes, you're in downtown Harrisburg, which has numerous attractions of its own....posted in other locations here on Trip tip. We'd planned to check out several of them, but hit back-to-back-to-back days of bad weather and really didn't want to wander around a strange city in the rain, so left it for another trip.

-- For a slightly longer adventure, take Rt 322 over to the Holland, Ephrata, Intercourse and Bird-in-Hand area. It's a nice, fairly scenic, easy drive. If you get to Intercourse, check out a place called Kitchen Kettle -- a collection of shops, some local and some not, that features local crafts, local specialties, and, best of all, a bakery and kitchen that cranks out some of the most delicious jams, jellies, relishes, and other specialties (think picked beets, watermelon rinds, etc) you'll ever taste. And their kitchen shop offers tasting-size samples of many of their products, so you can taste before you buy. We love it and made a special trip over there this time just to visit the Kitchen even though we didn't have time to go to the other shops while we were there. If you get a good-weather day, we'd say plan a trip to Intercourse and the surrounding "Amish Country" and make a day of it!
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