Dutch wonderland?!

I'm writing to you from the "comforts" (And I use that term loosely) of the Red Roof Inn at Lancaster, PA. Lauren is taking a nap while Mark and I are sitting in the dark motel room taking advantage of the free wireless internet service.

So far, our little roadtrip (I would not call this a vacation, since vacations actually involve relaxing. There's nothing relaxing about traveling with a very strong willed two-year old.), has been very educational. For example, we have learned that the Pennsylania Dutch of Lancaster have to be one of the nation's most exploited people. Hopefully, there is a big Amish syndicate behind all the giftshops and tours that is making a few bucks off of this tourist trap. They deserve it as pay back for all the strip malls running through their farm land.

But we're not completely cynical. Yesterday, we stopped at Hershey to do the requisite Chocolate Factory Tour (While it has been updated to bring it into the 21st century, it remains much to my delight as I remember it, complete with simulated roasting oven and pumped in chocolate fragrance.). The tour exits into a enclave of gift shops, where Lauren immediately honed in on a little black and pink plastic Good and Plenty purse (Only $10!). I myself picked out a cute York Peppermint Patty t-shirt and a pretty mug. Mark got some free trial size Kissables.

Next, we stopped at Hershey Gardens. This was the pleasant surprise of our trip. Although it's probably not high on the list of spots to visit here, it should be. The sprawling gardens were the just the place to let loose an antsy two year old who had been in the car too long. Oh, and the flowers were darn pretty too.

Today, we visited Dutch Wonderland Amusement Park, which is basically one giant Kiddieland. Ironically, although I have ridden the major coasters at Cedar Point, I have never come as close as to getting sick on a ride as I have at Dutch Wonderland. The Turtle Whirl is sheer evil. Stay away from it.

After Lauren's nap, we're heading back to DW. I'll share photos of our when we return!