Thursday, August 5, 2010

SUMMER VACATION 2010 IN PENNSYVANIA

TJ and I came up with an idea of using our taxes each year to go on a family vacation. We decided that we would alternate our vacations between our hometowns. This year was our first year implementing our new plan, we spent 2 weeks in Hanover, PA with TJ's family. We had a BLAST! Here are some of the fun things we did while we were there.

As soon as we arrive we are greeted by TJ's parents....and a big container of pickled eggs! TJ loves pickled eggs and his mom faithfully makes them for him every time we come to visit! They sure do smell up the house but TJ seems to enjoy them.

We spent a lot of time sitting out back on the patio. Enjoying the warm weather, fresh air, birds flying around and lounging in the hot tub. One night we were surrounded by lightening bugs! Lightening bugs remind me of camping when I was a little girl - I love them! Brooke and Peyton loved them too and they spent the evening trying to catch them. Brooke became a pro and caught several!


Low and behold the local walmart sells fireworks! We aren't use to seeing that, living in NY. TJ bought a big pack and set fireworks off nightly! Here is Brooke with a sparkler...she was really freaked out at first!

A couple days into our vacation TJ and I took a mini vacation of our own to Ocean City, MD....without the kids! Our first stop was Assateague Island. This is a beautiful island where while ponies roam free. You can walk through nature trails and come face to face with ponies, deer and other wildlife! TJ and I were walking on a trail and a male pony turned the corner walking straight toward us! It was a really neat experience.

Check it out: http://www.assateagueisland.com/Now on our way to the shore...

While we were in Ocean city we walked the entire boardwalk! Looking at the people on the beach, checking out the shops and eating out every chance we got! We also went to Ripley's Believe it or Not...that was very interesting.

For dinner we went to Higgin's crab house. TJ feasted on all you can eat crab and fried chicken served with corn on the cob, crab soup french fries and cole slaw!

Our second day in Ocean City we took a fishing boat out in the Chesapeake Bay. Our boats name was the Happy Hooker. We caught a bunch of flounder and TJ even caught a crab and some horse shoe crabs!

After fishing we went on a wild jet boat ride! The boat was called the OC rocket and it sounded like an airplane! We went so fast all the way the coast and even crossed into Delaware. On the way out we saw a mommy dolphin with her baby! On the way back the captain veered us out deeper into the ocean and did some crazy zig zag moves and made everyone in the boat soaking wet! We had so much fun!


We made sure to pick up some carmel popcorn from Fisher's and salt water taffy from Candy Kitchen.
Check them out: http://www.fishers-popcorn.com/ and http://www.candykitchens.com/We headed back to PA to finish the rest of our family vacation! Once back we headed to Sesame Place! http://www.sesameplace.com/sesame2/ Our whole family got in free with their awesome military special! We had breakfast with most of the sesame street characters and played at the park all day!

The next day we headed to the Catoctin Mountain Zoo http://www.cwpzoo.com/ where we got to see all kinds of animals. Brooke and I hand fed a couple of geese and we even got to check out a butterfly garden.

After that we headed to Hershey Park! http://www.hersheypark.com/ We had so much fun riding the rides and playing games! Brooke went on a roller coaster called The Super Dooper Looper and she LOVED it! We took both girls on the log ride that drops into the water and Peyton had a lot of fun too! TJ and his step-dad went on an insane roller coaster called The Storm Runner - it started off going 72 MPH and had a huge drop! It looked so scary!

Then we went on a tour of Chocolate World http://www.hersheys.com/chocolateworld/ where we got to see how hershey chocolate is made. The tour was adorable and reminded me of the ride "It's a small world". We got a free piece of chocolate when it was over.

The next day TJ's mom and I packed up the kids and went shopping! We went to the mall and hit up some outlets. We got the kids some really cute outfits and even got their pictures done. While we were shopping the boys went to the AT&T National Gold Tournament. They saw some of their favorite golfers and got autographs. It was definitely a fun day for all!

4th of July! TJ bought another huge pack of fireworks and we did our own in the back yard and then we sat out front and watched the towns fireworks while the girls played with sparklers.



Brooke had been begging us to visit the White House ever since she learned about it in school. We planned a trip there just for her. We parked at the back of the white house and got to see their garden that was featured on an Iron Chef episode. On the way to the front we stopped in a gift shop where everyone took turns sitting at a mock oval office with the president and first lady standing over their shoulder.


After the white house we went to lunch at Chick-fil-A. I haven't eaten there since I lived in VA in 2004! It was the kids' first time there and they got to meet a cow...LOL We all enjoyed it, I wish we had one in NY!

That wraps up our vacation! Next stop: Florida - Spring 2011!!!

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