Hershey's Chocolate World!

Casey and I ventured to MD this weekend to see my good friend Lauren get married and to visit my Uncle Michael and his family. Therefore...no time to cook! Although, I did manage to make some Berry Shortbread Dreams last weekend to take to my parents' house for the holiday. I also took the leftovers with me to work and they were a big hit. They were very good...but the icing was WAY too "almondy" for my liking. The cookie itself was very good...but I think there was way too much almond extract in the icing drizzle. Here's a pic of the cookies (I forgot to take pics during the process because I didn't think I'd be using it for my blog).

While we were in MD, we decided to venture up to PA to see Hershey's Chocolate World! The weather was HORRIBLE and it made the drive up there quite interesting...but we got there and back in one piece. Chocolate World was...neat. I definitely would not go see it a second time, but it was a cool experience. We went on a little "ride" that showed us everything, like where the beans come from and the different flavors in the products, the machinery Hershey uses to produce their products and a lot of fun other stuff. It was pretty cool to learn how it all works! There was also a HUGE candy shop where you could get any type of candy Hershey produces and almost any kind of paraphernalia you could dream of.

And this would be the section to skip if you get grossed out easily. I'm going to share a little "TMI". While in Hershey's Chocolate World...my body proved the link between women and chocolate. I am the girl who has never been "regular" and hardly EVER gets my "time of the month." Well friends, "Aunt Flo" appeared right then and there in the middle of Chocolate World...as if the chocolate gods themselves had summoned her. WEIRD, huh?

We got off of the "ride" and this lady asked us if she could ask us some questions. We said sure...and she wanted to know what kind of candy we had bought or consumed in the last year. She then wanted to know if Casey could be a "taste tester" for her. He jumped at the opportunity! (Can you believe it...my picky-butt husband???) Anyway, he tasted two different types of candy that he told me was apparently a new kind of Jolly Rancher...but with a starburst consistency. He really enjoyed the first one and HATED the second. He had to take a questionnaire about his preferences. It was pretty cool!

While at Chocolate World we also took the "Chocolate Tasting Adventure" where we got to taste different types of chocolate and describe each. Each had a different level of cacao. We learned how the levels of cacao influences the taste, "sound" and smell of each of the chocolates. I must admit when they weren't trying to make things "cute and family friendly" it was pretty interesting.

We left Chocolate World and headed to the Hershey museum where we learned about the life of Mr. Hershey. I was not impressed...but I think Casey thought it was interesting. I thought the coolest part was in the gift shop where they had a MASSIVE amount of Chocolate Recipe Books! I went through a few and they were pretty awesome. There's no use buying one though...because Casey isn't a huge chocolate fan!

By the time we were done with Mr. Hershey's life we headed to The Hotel Hershey for dinner at Harvest. I got a Salmon Burger (it was pretty dry actually) and then I wanted to get something SUPER chocolately for dessert (I mean...c'mon....I'm in HERSHEY, PA!). I then ordered the "All About Chocolate"...and it was AWESOME! The description is, "Five layers of rich moist Devils Food Cake are filled with creamy chocolate mousseline of dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate and chocolate ganache frosted with a dark chocolate glaze. Every chocolate lovers dream come true." Isn't it pretty? It tastes as good as it looks!

I was also very impressed about the streetlamps in Hershey. They were SO VERY COOL! Every other lamp was a wrapped Hershey kiss...and then the others were the chocolate kiss. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?

Anyway, other than Hershey...we went to Lauren's wedding and also "stalked" Frank (the creator of Postsecret) by visiting his mailbox and taking pictures! We didn't really get to see a lot of my family while we were there...they were busy and we were too! But, I know that we'll see them again soon so it's okay. I can't wait to spend more time with them!

To see a few more pics of our trip to MD, Lauren's wedding, Hershey's Chocolate World and Frank's (the Postsecret creator) mailbox...go HERE.