Amish Country and Hershey Chocolate World!

 This is the way we like to start road trips! Aren't they so cute. Cami loved sitting so close to Lexi in Grandma's car...(sometimes a little TOO much and couldn't keep her hands/feet off of her).

On Monday, Mom had the day off work again, so we embarked on an adventure to Amish Country and Hershey! Two of my favorite places. It's a necessity for me to visit these places every time I go home- they're just dear to my heart. The first stop is always Kitchen Kettle Village in Intercourse, PA! They have a cute little petting zoo and playground that we hit up first. Derby the miniature horse is quite spunky.

 The baby goats were adorable.

 This guy? .....not so much. I just can't believe how ugly llamas are, poor guys.

 Cami got to try her hand at milking a cow. There were rubber teats that squirted water into a bucket. Why not?

 This is a look at the beautiful countryside- I love the green rolling hills!

 Inside my favorite shop- The Jam and Relish Shop! Endless samples of jams, salsas, dips and spreads to try with oyster crackers and chips. Those Amish people sure know how to make a good damson plum jam and peanut butter fluff spread.

 Jake with an array of t-shirts at the souvenir shop, with slogans like "What happens in Intercourse, stays in Intercourse", "Virginia may be for lovers but Pennsylvania has Intercourse", and the one on the bottom middle has road signs of the town names: Intercourse, Fertility, Paradise, Blue Ball, Virginville. We can see what was on their minds!

 I'm not sure why Kitchen Kettle's mascot is a giant gingerbread man, but hey he's cute!

 From there, we went down the street to the Intercourse Pretzel Factory to see how they make pretzels, which is pretty cool how fast they roll and twist them.

 And then we ate lunch at the best place ever- Immergut Pretzels! There are always 2 Amish girls working, and they make the best hot buttery soft pretzels you've ever eaten. We got hot ham and cheese pretzel pockets and cinnamon sugar. Mmmmmm. Lexi and Grandma waiting for food.

 There are lots of covered bridges in the area, so we set out to find at least one, and it proved to be harder than expected! The map was tricky. :) But we finally found one, took some pictures, drove through and called it good. Covered bridges always remind me of the movie "Funny Farm" when one collapses. Love that movie! Anyone else know what I'm talkin about?

 Classic red barn garage with a horse and buggy. Love it.

 The Amish actually do NOT like their pictures taken. I think they believe it steals away their soul. Jake couldn't resist getting a shot of this cute little boy, though. He was just standing there so nonchalantly on the porch.

 We drove from Lancaster to Lititz, where Wilbur Chocolates are made. We're not big Wilbur fans, but thought it'd be interesting to visit their little museum and see how the chocolate is made. It was just a small kitchen area with ladies at different stations, doing things like pouring chocolate into molds and dipping oreos and making fudge. Looked yummy!

 On to more chocolate in Hershey! I always love seeing the Hershey kiss street lamps, and actually smelling chocolate as you drive through town.

 We went to Chocolate World to ride the ride, of course! It never gets old seeing how the chocolate is made and hearing the singing cows and the catchy "Hershey Chocolate" jingle. Cami's still singing it to this day. Lexi enjoyed the ride in the carrier with Daddy.

 Mmmm I love Almond Joy!

 Sure do love this place!

 I'm glad Mom got to join us for the full day of adventure! Coming up next, it's Dad's turn on our trip to Philadelphia.