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What I did on my Summer "Vacation":

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PCIntern Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-22-10 08:55 PM
Original message
What I did on my Summer "Vacation":
Edited on Sun Aug-22-10 08:58 PM by PCIntern
I just spent a three-day weekend in Hershey, PA for a variety of reasons. The antique auto museum was worthwhile, as was the Hershey Museum - a bit biased in favor of corporate America, but...hey...what do you expect when the guy wills 60 million dollars for a school for fatherless boys in 1923...do the math...what's that today - like a billion?

But OMFG...the Hersheypark experience was unlike any I've seen in a very long time: tens of thousands of people - no exaggeration - maybe 100,000 - I don't know, it was MONSTROUS crowd, each paying 40 dollars plus to get in...and then spending all day drinking 4 dollar Pepsi's (1/2 ice, BTW) and 8 dollar popcorn (kettle corn, with tons of sugar and salt...delicious but a KILLER)...and 12 dollar sandwiches and fries...just unbelievable. And yes...a bottle of water was about 3 dollars...most folks were pretty dehydrated on Saturday and drank and drank. Horrifyingly obese people wearing bathing suits which were ill-fitting in the water park, vicious conversations among family members, grumpy parents, tired kids, weirdly frighteningly nightmarish rides that were altogether rather safe (thank God) - but some waiting times were almost an hour for a 3 minute adventure...some queues' signs stated that there could be a 3 hour wait...well, I guess those awaiting the ride could read The Nation or The New Republic AND the NYT whilst in line...yeah...that's the ticket...

Stayed at the Hotel Hershey...if I never see another chocolate bar, it'll be too soon...everything wrapped in chocolate, smelling like chocolate (bath soap, all desserts, hand creams, etc.) the meals were a fortune, the rooms were a fortune, the vending machines were 2 bucks for a Pepsi or a water, and there was nothing for free...nickled and dimed to death. They tell all the staff to say 'good morning', 'good Afternoon', 'good Evening' and if you walk past 30 staff, you have to say back...well you don't HAVE to, but I'm polite as Hell, believe it or not...so a walk to get some ice from the vending room (Sorry THAT was still 'free') entails conversing with at least 8 people, none of whom were guests - can't really criticize people for being corporately polite I guess...most of the guests were distinctly unfriendly even when I would say a word to someone in an elevator. some really boorish and lots of McCain/Palin stickers and Bush/Cheney AND...get this one Reagan/Bush sticker ON A NEW CAR!!

Wow to that...

As I said at the outset, the antique auto Museum was remarkable...but the 'virtual tour' of the factory was horrendous...they put you in a moving vehicle and have fake assembly lines and lecture you on the nutritiousness of candy bars...it works though...the gift shop was overrun with people buying all sorts of confections including but not limited to, a 5 lb. Hershey Bar...for 39.95! Plus tax of course...

And they'll sell you a pic of you in the little car touring the 'plant' for 13 dollars! A bargain!

Don't forget the Reese's Peanut Butter cup t-shirts...on 11 dollars for you to advertise their product! Did you know, for example, that that particular orange of Reese's was copy written in the 1970's? I sure didn't...I thought the color spectrum was public domain...but what do I know?

I'm tired and have to go to bed...but I'll say one thing about Hershey, PA...it is the damnedest cleanest town I have ever been in...you can almost literally eat off the floors...the public places sure as heck are cleaner than any hospital we have down here in Philly, let me tell you.

And that...was what I did on my Summer 'vacation'.

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liberal N proud Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-22-10 09:03 PM
Response to Original message
1. If you think Hershey is expensive...
Edited on Sun Aug-22-10 09:04 PM by liberal N proud
Try Disney, it will blow Hershey out of the water. Maybe.
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PCIntern Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-22-10 09:06 PM
Response to Reply #1
3. So I've heard...
I once went to a toy Story on Ice, and paid 53 dollars for two large cokes, Two superpretzels (yich) and a 'magic wand' like the one whosis used in the beginning of the Wonderful World of Disney all tghose years ago...
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Initech Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-22-10 10:18 PM
Response to Reply #1
9. I've been jokingly referring to Disney as the "Disney Industrial Complex" for years.
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midnight Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-22-10 09:05 PM
Response to Original message
2. Sounds like the economy is not suffering in Hershey.
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PCIntern Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-22-10 09:07 PM
Response to Reply #2
4. that's sort of my point:
Who TF has this kind of money to literally WASTE?
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T Wolf Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-22-10 09:13 PM
Response to Reply #4
6. The bandits and thieves at the top have more disposable loot that just has to be spent conspicously
to validate their way of life.
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Merlot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-22-10 10:06 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. Maybe those people used to do something much better for their
vacations, like a two week visit to somewhere else. But what they could afford was a day at an overpriced water park.

and it does sound like a chocolate flavored slice of hell...
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nessa Donating Member (141 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-23-10 09:31 AM
Response to Reply #4
14. um.. you, (nt)
.
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PCIntern Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-23-10 11:36 AM
Response to Reply #14
16. Um...no...
since I spent nothing on throwaway impulse items, about 6 dollars on 'souvenirs', and only really ate one significant meal a day, I can't be lumped into the group who spent 200 dollars daily on cokes and Nathan's Hot Dogs (which I like, but won't pay 6.50 for)
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Lisa0825 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-22-10 09:11 PM
Response to Original message
5. My ex-in-laws lived in Hershey when I was part of the family.
It is a lovely town. We didn't do any of the tourist things when I was there, but yes, it was one of the cleanest and most manicured places I think I have ever been.

I know that back in the day the Hersheys did a lot of philanthropy, but I don't know if that has changed since things have changed a lot since back then
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metapunditedgy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-22-10 10:13 PM
Response to Original message
8. Funny, I had a similar experience. We went down to Hershey for some medical work
(nothing serious), and decided to make it a two-day trip. That "factory tour" was one of the silliest things I have ever seen!

I'd say more about it, but I've removed it from my memory.

Lancaster, PA was overrated, too. But maybe that's because we were there on a weekend (Sunday?) and everything was closed up.
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petersjo02 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Sun Aug-22-10 10:28 PM
Response to Original message
10. Make that "copyrighted"
Grammar fairy.
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PCIntern Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-23-10 05:25 AM
Response to Reply #10
11. Thank you...
it didn't sound quite right when I typed it...but I was so tired that I couldn't process!
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pipi_k Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-23-10 08:15 AM
Response to Original message
12. Wow...all that money...
and it doesn't even sound like fun.

Not even when you throw in the chocolate, which I'm very fond of, usually, but your description was extremely vivid and I could literally smell the chocolate fumes and I'm (for real) nauseous right now.

As far as the Reese's peanut butter cups orange color goes, I'm almost positive I've seen some Halloween pumpkins that exact shade. I don't understand how Hersheys can steal the shade from unsuspecting pumpkins and then copyright it for themselves.

Those bastards!

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Romulox Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-23-10 08:30 AM
Response to Original message
13. Hershey's chocolate is awful. I couldn't eat one bar.
:shrug:
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Name removed Donating Member (0 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-23-10 09:52 AM
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