Trip to Hershey and Baltimore



We had such a grand time visiting our old home a week ago. Going back it really felt like we were coming home, and it was almost like we'd never left. But then everyone's kids were older and a lot of friends weren't there anymore and I was like, yeah I guess it has been a year. It's strange and cool how you lay down roots in so many different places and they each feel like home. Centerville, Logan, Hershey, and University Heights all feel like home to me. I kind of love it.

 

Anyway, so here's what we did.

 

Saturday we rolled in to Hershey at around 5pm. We stayed with our good friends from med school Beth and Aaron Baker. Aaron was in Trey's class in med school and one of his best friends. We sure love those Bakers. We had a cookout and relaxed and then went over to King Kone for some delicious ice cream.

 

Sunday was Easter! We went to the good old Hershey ward and saw lots of our friends. It was so fun to see everyone and catch up. Beth and Aaron cooked us a fabulous Easter feast that we devoured. After we went on a little walk down a country road. I love the open spaces and rolling hills out there. It is starting to get really green and beautiful. That's one thing I miss about PA.

 

Monday we did all our Hershey-related things we wanted to do. In the morning we went to Chocolate World and it did not disappoint. It brought back lots of good memories of going there many a time just me and Luce. They are in the process of remodeling a bunch of it right now but the singing cows ride was the same so we were happy.

 

 After Choc World, we went to Fuddruckers. Trey had been craving some chili cheese fries from there. I think we converted Beth to Fudds.

 After lunch, we headed up to the duck pond by our old apartment. This was a place we frequented when we lived there. The girls had a blast throwing rocks into the pond and watching the silly ducks.

 Then we went on a walk up the trail a little way until we realized Ruby really needed a nap. :)

 This is when she was throwing a fit because she didn't want to leave. We kept walking and she just stood there and cried. It was so cute, we just laughed and I snapped this picture.

 We went back to the Bakers and Rubes napped for a minute and then we headed over to our old apartment at UME and visited with our old neighbors and played on the old playground. I have so many great memories of that place, it was fun to go back. After we picked up some pizzas at Mr. Sorrentos and headed up to the McCallisters for dinner. We sure love those guys.

Tuesday we took it easy and had a nice, lazy morning. It was chilly and rainy. We headed down to Lancaster after lunch to do some thrifting at Salvation Army where we scored some awesome high top Nike's for Lucy for $1.50! They are pretty rockin'.
Beth took us down to downtown Lancaster which was sooo cool. I couldn't believe we never explored down there when we lived in Hershey. They have some really fun vintage shops there that we were all drooling over. We found some cool prints for our house.
Then we met up with Kate! She was working nights so she had just woken up. We even Skyped with Fred while we were there. Then Trey took the girls home and me and Beth explored a few more stores. It was so dreamy shopping kidless. :)
That night we had more pizza from Sorrentos (no complaints here!) and Aaron came! He's a busy man, they are working him like crazy! I feel bad for both of them but hopefully his schedule will improve when he's finished with his intern year.
After dinner, we parted with the Bakers and went to the Voyles house for homemade spudnuts that they busted out in our honor. It was so fun to see them and catch up and see the Hintzes there too. Two wonderful families from our ward with kids a bit older, some on missions and in high school and middle school.

Wednesday we went thrifting in Palmyra to the best Goodwill I've ever been to. It's clean, huge, and they have tons of great stuff! They get a bunch of Target stuff that's brand new so it's always fun to check that stuff out. We found not one, but two of these dog planters so Beth and I both got one. I love our matching dog planters so much. We also found a cool clock and a bunch of clothes for Lucy. Thrifting is the best. I just love getting a good deal.
The rest of the day we just hung around the house while Ruby napped and we enjoyed hanging out with Beth and Murphy. The girls love that dog so much. He would always growl at Ruby because she's a little more rough and in your face than Lucy is. Murphy and Luce have a special bond they've had for a long time now. Total buddies. Someday we'll get these girls a dog...but not anytime soon. :)

Ruby loved Beth's red chair

 Thursday we packed it up and headed down to Baltimore to the Niehoff Residence. Yet another place that feels like home. We always refer to them as our east coast family. They took such good care of us during med school. We sure love that family.
Betsy took Lucy and Ruby on a nature walk and Trey and I stayed at the house and both fell asleep. We had dinner and then Betsy and Trey took the girls on another adventure to look for turtles and beavers down a trail.
Friday we went to IKEA and got a bunch of cheap, fun stuff for the house and then stopped at Andy Nelsons for some amazing barbeque on our way back to Forest Hill.
Saturday we went down to the University of Maryland to see Tess and go to Maryland Day on campus. Then we came back to the house and picked crabs! They were delicious as always.

 

 Lucy even got into it. She loved smashing the claws and getting the meat out. She said it tasted like chicken. Ruby loved banging the mallets on anything she could find. She hung out with Miss Bev and she gave her all the jellybeans she wanted.

On Sunday morning, we packed it up once again and hit the road for home. We stopped in Hershey one more time to say hi to the Flints, some friends from the ward that we didn't get a chance to talk to at church. And then on the way home we stopped in State College to see our other friends the Woods and have lunch. They used to live in the Hershey ward and then moved for a fellowship and then moved to State College for a job. Lucy and Sawyer used to be good buddies. They had fun playing while we chatted.

And that is our trip in a nutshell! We saw lots of friends and ate great food, our 2 goals for the trip. I think it was a success. It was so nice to getaway and have some fun family time too. The girls did great in the car and we had fun playing games and laughing at Ruby being her silly self.