Marquesha's Trip - Part VI: Cape May

Saturday presented us with a blue-sky, perfect day for playing in the sunshine.

We ventured out to Cape May, to experience the Atlantic Ocean and climb to the top of a lighthouse.

199 Steps we climbed...

...counting, laughing, getting glimpses of the ocean through the porthole windows...

...and watching our progress through the perforated steps.

At the top, the view of the ocean and a deserted bunker:

Looking up at the operating lighthouse lights, spinning 'round and 'round.

Smiling at the one simple rule of being atop this lighthouse:

Happy just being together.

On day one of this trip, we started the Buddy System.  If the group scattered, you were in charge of keeping track of just one other person.

Colleen and Marquesha were joined at the hip shoulder:

Suzie and Bethers had each other's backs:

And I quite possibly smothered my fluorescent friend  ;)

Not to worry - He survived!

We played.

We discovered jellyfish and rocks and endearing shells.

We were super cool in our shades (and hat).

We came across this beautiful building, and couldn't believe the irony of its inhabitants:

We made the most of St. Joseph's safety-yellow shirt.

We stopped to see the sinking concrete ship at Sunset Beach.

We gathered 'round a hibachi grill and had teriyaki and a delicious assortment of sushi and insta-buddied a trio from Vineland who insisted I eat off their plates! (which may or may not have horrified my travel companions ;)

On our way back to Pottstown, we stopped by Bether's favorite ice cream shop.  It was a delightful building with oh-so-yummy treats.  We held to our tradition of sharing ice cream around the table before having to say goodbye.

We really soaked up the minutes of our 3 days together, and I just love reliving it through the photos.  Thank you, Marquesha, for braving this adventure with us.  We think the world of you!!

Marquesha's Trip - Part V: Welkinweird Tour

Back at Bether's, we toured the grounds of Welkinweir as dusk fell.  Such a peaceful place.

Then, the tour took a turn - into the spectacular oddities of the estate house...

The Kitchen for the Short:

The Organists  :)

(even down to the cheerful labels  - Great and Swell):

The view of the entry lobby from above, through the sound grate meant to release the organ's music throughout the house:

Hidden rooms, just around the corner:

The workings of the organ, in a room that first appeared to be a tiny closet:

(Some of the parts looked just like rolling pins!)

An open grave in the basement (the anatomy expert investigates and determines the bones are manufactured):

A bookcase that gives way to a secret tunnel:

Horrors in the tunnel:

A cave-like room at the end of the tunnel, damp and dark:

Enough exploring for one day?  Well, ok.

Marquesha's Trip - Part IV: Hershey

Late morning found us in the quintessential town of Hershey PA, with streets lined with chocolate kiss streetlights and beautiful buildings.  Our destination was the Hershey Story museum.

I am so fond of museums that showcase the building as part of the exhibits, and let you take photos of it.  

 

The Hershey Story walks you through the life of Milton S. Hershey, from his failed attempts to run candy businesses in PA and NY, to his success with caramel, and then his explosive success with chocolate.

Before exploring upstairs, we signed up for a class in the Chocolate Lab.

Here, you learn about the origins of chocolate, and the differences between chocolate in each region (see map behind us that shows the very few places in the world that can grow the cacao tree).  Then, we got to taste-test chocolate chips from different parts of the world and guess where they were from.  That part was ridiculously formal - talking about flavor notes and uninviting our teeth to the tasting party.  Ha!  Still funny.

Then, it was time to make our own chocolate bars!  We started with milk chocolate and could add cacao nibs, red pepper flakes or cinnamon to enhance the flavor.

After our bars set up, we set off with our Chef Hoschmef to learn more about Milton and chocolate.

Mr. Hershey encouraged his employees to take ownership in their work and find better ways to do it.  Two brothers came up with this contraption for wrapping Hershey kisses.

 They came up with this machine to make their chocolate even smoother

 And, they discovered that bathtubs on wheels were the best means to transport the liquid chocolate around the factory!

 We got to try our hand at organizing an assembly line for making, boxing, and distributing kisses.  Sadly, it took us multiple tries to figure out how all the available pieces worked, but we (mostly Susan) got it!

We found the ice cream/shortening scoop we used growing up, encased behind glass in a museum

I thought I found a typo, but nope!  This Desert Bar was created for soldiers fighting in the desert.

It doesn't melt!

Perhaps my favorite place in the Hershey Story was this interactive map of the city of Hershey.  At a station on each side, you can move a cursor across the map, select a building and drop it into your chute.  It pops up information on the building and lets you walk through it!  You can project your little screen up on the big screen on the wall and take a tour of all the significant buildings in town.  Awesome.

Chef Hoschmef spent time at the create-your-own-wrapper stations and this news station.

He made the paper! :)

When we'd seen all there was to see, we moved out to the street to...uh....get raised eyebrows from the passersby.  I guess it's not normal to lie around on the sidewalk? ;)

But how else do you get the right perspective for fun, chocolate kiss photos?

This day wasn't over yet!  We enjoyed our custom-made Chocolate Lab bars on the way back to Bether's place where more adventure waited...