Church Trip 2017

Hershey's Chocolate World, Scranton

Day 1

Day one of our travels was relatively uneventful, but productive, thanks to 700+ miles traveled. We departed Granite Falls shortly after 05:00, and didn’t stop until we grabbed a couple American muffins (they’re not actually English) and a biscuit at a Chick-Fil-A near Blacksburg, VA. We only made one more pit stop along the never-ending Interstate 81, and after enduring what seemed like 10,000 miles of the Shenandoah Valley, we finally arrived in Hershey, PA around 13:15. Our first stop, of course, was to find food, since we were very “road-sick” and hungry.

Lunch - The Hershey Pantry

We dined at a neat little sandwich café called The Hershey Pantry. The food was excellent, and we each got a sandwich and split a small crab Florentine dip for an appetizer.

  • Mom got a Tex Mex wrap (grilled chicken, cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, ranch sauce, grilled onions and peppers, served on a sundried tomato wrap).
  • Dad got a beef cheesesteak (onions, lettuce, tomatoes, mayonnaise, mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce on a multigrain roll).
  • I got a grilled turkey sandwich (on thick cut cinnamon bread with Swiss cheese and cranberry spread).
All the food was outstanding, and we were all very impressed with the restaurant!
The Hershey Pantry
Hershey, PA

Surprisingly good food, though looks are a bit deceiving. I’d recommend this place to anyone visiting the area.

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

hershey's Chocolate World

After lunch, we ventured back towards downtown Hershey, driving past the many marks of the company, including kiss-shaped street lights. We headed to Hershey’s Chocolate World, found a great parking spot, and headed inside.

The factory offered a free tour, so we hopped/scrambled/fell in a rotating train car and rode through a simulated factory tour, complete with the history of the company and the production process. It was fascinating, and best of all, we got a free miniature Hershey’s bar at the end.

Desserts by The Hershey Pantry

In the interest of eating food we can’t buy at home, we opted not to get anything from the giant Hershey’s store, and instead traveled back across town to a bakery operated by the café at which we ate lunch. It was simply called Desserts by the Hershey Pantry, and was across the street from the restaurant in a little grey house.

We split a blueberry muffin, a chocolate muffin, and an Oreo fudge bomb. The fudge bomb was by far the best, but all three were excellent. The blueberry muffin came in second place.

Desserts By The Hershey Pantry
Hershey, PA

We finally felt like we’d had an authentic chocolate experience after visiting here. You have to try the fudge bombs!

* – Would definitely visit again

** – Exceptional, must visit if you’re in the area

*** – Worth making a special trip to eat there

For more info on food ratings, click here.

Scranton, PA

After dessert, we made a quick run to the local Tanger Outlets, found nothing, and to our great dismay returned to I-81 and resumed our journey north. We made a quick stop in Scranton, PA to take a picture (if you don’t get the reference, don’t worry about it).

Conclusion

Around 17:00, we realized we were farther up the road than we expected, so we called and moved our hotel room for the night from PA to upstate NY, and opted to drive a few extra hours in an effort to be able to sleep in tomorrow. We arrived at our hotel in Oneonta, NY around 21:00, and retired for the evening.

Thanks for reading! Tomorrow, we head to Cooperstown, NY and the Adirondacks.

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