The alarm went off at 6 AM. The only problem was, I hadn't set it. I always make sure when I am at a hotel to turn OFF the alarm if I used it. I guess I should be glad it wasn’t set for earlier.

We had a breakfast package and since room service was included in the breakfast choices, we hung our room service order on our door before we went to bed and the order arrived promptly at 8:00 . The order was correct and the hot items hot. I am glad we decided to order room service because I read on Trip Advisor a review which mentioned that the wait at the restaurants for breakfast was 90 minutes!

It was raining and the forecast was for the rain to end around 1:00, so we switched our day around and headed over to the Hershey Story first. This is an interactive museum that tells story of Milton Hershey, who really epitomizes the saying, "If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again." The museum takes you from his failed attempts to start a candy company to his success with the Lancaster Caramel Company and then on to his creation of the Hershey bar and Hershey, Pennsylvania. You see how he believed that a happy worker is a productive worker with his policy of worker innovation and his building of a community that had recreational opportunities (an amusement park, zoo, and swimming area). Hershey also was a philanthropist, giving money for educational and cultural endeavors . He left his entire fortune to the school that bears his name to help underprivileged children.

The museum was fascinating, with displays on how chocolate is made, Hershey’s check to the White Star Line for a deposit on a cabin on the maiden voyage of the Titanic (which they cancelled and went on another ship earlier), to a Kiss wrapping machine designed by a worker. You can also try a flight of 6 chocolates from around the world and participate in a Chocolate Lab, where you learn about how chocolate is made and get to make some. We did the Chocolate Tasting. That is $10, but it was enough for us to share. We also did the “Worker’s Wanted” Interactive display. It is really geared for kids, but you get to “grind” cocoa, move one of the chocolate bathtubs, tap out chocolate, weigh Kisses and pack a box.

We managed to spend 2 hours in there. It was still raining when we were done and it was lunch time, so we drove back over to where the Lodge is located to try a pizza place across the street that is highly rated at Trip Advisor . We should have realized it might not be open since it was Independence Day, but we just didn’t think of it. It wasn’t open. We decided to go to Troegs Brewing Company and drove over past the outlets to try it for lunch.

I am not a beer drinker. I just don’t like it. Reviews said the food was good here, but I must admit I was a bit skeptical. We found a place to sit and you can order a tasting flight of beer. We did, but I knew I would just try a sip and that would be it. You go to the snack bar and order the food. Some snack bar. Here is a sample of what you can order: oysters on the half shell, cantaloupe hot sauce, lime, crushed ice; popcorn, brown butter, rosemary salt; crispy pork belly, cornmeal skillet bread, blueberry jam, pickled ginger, ramps; Oktoberfest pretzel, barley, sea salt, cheese fondue, horseradish mustard; poutine-style hand-cut fries, oxtail ragout, cheese curds, rosemary-onion jam, fresh horseradish, poached egg; |classic caesar salad, parmesan, croutons, white anchovies ( That is what I had) and Keith had lamb burger on curried naan, amish feta, spiced olives, apricot harissa, fries . The food was really good, but Keith wasn’t impressed with the beer.

 After lunch, we headed over the The Hershey Gardens. We parked in the self-parking of the Hotel Hershey because we wanted to go look at it. Beautiful. I really wish we had just paid the price and stayed there. Gorgeous grounds, a beautiful lounge area reminiscent of some Spanish Patio and a circular dining room.

 We decided to leave the umbrellas in the car because it had stopped raining, but that turned out to be a bad decision. We got rained on off and on in the Gardens. The Hershey Gardens were a gift from Milton Hershey to the town and built in honor of his wife, Catherine. Now at 23 acres, it houses a Butterfly House, Children’s Garden, Rose Garden, Japanese Garden and many more. Despite the rain, it was a pleasant place to walk and look at the flowers. There are Gazebos to sit in and rest your feet and a lot of the trees have benches under them.

 After the Gardens we headed over to Chocolate World . Here you can take a Chocolate Tour (free), Create your own candy bar, do a 4D Mystery, have a Chocolate Tasting Experience or Take the Trolley Tour. We came here because when I was 8 years old, I took the factory tour and remembered it. It wasn’t the same tour as today. A man at the Museum told me that ride ended in 1973. We stood in line and took the tour…and boy was I disappointed. It was a Disney wanna be with 3 singing cows who sing so loudly, you can’t hear the narration. It shows you how chocolate is made, but I found the descriptions and displays at the Museum much more informative and interesting. Kids would like it. When we did the tour when I was 8, we got a Hershey Bar. This time we got a small Kit Kat. I found the whole place to be a giant tourist trap. You can buy candy here, but it is all stuff you can buy at a local grocery store. There are T-shirts, sweatshirts etc if you want those, but you will have to be jostled by a lot of people. It was 4^th of July, so maybe at some other time of year it would be more enjoyable.

 We went back to the hotel to dry off a bit after our rainy day before heading over to What If for dinner. This restaurant is in the basement of the Howard Johnson’s. We shared the Calamari and Keith had Linguine with White Clam Sauce and I had Pappardelle Bolognese. We enjoyed it, but had no room for dessert.

 The Lodge was having fireworks for the 4^th, but it was at 10:30 and we were just too tired to go. We just relaxed in our room.