Philly

This past weekend, Ly+Alan finally went to Philly with some of their friends. They braved the crazy July 4th crowds and got to see everything on her list (well except the Betsy Ross house cuz Ly discovered that it was fake and apparently Ms. Ross didn't even make the first American flag). The best part was hanging out with friends. Here are a few pictures from their adventures in the city of love.

Pennsylvania Dutch Country

Today Ly+Alan took Ly's dad to go visit Pennsylvania. Our first stop was Hershey where Rory was enamoured with the Hershey kiss lights and the chocolate factory tour. Everyone enjoyed the tour - especially Alan who ended up with nine pieces of candy at the conclusion of the tour. After the stop in Hershey, Alan drove everyone up to Lancaster County for what had to be the highlight of the day. Ly's dad grew up in Northern PA and since he arrived in DC would not stop talking about the following things he wanted to experience while on the east coast: Snow storms, scrapple, goods potato chips, and shoofly pie. While we had the snow thing covered, we were a bit lacking on the food parts - hence the trip to Lancaster County. While there Ly + Alan watched in amazement while Ly's dad discovered all his favorite childhood treats in an Amish market. After Ly's dad mini feast in the market, we drove back to Hershey for dinner at a yummy restaurant and then back home for an evening of games.

Somehow Ly's dad managed to convince a nice Amish lady to give him a "sample" (aka piece) of shoofly pie for free which he promptly ate while roaming the marketplace.

Ly's dad with his scrapple, which he bought and stored in a cooler and then cooked at home. He even made Ly try a bite of it. Which she did because she is an excellent daughter (she hated it)

A sweet weekend

This past weekend Ly and Alan went to Hershey, PA. Ly was excited because her dad had told her numerous stories about a magical place he went to as a kid known as Hershey. Apparently this is the chocolate capital of the world - the smell of chocolate drifts down the streets, you can hear kids laugh and scream on roller coasters at Hershey Park and even the lamp posts are giant Hershey kisses.

The other (and perhaps more important reason) why Ly was excited for her weekend away was so she could visit with her good friends Scott and Nancy. They are expecting their first child - a little girl - next month so Ly wanted to go see them before she was born - and also so she could see how cute Nancy looks as a pregnant lady in person =)

The weekend was everything the Lee's envisioned and more. They embarked on the Great American Sweet Tour of 2009. First stop - breakfast at a fancy donut shop. Ly doesn't even like donuts but she had an awesome time making her own donut. It was tons of fun -- Ly had one with mint frosting and Oreo cookies while Alan had one with peanut butter frosting and peanut butter cups. They were more of a dessert than a breakfast meal.

Second stop - Chocolate World, aka the Hershey Chocolate Factory. Ly was very excited to visit the chocolate factory. Imagine her surprise when instead of going into an actual working factory she got on a ride that explained the chocolate making process. It was still fun though and she even got a free sample of chocolate after the ride was over. And in true disney fashion, the ride ended in the middle of what has to be the largest chocolate store in the history of choclate stores. After much debate, Ly decided to buy some cinnamon chips for use in the infamous oatmeal cookies.

Still wanting to tour a chocolate factory, Ly and Alan continued with Scott and Nancy to the 3rd stop of the Great American Chocolate Tour of 2009: Wilbur Chocolate. This chocolate is very creamy and excellent. While there was no factory tour, there was a chocolate musuem and a significantly smaller (yet equally tasty) store.

Stuffed full of chocolate, Ly and Alan followed Nancy's (or maybe the baby's) lead and went to Five Guys for lunch (or dinner in Ly's case). After this they made a quick stop to Amish county to visit a few farmers markets and then drove back to Hershey.

All in all the weekend was relaxing and just what the Lees needed.

Gettysburg

This past weekend the Lee family jumped in the car with a few of their closest friends for a road trip to Gettysburg. A more detailed post will follow. Eventually. We promise. =)