Hershey's Chocolate World

Hershey's Chocolate World is located about 7-10 miles off of I81 in Hershey, PA.

For us its a "must see" trip on our trips down to Virginia. Its a little bit more than 1/2 way.

Review coming soon!!!

Homecoming

Hope everyone had a nice Columbus Day weekend. The weather was superb here in New England and continues to be excellent!

We were fortunate enough to have a nice visit from our daughter and her significant other back from her US Coast Guard station in Nantucket. She was happy to get off the island! We will definately have to make a visit there sometime soon.

The two middle kids were a little bit dirty (working in the yard).

After seeing this picture along with my 3 siblings (and their families) early this week I realized that time flies! Enjoy every moment. Hug your kids! They grow so fast.

Popup One Stop

Marc and Jenn have recently purchased a 2000 Palomino Colt popup camper, have already been on 3 trips already, and Marc has started his own website called Popup One Stop

This site contains buy tips, pros/cons, general information and even a You Tube video or two on popup camping.

They are just starting out but I'm sure this site will be filled with invaluable information soon.

Check it out!

Connecticut Renassiance Faire Review

My son is learning about the Renaissance in his 8th grade homeschool class. When we heard about the King Richard's Faire (KRF) in Carver, MA and we thought this would be a great way for him to experience this period of time. Well after doing some research on the internet we found that there were several bad reviews of the King Richard's Faire in Carver, MA and stumbled upon a more affordable alternative (the Connecticut Renassiance Faire in Hebron, CT).

Notes:

• Free Parking
  
• $16 per adult / $7 per child (online coupon available to save $1 -- somone in line was nice enough to give us)


• $5.00 fried dough was nice and hot and very good


• $7.00 beef stew bowl was good but the beef could have been cooked a tad bit more.


• $3.00 french fries was OK


• Bottle of soda was $2.00; Can was $1


• Costume rental was $20.00


• Cash is allowed for food (no buying tickets like KRF). You can bring your own food and drinks in. Some vendors take credit cards.


• There are a lot vendor tents selling hand carved swords and sheilds to elegant costumes (one costume we saw cost over $1000)


• This location is about 2+ hour drive to travel from the NH Border and about 1 hour from Worcester.


• This event is held at the Lions Clubs fairgrounds.


• Real bathrooms which were clean and well maintained.

Characters / Dressing Up:

When we arrived we were politely greeted by the guides and was asked if we were here for the wedding. There are many, many interactive characters throughout the fairgrounds. They all speak with a British accent. My 10 year old daughter was dressed in a fancy princess dress we got her several years ago for our Disney trip, and my four year old son was dressed in his Knight costume (for Halloween this year). They both received a lot of attention. Even some of the pheasants would bow down to her. There were "characters" who were all dressed up in mud (yes I said mud). There was mime character. There was a farmer girl trying to catch a "6 foot rabbit". Many of the adults attendees (probably 50%) were also dressed up as wenches, princesses, knights, etc. If we return next year - I am so dressing up! LOL!

Storyline:

When we arrived we watched a sword fight between the King's court. There was activities regarding the wedding all day including a wedding shower, a very interesting wedding (where the evil step sister almost conquered the kingdom), and a wedding reception (where my daughter got to dance with the princess and was later "knighted". The great thing about this was that between scheduled performances you couldn't turn a corner without seeing a group of the King's court in the "Market area" interacting with each other.

There was three jousting shows (the last one was called the King's Joust with knights in full amour on horses). The show and storyline was nicely done and made my oldest son (14) want to come back and see each one. There were numerous smaller shows taking place at several stages. They pass the hat around for gratituies.

Misc:

They had activities for the kids. There was a investigation mystery paper with several questions that you collected and had to get clues from vendor shops or the characters walking around the fairgrounds in order to solve a "who-done-it" puzzle. Many times the kids would have to do a simple activity (e.g., belly dancing, jumping up and down, etc.) to get a clue. Overall we thought there was too many questions and the overall activity was a bit convuluted and complex that we ditched this activity about 1/2 way through. There was also free sword lessons for the kids and several games for them to play. They were not bored.

Overall

For our first EVER event in Connecticut we had a superb time! We loved the characters, storylines, and renaissance feel and felt it was a really good value. I do agree this fair is not for everyone.

I probably spent less than $100 (which I would have spent that alone for tickets at KRF -- not to mention food ticket prices). We drove over 200 miles (round trip) to make this event and have very fond memories and overall feel it was well worth it!!!

This CT Rennaissance Faire appears to be more family friendly and affordable.

King Richard's Faire Bad Reviews?

We wanted to take the kids to a Renassiance Faire for a homeschool field trip since this was a topic that our oldest son was studying in 8th grade. Our first choice was to revisit the King Richard's Faire in Carver, MA.

However after reading mostly bad reviews found on the internet and how they didn't even allow you to bring bottled water into the faire (or even allow kosher food for those on a strict dietary need). Along with the price gourging (and the need to use tickets vs. cash) we decided to skip this non-family friendly event and make the extra mile to the Connecticut Renassiance Faire in Hebron, CT. Great Choice! We had a great time without spending a fortune. More to come on this soon!

My pictures are here:

http://family.webshots.com/album/567675738tshJkI


List of Bad Reviews of King Richard's Faire:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/king-richards-faire-carver

http://www.bostoncentral.com/events/king_richards_faire/p1242.php

http://www.mit.edu/~jik/faire/faire.html

Fryeburg Fair 2008

Fryeburg Fair 2008

The Fryeburg Fair held in Fryeburg, Maine (located on the NH border) is Maine's largest fair and one of the most popular. We attended the fair on Monday, 29 September 2008 and it runs until Sunday 5 October 2008. We purposedly attended on a non-weekend day in order to avoid the crowds (because in the past we have had terrible experiences with heavy traffic which has caused us to wait hours to enter or more likely to leave the fairgrounds also the crowds inside the park are quite heavy. Well with it being a rainy weekend and the opening of the fair we were quite naive to think that the fair would not be crowded. The parking at the fairs two main gates which we have parked in the past (on a Saturday) were SOLD OUT. This year the cost is $5. Premium parking is glady offered by neighbors surrounding the fair grounds which offer you a spot to park on their lawns for $5 to $10 (based on proximity to the fair).

Crowds

Even though the parking situation was not ideal. The crowds weren't terrible at the fair (probably a 5 or 6 on a scale of 10). At lunch time you were hard pressed to find any picnic tables for seating but by 2PM there was plenty to go around. There was a long line at Old MacDonald's Petting farm for the young ones but you could pretty much go through all the animal stables and areas without bumping into anyone. Some parts of the fairgrounds near Expo 1 and 2 had some crowds and the ATM was crowded (see below) but other than that it was free-flowing. We literally bounced around from area to area without any problems.

Food

As usual we spent a majority of time and money eating at the fair. My wife had a full-course delicous turkey dinner with mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and cranberry sauce for $13 which included a drink (this is located near the Agricultural Exhibition center). She was able to share this with our toddler. My son and I each had a delicous sicilian style thick crust pizza for $3.50 each (his cheese mine pepperoni: NOTE garlic and black olive was also available). My daughter opted for a healthy lunch.... she had fried dough ;-> which was an unbelievable $5.00.

For ane early afternoon snack we stopped by the Sugar Shack and got a thing of maple cotton candy for $3.00. This was not the kids favorite and I'm not a big cotton candy fan so a lot of this went to waste. I believe you can try a sample.

For a late afternoon snack the kids shared a very large bowl of delicous fries for $7.00, youngest son wanted a soft serve icecream cone for $3.50 and the wife and I shared a blooming onion for $7.50 (which included extra ranch dip).

To save on money we brought in our own water bottles. Good thing. This was about $2 each for a small water bottle.

Cash

Well the fair had somewhat of its own little "credit crisis" as just about everything requires CASH. Nothing is wired to accept credit/debit cards. And with increasing food prices I was quickly out of cash within 1 hour. My toddler kept reminding me that he was still hungry and with no snacks in our backpack I had to find an ATM. Well the line I found at the ATM you would think it was a hot new ride at Disney or Universal. It took a good 1/2 hour for me to make it through that line. I quickly found out that out of the 4 ATMs they had only 1 was working. The line continued to grow as I moved up in the queue.

Animals

We saw exotic birds, sheep (including a ram), goats, horses, lots of cows, etc. My children was able to ask some of the owners specific questions about their animal they had to research for their homeschool project. After all this was an official field trip.

Overview

One thing about the Fryeburg Fair is that it doesn't change much. Year after year the same vendors return and they are located in the same location. You think they could "shake things up a little" and introduce new vendors or even the old ones in new locations.

Firepit Cooking!

Camp Cookin!!!

This weekend we returned back to basics of family camping in the cooking arena.

For dinner, my oldest son started a roaring fire and about 1/2 hour later we placed some pre-prepared idaho russett potatoes (poked and thoroughly wrapped in aliminum foil) on our campfire grill. About another 1/2 hour later we added corn on the cob again wrapped loosely up in aluminum foil.

Well the potatoes came out flawlessly (we have done this many times before with proven success). About 1 hour on the fire pit (while turning constantly) and then poke the potato to see check on whether it is done. However this was our first try with the corn and I can honestly say that it did not come out as expected. Most of it was burnt or undercooked. Lesson learned, it was an experiment and next time I will check the internet for recipes.

Later on we had Jiffy Pop. My oldest son and I shook this over the fire pit. Boy did this get hot (even with the pot holder) but we managed to get just about every kernel to pop! The popcorn itself was not the best I ever had but was very satisfying especially knowing that we worked or rather shaked hard for it. We all partook and enjoyed! Of course we had smores as well.

The next night we cooked hotdogs over the firepit.

What other firepit recipes do you have?

Burnt Marshmellows!

I recently joined the social network Facebook.com (not as alias NEC but as my real name). I learned about it through a family Labor-Day get-together and how they were talking to my 20 year old daughter in the USCG who is stationed in Nantucket and is hard to get in touch with! Yes I'm totally addicted. I actually got in touch with some old friends I haven't seen in YEARS.

Anyways, I recently saw an ad for Burnt Marshmellows Camping Social network and could not resist in signing up. Not sure how its going to turn out but the website looks professionally done and it has almost 1000 members. If you join Burnt Marshmellows feel free to sign me up as a friend!

PS. I have some good ideas for reviving newenglandcamper.com (or similar) for 2009 if I can just get organized and focused. LOL!

Mt Washington Hike - Part II

Mt. Washington Hike Trip Review - Part II
1130AM - At the extra fast pace that we were going, NOT being in the best of shape, my heart racing, I simply just had to rest with just .4 of a mile to the summit, STORM or NO STORM. We sat, rested, and had some healthy snacks (carrot sticks and grapes). Two college girls easily passed us who didn't even break a sweat.

1148 AM - We arrived at the Mt. Washington Summit. The FOG was extremely thick and it was somewhat windy. The Tuckerman's trail crosses the Mt. Washington auto road (or actually ends). I was somewhat concerned about crossing the auto road and getting hit because you could not really see clearly down street with the thick fog. Once crossing the street, believe it or not but climbing up the stairs seemed more painful than the rocks. The two college girls who passed us earlier were already starting their descent.

At the top of Mt. Washington there is several buildings, structures, cafeteria, lookout point, etc.
The actual summit is a very small rocky hill. There was many, many people (who mainly drove up in their cars or on the Cog railroad) waiting for their time at the top. Some people were actually complaining that there was NO stairs to the top. It was windy at the top but nowhere as windy as Mt. Chocura trip we took in 2007, however it was chilly. We decided to eat lunch within the cafeteria area since there was absolutely NO view on the mountain.

After buying Austin a "This Body Climbed Mt. Washington" we started out decent to get ahead of the storm.

1245PM - Our descent started off very cloudy but as time went on it cleared right up. About 15 minutes down it was totally clear. The threat of the thunderstorm must have been false. It was very tempting to hike back up to take additional pictures and get the full view of being on the summit be we proceeded on. We could see the AMC hut Lake of the Clouds nearby on our decent. It was also tempting to complete the short .3 (mostly level) hike to that location but we passed on that as well.

200PM - We chose to take a different route down. We headed through the Lions Head Peak. It was somewhat wet in the short "Christmas-tree" like forest area which lasted for only about .2 of a mile. At the Lion's head peak, we sat and enjoyed the view, took some pictures, had a snack and removed our sweaters. It was starting to WARM UP! People were passing us left and right (both on the trail and while we rested)! We were going slow.

313PM - We finally maded it to where Lions Head Trail merge's Tuckerman's ravine ()(near Hermit Lake). From here on down, fortunately the trail was MUCH easier. Less steep and more managable and less painful to walk on. We were able to pick up the pace and I don't believe anyone passed us from here on.

428PM - We finally made it to Pinkham Notch Base and then drove back to Danforth Bay for the evening!

1 Week later - My legs are finally back to normal. I was in pain for a good couple of days!

Things we did right:

1. Freeze some water bottles, provides for COLD water on the later part of the trip.
2. Packed some nutrious snacks such as fruits and granola bars.

3. Bring a camera! Great Photo oppurtunities.
4. Start out EARLY!

5. Even though it was WET in many sections of the park we DID NOT twist our ankles, slip, or fall. The only item we needed in our first aid kit was motrin for sore knees and sore feet. It really didn't help.

Lessons Learned:

1. Do not pack yogurt as a trail snack. I ended up spilling part of mine - also way too much trash! Bring a trash bag with you!
2. Bring an extra T-shirt or two.
3. Train ahead of time. Good intentions this summer gone bad.
4. Check in with Ranger station about weather. Don't trust hear-say on the mountain.
5. Food is actually reasonable at the Mt. Washington cafeteria. Example. A bottle of diet coke was $1.50 and hot dog was around $2. I believe they even had clam chowder for $3.

6. Bathrooms at Tuckerman's Ravine (real flush toilets) are actually clean. Use the Hikers bathroom at the Mt. Washington summit if you don't want to wait.

Hersheypark Review 2008

*** Updated 9/7/2008 ***

We stopped at Hersheypark on the way home from Virigina. Hershey and attractions is an easy drive from exits 78 and 81 on I81. Our original plan was to visit during the fall during the "Hersheypark in the Dark" event but since that may or may not happen we decided to stop in.

We left Sterling, VA around 730AM and arrived at Hershey park at 10AM. Parking is now $10, a $2 increase from 2007!!!

Hersheypark (HP) provides a dog kennel for $10 called "the Barking Lot". We boarded "Bailey" there for the day. HP provides water and an air conditioned crate. You must stop by several times in the day to walk and feed your dog.

Discount coupons for Hersheypark were easily found in most northern VA, PA supermarkets, Subways, and other food area. In the past we have had REALLY good luck in getting discount coupons at the PA visit center (located on I81) as well as online. This year we used the grocery coupons only to find out that Hersheypark raised their rates from $47 to $49, so this made a dent on our savings.

Enough of the ramblings -- here is the review:

Rollercoasters:

StormRunner - As soon as we were in the park Austin and I forced the troops to the Pioneer Frontier section of the park to ride on Fahrenhiet. When we got there (around 1030AM) there was already an 1 and 1/2 hour wait! Instead of waiting we decided to check out the new StormRunner coaster (new in 2006) instead which was about a 5-10 minute walk also located in Pioneer Frontier. When we arrived there was NO WAIT. This coaster takes off 0 to 72 MPH in less than 2 seconds, climbs high then has a big drop. This start is very similar to Disney's Rock-N-Roll rollercoaster but I didn't feel that the startout was as intense. Although this coaster starts off great and has some AMAZING drops and excitement, the overall ride is too short. I would have been disappointed if we didn't get to ride this twice.

Comet - This is one of the most scarier rollercoasters (especially if you sit up front), not because of its drops or because of its loops (it doesn't have any). The scary part is that this coaster is REALLY old. I noticed (and so did the coaster) the wood is warped in several places and the whole time I worried about the integrity of the boards and the entire structure. Especially during the sharp curves and turns. After going to Hersheypark for 10 years, this was my first time on Comet and probably my last time!

Great Bear - Always an awesome and nice and smooth steel roller coaster that seats 4 to a seat (feet dangling) with 8 rows for a total of 32 passengers (on most runs). The lines were short when we visted so we waited an extra 10 minutes to sit in the front seat! Wow! Totally awesome!!! I love the Great Bear. Just perfect.

Sidewinder - Didn't go on this ride. The ride goes forwards and then backwards on the same track and includes several inversions times two -- which makes me ill. Austin hit this ride and loved it like his older sister.

Trailblazer - This was our 4 year olds first rollercoaster. This is a really tame rollercoaster which is suitable for "brave" young children as well as "daring" senior citizens and just about everyone in between. Most of the time there is never a wait for this. Techically its part of Pioneer Frontier section of the park but its really kind of at an obscure section of the park with the Texas-style resturant and show close by. A short walk to either Minetown or the main Pioneer Frontier section.

Sooper Dooper Looper - Located in the Comet area of the park, a bit more agressive than the Trailblazer coaster but by today's standards is rather docile for coasters. It contains 1 inversion and the rest of the ride is relatively slow. My wife who is being a bit more daring since turning 40 stated "why am I doing this", I wish I brought my camera!

Fahrenheit - Hersheypark's 11th roller coaster is definately the BEST coaster in the park. Several dated water features were removed to make room for this beauty! After spending 10+ hours in the park and checking in several times to ride this (with 1+ hour) waits we decided to bite the bullet and tough it out and stand in line. Fortunately the line moved better than advertised and we were strapped in our seats within 30 minutes. The crew was energetic, interactive and the climb was even more amazing! To start out, you literally are at a 90 degree angle during the climb. The first drop is even better. Then several more twists turns and drops! It is truly an amazing coaster. I definately would have ride this again if given the chance. Overall, I still like the SheiKra at Busch Gardens Africa better (didn't get to try the Griffon coaster at BG Williamsburg) but Fahrenheit is definately my favorite ride at Hersheypark.

Lightning Racer - Never a wait at night. One of my all-time favorite wooden rollercoasters which has the daring twist of racing another coaster (i.e., Thunder vs. Lightning).

Wildcat - This rollercoaster really jerks you this way and that way. After my mild neck injury in 2007, I haven't been back to revisit this coaster. My oldest son rode this one with my 10 year old daughter (she confirmed my suspicions) this year. This coaster takes up a lot of real-estate in the park. To be honest, I would not mind seeing this be replaced with something else.

Wild Mouse - This is a mini-steel rollercoaster which is common in many parks. Jerks you around. Similar to ones at Busch Gardens Tampa and Disney. Not my favorite.

Boardwalk

The Boardwalk is a brand water-park area of Hersheypark introduced in 2007. During last years visit (in late September 2007), the temperature was in the mid 60s and we basically had the entire section of the park to ourselves (even though every other ride had a long wait). Proof here at webshots.com

This time being PEAK summer weather with temperatures well into the high 80s and HUMID: NO SUCK LUCK! In fact there was a VERY LONG line just to get changed in your bathing suit. We poked around and found another changing station with less lines. HP really needs to add more restrooms and changing stations in this area.

Each water-park area is gated to accomodate a specific number of guests, each section contains lifeguards (even after closing time at 6-7pm), and the day we visited it was extremely packed. East Coast Waterworks which is a LARGE (actually HUGE) park area with "climb-ups", water guns, accessories, and several slides can accomodate a LARGE number of guests. However even this had a huge line to get access into.

The Waverider is a cool ride and accomodates two "surfing" guests at a time and takes some skill. This is OPEN later in the summer. One of the kiddie sections was closed and just about all the patio furniture was claimed. To get cooled off without waiting in a LONG, LONG lines our kids found relief near the Roller-soaker coaster area which had ground fountains and high-powered squirt guns to squirt the participants on the coaster.

Overall, I'm not liking these mixed water-parks/coaster parks. My experience seems to be that the entire park moves to the water feature during the day when its HOT. The water section of theses park (in Hershey's case the Boardwalk) is not built to handle or accomodate the demand and crowds they have admitted. I have never had a crowd problem at Water Country.

Boardwalk, the SEAquel is coming in 2009. Hopefully it will correct some of these "crowding" problems. However unfortunately (we found out later after doing some online research that one of my favorite rides -- the Canyon River Rapids will be removed forever to make room for this attraction). Yikes -- Why didn't they get rid of the biggest waste of space and most boring part of the park - the Merry Dip Fun Slide and the Midway America tent????

Food

This time, for lunch we stopped at Minetown Resturant. Its cafeteria style where you pick up premade burgers, fries, nuggets, pizza, etc. There is a wonderful condiment bar that contains all the fixings for your bugers, and sauce for nuggests, etc. I had a delicous burger while Patty had a grilled chicken sandwich. The kids had pizza and nuggets.

I ended up buying the $7 themed beverage cup. Refills are only $1 (this was a savings since a large drink was $2.99 in a regular paper cup -- I probably saved a dollar or two and ended up with another cool cup). Hersheypark unfortunately has switched over to Pepsi vs. Coca Cola (which I prefer). We snacked for dinner and hit Wendy's down the street after we left the park. NOTE: We brought water bottles into the park (Hershey allows 1 per person).

Unlike Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA, Minetown is the only area where you can purchase a beer and it must be consumed within its facility.

Kiddie Rides

Hersheypark has lots of kiddie rides with little wait. My 4 year old was NOT disappointed! Kiddie Rides can be found in almost all sections of the park with the exception of the Comet area.

Other Rides:

• The Ferris Wheel was fun, scenic, and relaxing for the entire family late at night. People with a fear of heights should not go on this ride. This is a MUST SEE for photographers.
• Capital BlueCross Monorail is a favorite for Patty and a MUST SEE for our family. This provides a small tour of certain sections of park as well as Zoo America. You can actually see where the original "stop" platform in downtown Hershey.
• Kissing Tower - Able to get some GREAT pictures of the park and the Hershey area. Air conditioned/heated. Appropriate for all members of the family. May be boring for the teens in the family.
• Skyview - A favorite ride to sit back relax, take pictures, or just to talk with your companion on the ride.
• Reese's Xtreme Cup Challenge - A ride introduced in 2005 (similar to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World). It is an indoor ride where you use laser light guns to shoot targets to compete against competitors in the cart behind you. This ride is appropriate for ages 4+. My 4 year old absolutely loved this ride.
• The Claw - A favorite for the teens and young adults! Those who can't handle "spinning" like my self shoud not even think about this one!
• Rodeo - My daughters favorite ride (she almost got sick on it) is now going away to make room for the Boardwalk II - the SEAquel

Characters

I heard that Hersheypark was going to introduce new Characters and show them more often. We saw Kiss and there was a character play at Music Box Way that we ran into late. I was able to snap a QUICK picture of Nutrageous with Cameron but overall the characters didn't stick around for picturs. We were a bit disappointed about this.

Overall

We love Hersheypark. We feel that this one park provides entertainment for the entire family. Coasters for the adventourous types as well as kiddie rides for the young-ones and entertainment for the young at heart.

Traveling in Boston tips

Well it has been a while since I've been in Boston (use to go their daily for school on the "T") and now three times this week (2 personal / 1 business travel) and there has been some changes.

Here are some *NEW* lessons learned.

- If you are parking at the MBTA ("the T") parking lot, bring cash and small bills. Wellington and Oak Grove (on the Orange line) have non gargage parking lots for those with tops on their cars. I'm not sure about Alewife on the Red line.

- Tokens are gone! Bring cash or debit/credit card to purchase a "Charlie Card". You can pre-load it once for the number of trips you are going to take. Although the credit/debit card machine wasn't working for me today so cash is better!

- Other than the fare increase and methods to pay nothing else has changed much on the T in the last 20 years since I started my daily commute to NU. No new trains, no improved stations, etc.

- If you are using Logan Airport, for pickups now at Logan, bring a cell phone!! MassPort requires that the limo or your pick up now be called 1st instead of parking in front of the terminal. They can't wait for you! Makes me want to fly into Manchester, NH even more so -- even if I have to wait!

Welcome Fall!

What beautiful weather we have been having to end summer and begin the "start of fall".

This week we visited Parlee Farms in Tyngsboro, MA to do some apple picking.

$22 will buy you a 1/2 bushel of apples and allows 5 people into the orchard. We took a REAL hayride to the apple orchards (available to only the apple pickers).

Only two 1/2 rows were open (Macintosh and Gala apples) when we visited but their was plenty of apples to go around for everyone. If you like roaming through the entire orchard looking for that perfect apple this place may not be for you. Its quite restricting compared to some other places I have been. However for us it is close to home and something you can do easily in an afternoon and then go home and make pies (like we did).

Parlee Farms also has a zoo area with sheep, goats (actually lots of goats), bunnies, and some type of birds. When we arrived they were setting up their hay maze for the kids.

We live close by so this location made sense for us to visit without costing a lot in gas.

Moose Hillock vs. Danforth Bay

Moose Hillock, Danforth Bay, two great, top notch campgrounds located in Northern, NH and a topic for discussion on That's Camping which led me to do some research

Here is my original campground ranking that I visited (last updated in early 2004) that I gave back way back when on my now defunct web page (newenglandcamper.com).

http://home.comcast.net/~newenglandcamper/camping/rankorder.html

Back then I thought the sites were slightly better at Moose Hillock but overall gave Danforth Bay the edge in the ranking because the quality and commitment the overall campground resort provides.

Since 2003 Danforth Bay has improved significantly adding in tennis courts, new pools, premium delux sites, and a number of special little touches.

Tuckerman's Ravine report from Austin :->

My 1st Video Feed on the blog and Austin's 1st report online!

Boy did he grow!

Austin - 2004	Austin - 2008

Mt Washington Hike - Part I 8/18/08

6AM - Leaving Camp

We left Danforth Bay Camping Resort in Freedom, NH. Believe it or not, Mt. Washington (Pinkham Notch base) takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes. In the North Conway / Intervale area on NH 16, Mt. Washington was completely covered in the clouds. This was a bit concerning as I was initially worried by the potential for afternoon thundershowers.

708AM - Arriving

After a quick egg and cheese bagel breakfast along with some coffee for me and water for my son (that's all he drinks) we arrived at Pinkham Notch base to party-cloudy weather. We parked and started "re-packing" our bags. Austin prepared 11 water bottles in his back pack! It was heavy. I had six along with lunch, snacks, cameras, and warmer clothing. To our suprise, we quickly realized that someone was sleeping in the bed of the truck that we pulled next too! We kept quiet but thought it was a little strange that people would "camp out" at Pinkham notch.

723AM - Starting Out:

We finally hit the Tuckerman Ravine trails after "repacking" our bags several times. Suprisingly there was no bugs to bother us, even more surprising since we were deep in the woods and the river was flowing high. We did not stop to take a picture or even to view the Crystal Cascades. If we ever return to visit Glen Ellis Falls (which is nearby - 5 minutes by car) we will make take the 5-10 minute hike to complete view this. The thought of finding my camera in the packed backpack was unthinkable at this early stage in the game

830AM - First View:

After about a mile or two climbing at a very moderate pace, we saw the 1st real view on the trail. I was suprised at the number of hikers that were descending from the mountain. Many of them appeared to have overnight gear while several did not. Makes you wonder !

909AM - Hermit Lake Summit

We arrived at Hermit Lake Summit. Just prior to this location we noticed the Lion's Head trail off to the right. The Hermit Lake Shelters (only legal place to camp on the East side of Mt. Washington) are also close by on the right side of the trail. Bathrooms (flush toilets) are available. Surprising clean but purell replaces sinks. No place to put trash (carry in/carry out). After a few pictures we headed along to the headwall.

1020AM - "Bad News at the Headwall"

At 10AM after some heavy steep climbing we stopped for 10 minutes to enjoy a granola bar and some water while overlooking the Tuckerman's Ravine waterfall. This break gave us some much needed energy to hit the headwall at a good steady pace. The view was awesome but I was a bit concerned on how wet the headwall looked. About 1/2 way the headwall we came in contact with an older gentleman who was using some hiking support tools. Apparently, he had recently heard from some other hikers (that we passed coming down previously) that there was a severe Thunderstorm front moving in around 1PM and how Mt. Washington was like a "lighting rod" and he wasn't "becoming a crispy critter". Well this was concerning especially since just a few hundred feet above us it was very cloudy and windy. The older hiker told us it would take about 1 to 1.5 hours to continue our journey at a good pace. However we would have to be confined to the summit. We took our chances and decided to continue on!

My Travel Reviews from TripAdvisor.com

What a July!

I have stayed in 4 hotels in over 14 nights in July for business travel and a weekend at Busch Gardens Europe (Williamsburg,VA) with 10 nights of camping at Danforth Bay.

Therefore I only spent a total of 7 nights at home in July! While That's Camping provides a great place for campground reviews, for hotels, I use TripAdvisor.com. I have even received some free novelty items from Trip Advisor.

Here are some of my hotel reviews from recent trips:

• Embassy Suites, Dallas, TX
• Holiday Inn Express, Harrisburg, PA
• La Quinta Inn, Williamsburg, VA
• TownePlace Suites Washington Dulles Airport, Sterling, VA

Happy Birthday

My daughter celebrated her 10th birthday today. In 1998 we were not camping, didn't own a camper, and were home bodies. That would all change in a few months when we bought our 1st pop up in early 1999 after visiting the NH camping show. Since then my daughter has been camping every summer! Her first trip was in early May of 1999. On memorial day 1999, she fell out of side of the pop-up camper while sleeping. Fortunately she was fine but it was one of the reasons (along with the lousy campground that we stayed at) that I started the now defunct website newenglandcamper.com

Hersheypark raises rates

Effective August 1st - Hersheypark raises rates by $2 to $49.95.
Is this the first time that a Themepark has raised rates in the middle of the season?

Busch Gardens Europe

We had the privilege to visit Busch Gardens Europe last weekend (26 July 2008) during a break on a recent business trip. Busch Gardens Europe is located in the historic Williamsburg / Jamestown area of Viriginia about 160 miles from the Washington, DC area. There is also a Busch Gardens water park nearby called "WaterCountry". We did not visit this park.

Upon arriving, we parked at the Pet kennel section of the park, which is in the same section as the preferred sites and the buses. This area is a very short walk to the main gate in the "England" portion of the park. At the kennel, we boarded our dog "Bailey" for a mere $6: he had a nice venilated, clean, and spacious living quarters for the day. However, unfortunately, the outside walking pet area was loaded with "doggie droppings" from inconsiderate previous guests. In any event, the short walk to/from the gate was appreciated since I had to return to give "Bailey" a walk later on in the day. The attendents at the kennel were very friendly.

Some additional highlights include the following:

ROLLERCOASTERS:

• Our first coaster was the Lochness Monster in "Scotland". This is an older steel rollercoaster probably innovative for its time but in todays standard a bit dated but still fun!
• We must of hit the park on a bad day because one of our "must see" rides Griffon promptly closed while we were in line and was never re-opened. From what we gather, a chain had broke (which made an awful noise) while we were in line. They had to evacuate people from the ride. Fortunately it was on the lift portion so noone was caught dangling.
• Then in the afternoon a similar problem happened to Alpengeist in the Germany section of the park. Another evacuation. This one was much more scary since it was near the top of the lift. Fortunately my oldest son and I got to ride that ahead of time (awesome coaster).
• I absolutely loved the highly rated Apollo's Chariot rollercoaster in the Italy setion of the park. The line for this was about 30 minutes but well worth the wait. Huge drops, smooth, and simply awesome. This coaster takes you well outside of the park!

GROUNDS / FACILITIES:

• The park is nicely themed and decorated with all types of plants, trees, flowers, statues, etc. The rides could be more themed though.
• Most bathrooms were really clean
• My worst complaint is that the park claims to be "smoke free" but they have "smoking sections" in just about every corner of the park and some in the middle of a themed area. Yuk! I guess things are different down in the South!
• The park terribly needs more benches as there are very few places to sit

FOOD:

• The food was really good. I had a delicious German Turkey Sandwich with delicous potato salad and some german cheese. Patty opted for the garden salad and the usual pizza, hot dogs, fries for the kids. Patty and I enjoyed our favorite beers along with a scrumpous desert. This was all located in the noon time Oktoberfest show at Das Festhaus. (Temperature controlled -- It was good to get out of the heat). We returned there around the 6-7Pm hour and there was not a table available for the show or dinner.l
• Were were a bit disappointed that Busch Gardens Europe did not offer a Hospitality Center with its fine Anheuser-Busch products (like they have at Sea World and and Busch Gardens Africa) since after a busy day it is nice to sit back and relax and have "happy hour" while the kids are off playing the nearby games.

KIDDIE RIDES:

• Our 4 year loved all the kiddie rides especially in the DinoLand part of the park and in Italy.. In fact I bet he went on more than the other two kids combined.

LINES, SHOPPING, MISC.

• Unfortunately, the lines were rather long so skipped out on a lot of the major attractions. To solve part of this problem, we got there EARLY and headed to the headliners. You can get into the "England" section of the park at 900AM and the "Scotland" section at 930AM.
• For shoppping, they had a lot of speciality stores (e.g., French pottery, German steins, Italian jewelery, etc.) but not many general items souveniers

Overall, I like Busch Gardens Africa (Tampa Bay, FL) much better for the live exotic animals and high quality shows (e.g., KATONGA). For rollercoasters and rides Hersheypark (Hershey, PA) definately has more to offer.

However Busch Gardens Europe was a lot of fun and something our family would return too.