Thursday, August 11, 2011

Drove My Chevy To The Levee...

We recently waded our way through torrential downpours to enjoy a wet, but fun day at Hershey Park!

Singin' In The Rain


Tickets to the park were provided courtesy of Chevy along with a week long loner of a shiny, red GMC Terrain. Thanks to their generosity, we were able to take the family on a memorable day trip and enjoy riding in style for a solid week!
GMC Terrain
 

The GMC Terrain is a luxuriously smooth ride. I enjoyed toting the kids to and fro to camp all week long. This model came replete with all sorts of bells and whistles: sun roof, back up video, duel DVDs (plus put the car in park and you can watch in the front seat too!), built in GPS, satellite radio, and entertainment controls on the steering wheel - just to name some of my favorite features!

If you have a teen who might be learning to drive or you're looking to upgrade from a sedan or hatchback, then I would highly recommend the GMC Terrain. I like riding in a larger vehicle and just feel safer being in a bigger car out on the highway. I know that I would prefer my teen driving something as sturdy as the Terrain rather than a tiny vehicle. If you have a smaller family and are not quite ready to get a mini-van or larger SUV, then the Terrain would be a great fit!  There is a lot of room in the back for all of the necessary baby gear, too: (stroller, pack n play, toys, etc.)

If you are looking to replace a mini van or you have a family of 4 or 5, then I suggest checking out something bigger like the Chevy Traverse.  It was a tight squeeze in the back seat for our two teens and a tot in a car seat.  With the duel DVD players on the backs of the front seats, however, there was not a complaint about the cramped seating for our two hour trip to Hershey.  Parenting is indeed the art of distraction, and with a well timed movie, we avoided much whining!  We put the teens on either side of the baby and they all managed to enjoy the trip comfortably.

My biggest critique of the Terrain, is that it is not built for short people. Standing at 5'2", I had great difficulty getting in and out of the car, reaching the gas and brake pedals comfortably and stretching through the window to retrieve my money from the bank teller! Hubby, however, standing at 6'2", greatly appreciated all the head room he had in the car. It's definitely built for him! Despite my short stature, I still thoroughly enjoyed driving in style for the week. Believe me, it was quite an upgrade from our old, beat up, Cheerio strewn mini-van!

Hershey Park Here We Come!

On Saturday, we loaded up the Chevy and headed to the "levee" of Hershey, PA. We got a late start, so we arrived in Hershey Park just in time for the torrent of rain that left the parking lot like a river by the end of the day. It was just a light spritz while we were unloading the car and taking the tram to the front gate. As we embarked it began to pour, so we hurried along with the masses to the free exhibit at Chocolate World. Crammed like sardines in the lobby, we attempted to keep Cupcake close and calm while we worked our way slowly to the exhibit.

Once snugly seated in our cart, she enjoyed the ride, especially the life size singing cows! The smell of chocolate wafting through the air had our mouths watering for chocolate by the end, at which point they conveniently had us exit into the gift shop! Fortunately, riders are always rewarded with a free little taste of whatever new chocolate product they are marketing and we were not disappointed. This time it was chocolate drops, which are little drops of delightful milk chocolate!

Of course, stranded inside due to the tempest outside, plus the yummy scent of chocolate everywhere, we decided to shop around and pick some favorite goodies to much on during the day. Cupcake certainly enjoyed window shopping!

My Little Chocolate Lover!


Nap time soon arrived and passed as we waited for the rain to slow down. Eventually, we decided to head outside and brave it. Cupcake promptly fell asleep in the stroller under the safety of her rain shield.


She soon awoke after a brief nap to the thunderous sound of the roller coaster by which I was sitting!


I am not a fan of roller coasters, so I enjoyed people watching with Cupcake while the rest of the nutty family allowed themselves to plunge from the heights. After which, we all rode together for Baby's first train ride around Hershey Park.
Cupcake's First Train Ride!

The Chevy Tent

 Not only did Chevy provide our ride and tickets, they also provided free soda, popcorn and games at the Chevy Tent set up within the park!  We received a free Chevy T-shirt and had a blast challenging each other to basketball...which Darlin' won every time!


Darlin' Taking Her Victory Lap Via Kiddie Train!


There were all sorts of cool cars set up in the tent, including antiques, classics, sports cars and SUVs.
Classic Chevy

Camaro Convertible

1956 Sedan

The kiddos enjoyed getting their fill of soda and popcorn while we checked out the cars and games in the Chevy Tent. I also hid out in the air conditioned tent later to escape the humidity while Hubby and our teens hit a few more coasters. To add to our crazy day, we had ice cream for dinner and visited with a family friend who heads off to college soon.

After awhile, the heavens opened up a flood gate complete with thunder and lightning signaling the end to many a tourist's adventure at Hershey Park.  We too joined the throng heading out of the park amid the torrential downpour. We exited the tram car to find that the parking lot had indeed become a river.  After wading to our car we dried off, took off our rain logged shoes and settled in with another movie for the ride home.  We stopped to get a real, warm meal on the way home, while the storm followed us all the while.

Despite being soaked to the skin for most of the day, we all thoroughly enjoyed our time at Hershey Park.  Thanks again to Chevy for making it possible!

2 comments:

  1. So sorry to hear it rained so much! Glad you enjoyed the chocolate ride! It's a classic.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chocolate and the family? Perfect vacation despite the rain. Glad you had fun!

    ReplyDelete