Each year on our wedding anniversary, we like to take a little vacation away. We’ve previously gone to Jamaica (honeymoon), Deep Creek Lake (year 1), Universal Studios (year 2) and a Caribbean cruise (year 3). We had planned to go to Atlantic City for an Oktoberfest last year (year 4), but that trip was cancelled at the last minute because everyone got sick.
This year, we decided to do something that was fun for the whole family… Hershey Park. So we left town on Friday after work and spent the weekend in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The park was opened especially for their Hershey Park In the Dark celebration, so the whole park was decorated for Halloween!
Instead of giving you a play-by-play of each moment of the weekend, let’s just talk about some highlights and share some pretty pictures…
The Good
We had an awesome time at the park and Jack LOVED the rides. I had dressed him up in a lion costume (from TJ Maxx for less than $20) and we could not go 5 feet without someone complimenting him. What can I say; I made a pretty darn cute kid!
It was nice to just spend a weekend together as a family, without work, DIY projects or any other distractions hanging over our heads. It was really great watching Jack experience rides for the first time and the weather on Sunday made it the perfect gorgeous fall day. A lot of kids were in costume and they even had Trick or Treat activities in both the park and the Hershey Story museum.
Also under the “good” is our dinner at the Hershey Grill. So. Darn. Good. I had the Crème Brulee Martini and if I could have licked the glass, I would have. Actually, I DID lick the edges of the glass where it was dipped in deliciousness… but that’s totally acceptable behavior.
The Bad
Tantrums. So many tantrums. Because of the excitement of being in a new place and the lack of privacy in the room, Jack didn’t get any naps over the weekend. So yeah…there were tantrums. And tears. And instances of head-butting. You know…normal behavior for an overtired toddler.
Even worse than a grumpy toddler is a grumpy mommy. When we tried to go to sleep on Saturday night (around 9:15), we found out how THIN the walls are at the hotel. Every 10 – 15 minutes from 9:30 to midnight or so, another family screamed their way down the hallway, many times stopping right outside our door to make their plans for the next morning.
Loudly.
With lots of yelling.
LOUD yelling.
I strongly considered calling reception to have them do something about it, but each screaming conversation would last about 5 minutes until they moved on…only to be replaced by another family’s yelling 10 minutes later. I have no idea how Travis and Jack slept through this, but I’m really happy they did because I had NOTHING left to give at that point.
So there you go, our 5 year anniversary celebration. It was a big change from previous year’s, but fun in its own way. I remember 5 years ago we thought that a trip to Hawaii would be the perfect way to spend our fifth anniversary. Now I’m thinking that might be a great 10 year anniversary spot… for a GROWN UPS only trip.
We haven’t actually been away without Jack since he was born. Since my mom helps us out by watching him three days a week, we wouldn’t want to ask her to do more on the weekends. There will be a day where we can go away alone though… right?!
How old was your kid when you were able to go away for a weekend on your own? Do you have an anniversary tradition that you keep up every year?
Just so you know, this was NOT a sponsored post. All thoughts, comments and complaints are my own. However, we did get free tickets for Saturday’s visit to Hershey Park in the Dark. We liked the experience so much that we purchased additional tickets to go back on Sunday.
Ok I have a tip for staying in hotels with kids: bring a small fan.
It makes noise and they cant hear anything going on in the hallway.
We had this same kind of thing happen to us when Ellie was two and it was a rough night.
Now?
Sleeps SOUND.
Happy Anniversary!!
I actually DID turn on the heat fan thingie in the room for some white noise… but this was LOUD! It was like someone came in my room, stood at the end of my bed and decided to have a yelling match with two of their kids to see who could yell louder…
Aww I’m glad you had fun and that is one adorable munchkin you’ve got there.
I never sleep well in hotels which makes travel super exhausting when you’ve got lots of activities scheduled.
We were in college when we got married so two days in New Orleans (we are from IA – wen to college in MO) was our honeymoon. Next trip was Jamaica for our 5 year. No kiddo (only one at that time). Next trip was 10 year to Las Vegas for a long weekend (no kids – 3 by then). Our 15 year anniversary was supposed to be backpacking in the mountains but Dr. Evil was recovering from…becoming Dr. Evil (life support etc) so we waited and on our 16th anniversary we took an entire week (no kids – 4 now) and went to Miami Beach and the Keys. We’ve done family vacations in a long there as well. Yellowstone twice, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Disney, Black Hills, Badlands…..usually every other year or each summer….