Hershey, PA April 7, 2011

Hershey, Pennsylvania, the sweetest place on earth! We loved seeing the Hershey's Chocolate factory!! We took a tour to see how they make all the different candy. They even gave us samples at the end of the tour! Yummy!!

After the tour we did the Create Your Own Candy Bar! That was a lot of fun. You get to choose what kind of chocolate you want your bar to be. Next you choose what all you want in your bar. Then you design the cover of your candy bar. I had milk chocolate, toffee, and almonds. It was awesome!!

The street lights in Hershey are all shaped like Hershey kisses! It was a very SWEET place to visit!!

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, April 6, 2011

Gettysburg is fun to see. There are cannons all around in the fields and you can just picture what it must have been like during the Civil War. We didn't spend a lot of time here. I think we were all burnt out on museums and needed a rest. We were able to see enough that the boys learned what happened here and got a good feel of the area.

Washington D.C. April 1 - 5, 2011

There is so much to do and see in Washington D.C. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom and it is gorgeous. A little on the cold side but sooo... pretty! The boys started out by going to the International Spy Museum. I went across the street to the National Portrait Museum. The boys loved all the spy stuff. They even got to crawl through the air vents!

The next day we took the train into Union Station and went on a bus tour of the city. We went to the capital, the Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, the White House, and a few other things. It was a really fun day but totally exhausting. To chill out we went to the movie "Diary of a Whimpy Kid 2". The boys loved it. They were cracking up! It was fun to watch them. We were the only ones in the whole theater so they were able to just let loose!

The following day we did the museums. The air and space museum was a favorite of the boys and I enjoyed seeing the American History Museum and the gowns of some of the first ladies. We went into the Natural History Museum but didn't get to stay long. We were wishing we had more time.

Arlington National Cemetery was awesome to see also. We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Marine Corp statue. Very cool!!

We stopped by the Washington D.C. temple on our way out of town. It is gorgeous!

Williamsburg & Jamestown, Virginia March 30, 2011

Cold, wet and rainy!! We still had a fun time though but we did break down and buy umbrellas!

In Williamsburg we went to hear Thomas Jefferson speak. He was a great man and very knowledgeable. It was fun to hear what it was like at the time of the Revolutionary War from "someone who had been there". We visited a wig shop, a silver smith, a dress maker and several other shops in Williamsburg. It was fun but sooo... cold!!

Then we headed to Jamestown. We saw where Pocahontas got married. We saw where the first permanent white settlement was. There were so many items to check out in the museum there that they had found in that area. Very interesting!!

Outer Banks, North Carolina March 29, 2011

I have always wanted to see the Outer Banks of North Carolina. It was awesome! We took a ferry which was a 2 hour and 15 minute ride to Ocracoke, North Carolina. Then we had to board another ferry for a 30 minute ride. The strip of land we drove on was so narrow we could almost stand by the water on the ocean side and throw a rock to the water on the bay side. We saw 3 different light houses on the Outer Banks. Our favorite was the Cape Hatteras light house. It was awesome! I had so much fun taking pictures. I would have stayed all day and done that but it was COLD!!

We also stopped at Kitty Hawk where the Wright brothers came to fly their airplane in 1903. It was fun seeing this and I think the boys enjoyed it a lot. The boys bought a book on how to make all kinds of paper airplanes so they have been busy in the back seat trying out their new creations! It is so fun to see them working together and having so much fun!!

Charleston, SC March 25, 2011

We took a walking tour of Charleston, South Carolina. There is such great architecture here!! It is fun to see all the old buildings and the beautiful architecture.

We saw the slave market where people would go to buy slaves to work on their plantations. We saw numerous mansions that belonged to the different planters of rice and cotton. We could see Fort Sumter out in the bay where one of the Civil War battles took place. It was a real fun tour! Charleston is a beautiful city!

Hilton Head Island, South Carolina March 24, 2011

We loved Hilton Head Island!! It is beautiful here. It is so lush and green and then to have the beach here also!!! It is almost paradise! It is still a little chilly and we miss the warm Florida weather.

We ate breakfast at the most wonderful restaurant called Stackers. I highly recommend their french toast. This restaurant and the one we ate breakfast at in Jackson Hole, Wyoming are our 2 favorites!! Along with our top choice, the Samoa Cook House in Eurika, California!!

There are tons of golf courses here on the island. If you are a golfer this is definitly the place to come on vacation!!