Day 1:
After we left Fallingwater, we headed to Gettysburg to view the site of the historic Civil War battle.
There were hundreds of monuments everywhere, commemorating the different military divisions and battles that took place. We drove around for a bit and stopped at some of the more interesting sites. It's a bit sad how commercialized the place is now but it was a fascinating place to visit!
Day 2:
The next day, we visited Hershey's Chocolate World.
You can't take a tour of the actual factory but we got to ride a fun (and free!) little ride that showcased how Hershey's chocolate is created! We even got a free sample afterwards!
Later, we walked around Hershey for a bit. It's a cute little town and the lampposts are shaped like Hershey Kisses!
Megan, Patrick, and I listen to the wise words of Milton Hershey. OK, not really... :)
We then headed to Elysburg, PA where we camped at a family-owned amusement park called Knoebels. (The "k" in its name not silent as you would expect so it's really pronounced "kuh-nobles.")
I had heard about this park when I went through my "amusement park obsession" when I was younger and Mom decided to include it in our itinerary. Quite surprisingly, it turned out to be one of the highlights of our whole trip! The park was quite charming and we really enjoyed its "small-town America" feel. It was also very clean and the staff was very friendly and helpful!
Admission to get in the park was free and there were a variety of rides (including two wooden roller coasters) that you pay for individually. We each rode a few rides for around $5 a person! My favorite was "The Phoenix" roller coaster, which is pictured above. Although it looks quite tame, it packs quite a punch and is listed as one of the top wooden roller coasters in the country!
Another one of rides we went on was a little miniature steam train!
Knoebels has also won awards for various things such as their carousel, haunted house, and for having the best food at an amusement park! (We ate some of their food and trust us, it IS the best!)
Day 3:
The next morning, after staying at the park's campground, Dad, Patrick, and I headed back into the park for a little bit longer.
I rode "The Phoenix" one more time and we all rode the park's other miniature train, which ran on electricity. It was longer than the other train and even ran under the park's other roller coaster (called "Twister") and through the forest!
We really enjoyed our time at Knoebels and definitely want to come back sometime in the future! After growing up with Disneyland, it was really neat to visit a smaller, family-owned park. It had the charm that bigger amusement parks don't have these days and it really made me want to visit some other smaller amusement parks in the U.S.!
Later that day, we headed to Corning, NY and visited the Corning Museum of Glass, which I'll write about in my next post!
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