Marion and I have decided to go to Hershey, PA for her birthday this year. We first went to Hershey in 2007 for Marion's birthday. We went to Dutch Wonderland, Hersheypark, Chocolate World, and a few notable other places. But, the best part of the experience was camping. Marion and I enjoy sleeping outside, and the truth is I really like getting away from it all for a while. This time we're going for 4 days and staying at the Hershey Highmeadow Campground. It's closer to the city than we usually stayed and offers a free shuttle bus back and forth to the park. The place seems really nice with a few pools, camp store, etc.
We really do enjoy it up there. I think through time you and your significant other find a place that's yours. It seemingly belongs to you. After years of going to Lancaster, PA, we finally discovered Hershey. As often as both in adulthood and childhood I went to Lancaster, I have no idea why I never ventured the 30 or so miles to the sweetest place on Earth. The place literally smells like chocolate throughout the town. It's a fabulous place. And, you can buy boxes of candy at wholesale prices.
We attempted a return trip in 2008 with friends, and let's just say I think it may be better to experience as a couple. In 2008, the lines were long at the park. Bad planning led to no doing anything the second day we were there, and overall it was probably one of the worst trips I've ever made. No offense to the people involved, but it just was an entirely lackluster experience from start to finish.
When we were thinking of places to go, we were thinking of Williamsburg, VA and Busch Gardens. We thought of a few other places...but, we came to the conclusion that Hersheypark was the place to go. It's cheaper to get to. It's a place we already know and love. There are a few coasters I need to ride there (specifically Fahrenheit and Storm Runner). Just overall, it made a great deal of sense.
Also, it was Marion's choice. After all the treatments and recovery, I really see no reason why we shouldn't go there. The next month will be a rather busy one as we need to go to various court houses throughout the state to modify Marion's child support. The topic of child support is a rather sore topic for me, and I'll just say that lawmakers should take a look at how child support works. It's the one law on the books that can strip away any type of license (recreational, professional, driver), strip away bank accounts, strip away tax returns, put liens on property, and ultimately take away freedom. It's a system that has a complex series of court rules that the court officers and judges don't follow (basically, the court is supposed to take into account both parent's incomes, divide it by the entire amount, and see how much each parent should pay to affordability and by the percentage they make). Each time Marion has been given an arbitrary number as far as what her amount to pay is. Even though two of the children are emancipated, she's still paying 75 dollars a week in arrears. Even though the person that gets the money has kicked one of the children out and collects rent from the other child, Marion still pays this amount. Granted, we need to go and modify the order, and that's what we're going to do. Marion is disabled. She can not work. She gets a merger monthly allowance from SSD. If the order is not changed, she'll lose over 50% of her SSD to pay some vengeful, greedy people money they don't have a right to. I assure you there's more to the story, but suffice it to say the people involved that want the support are only doing so because it's one thing they still have over Marion. If people really want the government out of their lives, than the first step is to somehow amend the current child support laws. Make judges accountable for not following the court guidelines as far as income. Stop jailing people who can't afford to pay the oppressive and arbitrary fees. Stop suspending licenses. Stop screwing with people's credit (because arrears go on your credit report as a debt to the person in question). It's a horrible system that is always against the non-custodial parent. It's a system based on greed and revenge. It's a system that, although Debtor's prison's were outlawed in the early 20th century, will still lock people up for an inability to pay a debt. I doubt anything will change because it would be political suicide for anyone to open their mouth, and the custodial parents would likely shit a brick if anyone messed with their oodles of money that they don't have to claim.
So, as you can see, for numerous reasons, getting away for a few days to Hershey should be a blast. After a long 7 or so months, it will be nice to get away and have some fun.
I love this guys laugh.
"Now get ready...Here's we goooooooooooooooooo"
Taking a day by day journey through the diagnosis of cancer.
