The sweetest place on Earth

These past two weekends Hershey has been the source of some excitement. Once to run in the half marathon, and the second time to go on some rides at Hersheypark.
Even though it fails in comparison to last year's full marathon, the Hershey half marathon was a great experience as this was my "big" race for the year. I had actually been doing some training for it and felt good going into the race. Despite the very chilly morning start, it turned out to be a beautiful fall day. With all the pain I have been having with my heel, I was hoping to finish in 2 hours, but it was the perfect weather for a run. Since my running buddy, Pam, decided we should line up with the 1:50 pace group, we cruised along, each of us pushing the other. I enjoyed the race itself, past the amusement rides, through the streets of town, up and down many rolling hills, as the smell of chocolate filled the air. With the variety of terrain, I wasn't bored and felt motivated. We ended up crossing the finish line together at 1:52. With all the effort and those hills, my thighs were crying and continued to need some rest for the next week.
The next weekend, we headed back to Hershey to cash in the Hersheypark in the Dark tickets from the race. E had been to the amusement park for his birthday this summer, so good memories were fresh in his head and he was beyond excited. Jon was too! Em, who gets excited about everything, was equally thrilled to go. After the drive and eating our packed PB&J sandwiches in the car, we all bundled up and headed out to the park. Of course, E's first mission was to ride a roller coaster. I was enlisted for this, and we headed to the Comet, an old school wooden coaster. We had to wait a while in line, and as we inched closer, E's excitement was contagious; he could hardly stand still. Finally we climbed in the cart, buckled in, and the coaster started with a jerk. Slowly, slowly, slowly we climbed the first hill, which basically dropped us as we crested the top. E screamed (so did I!). At first he grabbed tightly to the bar but then built up the courage to raise his hands as he giggled with joy. As the coaster jerked to a stop, E looked at me with eyes wide, hair blown, and yelled, "That was awesome! Can we go again?" Since Jon and Em would probably be waiting for us, we had to head back toward the carousel. We all walked together for a while, but then Jon and I switch kid responsibilities. I spent the next while with Em, seeing her delight at any and every ride. It didn't matter if she was on the tamest or fastest, she was equally excited, smiling and giggling. That's my girl. After several hours, we finished with the Sidewinder. E went on it twice, once with me and once with Jon, but after that ride, I was done. It was way past the kids' (and my!) bedtimes, and we still had to walk all the way back to the car and drive all the way home. As we left, we snacked on the Hershey's bars the kids got trick-or-treating there. For me, this will be one of my sweetest memories.