Family Road Trip to Hershey, PA

Toyota Sienna and Drive Shop provided the car featured in this post, but I stand by my opinion.

I have been doing a lot of firsts lately! I am the mother of three now, and the things around me have gotten a bit crazy between my job, my passion, and endless house chores.

My Summer Firsts:

I was brave enough to drive from Chicago to Pennsylvania with three kids without my husband (I did recruit other people though)

I got to drive a brand new Toyota Sienna 1200 miles

I visited Hershey Park, PA for the first time

I discovered my love for roller coasters (haven’t been on one since 1997)

I came out to meet a bunch of new people (a bold move for an introvert like myself) and even got in front of the camera for s series of segments.

If I were you, I would call me crazy for taking my always fighting older kids and a super stubborn 18-month old on the 11-hour drive (and you guessed it, it did become a 15-hour drive with all the stops we had to make).

Since there was nobody there to stop me, I recruited my sister and my mother-in-law and hit the road. I have to say though that the DriveShop.com made it easy for me to enjoy my ride. Since my test drive was Toyota Sienna 2015 we knew were going to travel in style.

Did you know that the KBB names Toyota Sienna 2016 as one of the best family-friendly vehicles? It is roomy, fully loaded, and gorgeous – care for a ride?

What Do We Love?

This car has an entirely customizable screen – the dashboard behind the steering wheel can tell you what song is playing on,  how many miles you have left in an empty tank, or what is the next step you have to look forward to.

The trunk of TOYOTA SIENNA comes with activity bins. These probably can be removed if you travel a long distance and new all the cargo space you can use. However, if you have kid sin different activities, these bins are perfect for keeping things separate and making it very easy to transport.

However, when it comes to the navigation I found that it wasn’t always accurate as the major construction traffic on our way to Pennsylvania wasn’t always on it, and the speed limit notifications were not always accurate. At some point, the entire ramp was closed, and it took us a while to get back on course.

Where Did We Go?

Have you ever been at the Hershey Park? I swear even everything around in the town surrounding the park looks and sounds delicious – Travelodge Hershey, Hershey Theater, and The Hershey Story Museum.

This place is delicious – we got to go to the Chocolate World and make our chocolate bars, taste a variety of chocolates, and buy A LOT of chocolate.

And how about a whole day at the Hershey Park? This place is full of awesome rides, water attractions, and cool photo opps. And just in case if you were wondering, it has over 40 poke stops for those of you who love hunting Pokemon in a safe environment. As of 2016, the park’s area covers over 110 acres, containing 70 rides and attractions, as well as a zoo called ZOOAMERICA – North American Wildlife Park.

Driving Back to Chicago

The road home for us always feels longer – who wants to go back to reality and away from a fun vacation? However, a wide screen TV and some outlets for the tablets and smartphones helped us to make it home just fine. There is something to be said about traveling with a toddler long distance as at the end of the trip I had to sing a variety of songs just to convince him to get back into his chair.

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