Of note:
1. The boys nearly wrestled each other to the ground trying to claim the male Amish face holes.

2. The Amish don’t use cameras.

3. This is your last day to enter my contest to win tickets to Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, PA!

For Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

But not all amusement park food is created equal. In the land of grease and sugar things can and do go downhill fast (and I don’t just mean on the roller coaster).

So it’s important to choose wisely. Which, I’m happy to report that we did. We started our day with a big bag of kettle corn from Uncle Andy’s Hand Rolled Pretzels. I’m sure that Uncle Andy doesn’t use any real butter on this stuff, but you certainly won’t miss it – sweet, crunchy, salty, and yes, buttery, you’ll soon find yourself elbowing your children out of the way to get more into your mouth. Not that Matt is doing so in this picture.

(And yes, I may have eaten the leftovers for lunch on Sunday. But who’s checking?)

When we got hungry later in the day, we stumbled into the Potato Patch (which may or may not be farmed by Uncle Andy when he’s not rolling pretzels out by hand) where the hand-cut fries would have been a just fine on their own but with the addition of spicy “cheese” sauce and real bacon achieved that pinnacle of fake/genuine flavor and texture that is the hallmark of excellent amusement park food.

The vote for the vendor selling the most refreshing treats at Dutch Wonderland goes to the Dole Whip Junction. Tommy ordered a citrus soft serve that I didn’t care for (although if you grew up in the 1970s and were a fan of baby aspirin it might be right up your alley) but the Dole Whip float – now that’s another story.

That’s a lot of cool, pineapple-y deliciousness.

If you think you’d like to try that pineapple float live and in person, be sure to enter my contest to win four tickets to Dutch Wonderland!

One more note about dining at Dutch Wonderland: I brought our refillable water bottles with us and was annoyed that I couldn’t find water fountains. But then I discovered that every vendor was happy to fill them with water and ice and my annoyance switch to cool hydration.

Feeling hungry for more great blog posts? Maybe you should click on over to Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick.

You may have noticed that I don’t write a lot of posts about amusement parks. That’s partly because I’m not a big ride person myself (I am claustrophobic and get motion sickness – I know, lame right?) and also because I’m choosy about the parks I visit. I like them to have some personality, something special that makes an outing there magical. So when Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster, Pennsylvania offered to send me four free tickets for a day of fun, I took them up on their generous offer. That’s because I had heard from friends that this amusement park has an old-fashioned and genuine charm that makes it a perfect spot for a family outing, especially if you’ve got younger kids.

Dutch Wonderland is surrounded by farm fields and rolling hills and may just be the most bucolic amusement park I’ve ever visited. The theme here is fairy tale magic, with the requisite touch of Amish kitsch thrown in (it wouldn’t be Lancaster without some fiberglass cows and farmers to keep things real). It’s a clean and shady place and although we were there on a beautiful July Saturday and it was busy, we never had to wait in line for more than ten minutes. Along with us were my sister Sheila and her sons Alex and Jonathan (who are 15 and 8, respectively).

We arrived just as the park opened and plunged headlong into the rides, starting with some races on the Fun Slide (somehow Tommy managed to come out ahead every time).

After that, it was time for some fun on the Double Splash Flume:

The bumper cars were a hit:

And then we all relaxed on the Gondola Cruise, which gave Matt lots of chances to tease everyone about there being snakes in the water. No one took him all that seriously:

During our drive to the park, both boys talked boldly about how they couldn’t wait to get on the roller coaster (the park’s one really scary ride). This is, in fact, the closest any of us got to it the entire time we were there:

I took that photo from the Sky Ride, which proved to be more my kids’ speed:

We followed that with a more realistic flight simulation on both the VR Voyager and the Astroliner and then a little self-induced nausea on the Turtle Whirl:

The kids really loved getting to drive the cars on the “Turnpike” (certainly more than I do!):

By mid-afternoon we were hot and ready to cool off at the water play area of the park, which is called Duke’s Lagoon. We used the handy (but crowded) changing rooms and lockers to change into bathing suits and stow our stuff before heading out into the tropical-themed kid paradise of water slides, sprays, geysers, canons, sprinklers, and just about every other means of making water travel through air.

No pictures of the kids here, since my camera isn’t waterproof. Teddy mostly wanted to find as many different ways as he could to get wet by climbing, splashing, and spraying, while Tommy and Matt rode the Pipeline Plunge over and over.

We probably spent close to two and half hours here; you could easily make this the better part of your day.

After we dried off and changed back into our clothes I thought that the kids would want to try a few more rides, but Jonathan and Tommy just wanted to return to the Fun Slide and Teddy had an altogether different agenda, one involving a lot of green face paint and a pretty girl.

We finished our day at Dutch Wonderland with a game of mini-golf, which is included in the price of admission. The course isn’t as cute as the rest of the park – in fact, it’s not even in the park, but is off to the side next to the parking lot. But the boys were happy to have one more thing to do and I appreciate the fact that Dutch Wonderland tries to mix things up and make sure you can enjoy a full day of fun.

As you can see, my little dragon had a great time at Dutch Wonderland – and so can you. That’s because Dutch Wonderland has given me a family pack of four tickets to give away to one lucky reader of The Mother of All Trips! If you live anywhere in the region or are planning a visit anytime soon I hope you’ll try your luck. Lancaster makes a great place for a weekend visit with kids and is an easy drive from Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia, or New York.

To enter, leave a comment about your favorite amusement park below. And to sweeten the pot, I’ll offer an extra entry for each of the following actions as well:

1. Subscribe to The Mother of All Trips via rss or email and then let me know you’ve done so.
2. “Like” The Mother of All Trips on Facebook – then come back here and leave a comment telling me you did so.
3. Mention this giveaway on Twitter (you can use the button at the top of this post, or if you prefer to write it yourself, just makes sure you include @motherofalltrip)

This contest is open until 5 p.m. EST on Friday, July 15. I’ll announce a winner next Monday. See below for rules. And if you like this giveaway and want to share it with your friends, just click the “Like” button at the top of the post.

This is going to be a Dutch Wonderland kind of week here –I’ll be sharing our favorite food recommendations and will also offer my top tips for visiting.

A note to my regular readers: I’ve decided to stop putting the phrase “Mondays are for dreaming” at the beginning of my Monday Dreaming posts. This is not because I intend to change anything else about them but is just a reflection of the realities of making sure I show up in Google searches! Rest assured that the posts will remain as dreamy as ever.

Rules
Please, only one comment per person per giveaway post (except as outlined above where the comment is related to an extra entry). Duplicate comments and anonymous comments will be discarded. Please make sure that the email address in your comment form is valid (email addresses are never public and I don’t share them with sponsors). Winners must claim their prize within three business days after the date of notification of such prize. A sweepstakes winner’s failure to respond to the prize notification within the specified three business days will be considered such sweepstakes winner’s forfeiture of the prize and an alternate winner may be selected from the pool of eligible entries. If an entrant is found to be ineligible, an alternate winner may also be selected from the pool of eligible entries. Employees, partners and vendors of The Mother of All Trips and their immediate family members are not eligible to enter. We will disqualify any entries that we believe are generated by scripts and other automated technology. When applicable, the winner may be required to execute and return within five business days an Affidavit of Eligibility and a Liability and Publicity Release to be eligible for the prize or an alternate winner will be selected. All prizes will be awarded. No substitutions including for cash are permitted, except that The Mother of All Trips reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater monetary value for any prize. Winners shall be responsible and liable for all federal, state and local taxes on the value of their prize.

We started our day at the Visitor’s Center, which I would recommend. You can pick up maps and other information about the park and ask questions of the staff. From there, a ranger-led tour will take you about a quarter of a mile up the hill to the reproductions of the huts once inhabited by the Muhlenberg Brigade. Although this tour isn’t long, we actually learned a lot about Valley Forge history including what the winter of 1777-78 was like for the troops who hunkered down there. It’s clear that the mission of the interpreters at the park (as well as all of the printed materials you’ll find there) is to change the impression that the winter at Valley Forge was harsh and that the soldiers’ morale was particularly low. In fact is that more soldiers died of disease at Valley Forge than of cold or starvation because the winter was actually mild and sanitary conditions weren’t good as a consequence. Of note also is the fact that Valley Forge is where Washington’s Army really became professionalized under the oversight of Baron Friedrich Von Steuben, a former Prussian Army officer.

The encampment was fully staffed with costumed interpreters. The boys spent a long time playing with various 18^th-century toys.

We also got to have a peek inside the recreated cabins to see the differences between those of the enlisted men and the officers’ quarters.

We learned about how the soldiers dressed and the weapons they carried;

And we saw how food was prepared in a camp kitchen and bread was baked for the troops inside an earthen oven.

I especially enjoyed watching these boys learn how to split a piece of wood. (And let’s just say it’s a good thing that no one was actually depending on them to supply kindling since it took them about 20 minutes just to break this one piece!)

We easily spent an hour watching, playing, listening, and learning from the interpreters before the boys were ready to move on. After lunch at one of the designated picnic areas around the park (where we found tables, grills, and a restroom) we spent about an hour walking a path through rolling meadows of sweet grass and wildflowers and attempting unsuccessfully to find a geocache before heading over to Washington’s Headquarters.

This used to be the main arrival point in the park, when visitors took the train to get there. The pillared station is now a small museum offering more information about Washington, Von Steuben, and other historical figures important to the stay at Valley Forge and the training of the army. It also makes a good place to cool off and rest a bit while watching some informative videos.

It’s a short walk from the train station to the house where Washington stayed, which is furnished and fully accessible.

Tommy really liked that he got to see where Washington himself slept. We spent some time poking around the stable, guards’ quarters, and also admiring this nearby statue of the big man himself.

Just up the road from the headquarters you’ll find the Washington Memorial Chapel, which was built in tribute to its namesake in the early twentieth century.

Next to the chapel itself sits the National Patriots Bell Tower, which houses an impressive carillon (if you’re lucky, you’ll have a chance to hear a concert). There’s lots to look at here, including the Justice Bell, a replica of the Liberty Bell, which was cast by suffragettes and carried around the country to be paraded at rallies as a symbol of the battle for women’s right to vote.

There’s a small shop behind the chapel where we fortified the boys with ice cream before exploring the rest of the grounds. The cloisters include bays for each of the 13 original colonies and a moving memorial to “the mothers of the nation”.

Inside the chapel, we loved playing I Spy with the George Washington Window over the door, which includes 36 scenes from the first president’s life.

We ended our day with a late-afternoon drive around the remaining areas of the park we hadn’t yet seen, including the National Memorial Arch where on a warm spring evening numerous couples were having their wedding photos taken. We chose to simply look at the various statues and fortifications, but had we chosen to we could have availed ourselves of the cell phone tour.

Valley Forge is a national park and one of the things that makes me proud of being an American is the fact that 3500 acres in a very densely populated area of the Philadelphia suburbs has been preserved and left as open space that anyone can visit for free. Judging from the number of people we saw enjoying themselves there, this is a very well-used and well-loved reminder of our shared heritage. It’s also a great place to visit with kids.

The staff sports tattoos, lingerie worn as clothing, and (on our waitress) a perfect topknot worthy of one of Toulouse-Lautrec’s can-can dancers. But her smile was genuine and she and Teddy bonded over a shared love of the graphic novel series Bone.

Although the main draw here is the crêpes, Matt started with some butternut squash soup that was silky and delicious.

Then it was on to the main course. I love the tradition of putting a piece of each ingredient on top of the crêpe so you know what’s inside. Mine had grilled chicken, leeks, olives, goat cheese, and lemon butter.

Matt’s was stuffed with creamed spinach, tomatoes, grilled chicken, and Swiss cheese.

And the boys went for traditional ham and cheese.

The savory crêpes are surprisingly filling. Matt and I had no room for desert, but Teddy asked for a dish of vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce (“no crêpe around it please!”) and was served a cup of pure nectar.

The dulce de leche was thick enough to stand a spoon in. It was so good that everyone had to sneak bites.

And lick the cup clean.

(Not pictured here but of note also is the impeccable coffee.)

On the corner of South 6^th and Bainbridge Streets in Philadelphia, the Beau Monde isn’t really near anything you might be doing in the city, although if you’re kids have stamina or you’ve got a stroller you could walk there from the Independence Hall area (we’ve done this before). On this particular afternoon we drove over from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It can be a bit tricky to find parking; your best bet is to get within walking distance and then take the first spot you see on the street. One thing I love about this place: It’s open all afternoon, so you can easily grab a late lunch or an early dinner. They serve brunch until 3 p.m. on Saturdays and Sunday and their Bloody Mary’s are said to be dy-no-mite. You know. If you like that kind of thing.

I’m joining up with my fellow traveling foodies at Wanderfood Wednesday from Wanderlust and Lipstick. Satisfy your hunger for some yummy words and pictures there.

When she finally emerged and climbed into that Hummer limousine, they waved furiously as she and her new husband pulled away (we later discovered that they had simply pulled around the back so they could pose for pictures inside).

I’ve got lots to tell you next week about our day in Valley Forge, which included historical reenactors, a bit of failed geocaching, and lots of history lessons. But one of my favorite parts of the day was our visit to this lovely chapel. In fact, I liked it so much that I’ll leave you with a parting photo of one of its doors.

What are you up to this weekend? If you’ve got some travel coming up I hope you’ll check out my post over at Momtrends; I offer tips there about how to pack lightly (but stylishly).

For Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

Wake up in your amazingly comfortable bed in a junior suite at the Hotel Sofitel at the unheard-of hour of 8:30 a.m. Enjoy a complimentary cup of delicious coffee from their restaurant.

Stroll over to Parc in Rittenhouse Square where you eat a leisurely brunch with a handsome man. Make sure you order the big basket of pastries and don’t worry about eating them all.

Discover that one of the best bookstores you’ve ever been in is right across the street from your hotel. Make a number of impulse purchases including a gorgeous book titled Les Trente-Six Vues de la Tour Eiffel. Dream of Paris a little, even as you are enjoying Philadelphia.

Leave reluctantly and wander over to South 13th Street, to explore the newly trendy stretch between Sansom and Chestnut, which is chock full of boutiques and restaurants that would make any school-aged boy roll his eyes and sigh. Browse and browse and browse some more. Talk about a lamp you might buy for your living room. Think about purchasing a cute purse. Then think about buying some chocolates.

Decide you are too full to buy chocolate and too practical to buy the purse, which can’t possibly hold snacks, crayons, or toys. Continue your aimless walk, enjoying the fact that no one is asking where you are going and when you will get there. Take pictures in Washington Square.

Stop inside Carpenter’s Hall, the only building in Independence National Historic Park you’ve never visited.

Walk some more. End up some distance away in Elfreth’s Alley, the oldest residential street in the United States.

Get a cab and return to your quiet hotel room to read your new books and change for dinner.

Dress up. Put on lipstick and maybe high-heeled shoes, so you feel like a real dame. Walk to The Franklin Mortgage and Investment Co. for a couple of old-fashioned cocktails in a chicly restored basement speakeasy. If you’re feeling bold, try the sexy, smoky Peckinpah which contains mescal, rum, housemade blackberry-habenaro syrup, and lime juice and will knock your socks off.

Grab a cab and head over to Fork (make sure you have a reservation though). Order an excellent and affordable bottle of French wine from their quirky list and enjoy a lovingly-prepared seasonal meal.  Whatever else you eat, share the tapas as a starter.

Retire to that blissful bed, replete.

And then (and here’s the critical part) hope that as you are driving to retrieve your children the next day you don’t get a phone call saying that one of them has taken an unfortunate fall off a piece of playground equipment and broken his right arm.

I snapped this photo ten days ago when Matt and I were enjoying a weekend alone in Philadelphia (more on that – and what happened at the end of it – later). I love the optical illusion they’ve created on the façade of Independence Hall. It’s like they’re saying “nothing to look at here folks! Please proceed as usual.”

Of course, this may have appealed to me because that’s how I feel about my blog these days. Everything on the surface looks so calm while I underneath it all I’m going at things with the virtual equivalent of a hammer and saw. May it look as nice as I’m sure this beautiful building will when I’m done!

For Photo Friday at Delicious Baby.

I know that you probably don’t think of marshmallow Peeps as a Christmas candy, but since Just Born, the company that makes them is located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (otherwise known as “The Christmas City”) they really can be considered a winter holiday treat as well. I learned just how true this is when we attended Peeps Fest 2009 last December and sampled something I’d never thought to try before – s’mores made with Peeps chicks.

In addition to the s’mores, the highlight of the Peeps fest last year for us was the dioramas local students made using Just Born candies. We’ll be heading to Vermont to go skiing immediately after Christmas this year and will miss the festival. But I’m thinking that I may need to get our hands on some Peeps – this looks like a perfect post-day-in-the-cold treat.

If you’re interested in attending this year’s festival, it runs from December 29 through the 31st in Bethlehem. In addition to the dioramas, you’ll find live music, clowns, games, and arts and crafts. Find more details here. And in addition to the festival, Bethlehem offers an adorable main shopping street with some great shops and family-friendly restaurants as well as one of the best collections of dollhouses I’ve ever seen at the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts. Nearby Easton hosts the National Canal Museum and Crayola Factory, another fun activity for families. I’d definitely recommend Bethlehem as a Midatlantic weekend getaway – it’s less than an hour from Philadelphia and is only 70 miles from New York City.

I share the photo as part of Wanderfood Wednesday at Wanderlust and Lipstick.

We celebrated the end of school and the unofficial start of summer last night by road tripping up to Citizen’s Bank Park to watch the Phillies play the Marlins. Unfortunately the Phils couldn’t seem to get on base, but we had a great time. Tommy kept track of the game in his program while Teddy chatted up and completely charmed the woman sitting next to him, pausing only to watch the Phanatic do his crazy dance on top of the dugout. The evening was warm with a lovely breeze, we had great seats behind home plate, and as we were leaving, I snagged the boys some free cotton candy from a vendor who was throwing his leftovers away. We’ll be moving a little slow today since we didn’t get home until after 11, but hey, that’s OK, it’s summer. What a delicious feeling.

I was inspired recently by Amy at The Never-True Tales, who produced a list of 30 vows for her summer. After being out so late, I don’t have the energy to even think of such an ambitious list, but I do have ten items and they are:

1. Meet as many of my travel blogger friends in person as I can in New York City, England, and Vermont
2. Visit at least one amusement park (and maybe, just maybe, it will be Legoland – but don’t tell the boys yet)
3. Take a family camping trip for the first time
4. Eat local ice cream in every new place I visit
5. Read all of the travel books that are piled up in my office
6. Get a new family picture on the Prime Meridian
7. Go on an early morning hike to Sunset Rock
8. Find new, cool stuff to do on our long summer car rides
9. Ride in a punt on the Thames
10. Enjoy (gulp) turning 40 – yes, “enjoy” is the word I want to use

What about you? Any summer vows? Whether your answer is “hit the road and see where it takes me” or “sit on my porch and dream of distant lands” I’d love to hear what it is!

For Photo Friday at Delicious Baby. Have a wonderful, summery weekend!