Back From a 12-Day Trip

We just returned from a wonderful 12-day trip. We spent the first 5 days with my sister and her family at her home in North Bergen, NJ. Then, we picked up my mom and dad, and we made a 4-day visit to Hershey, PA. Finally, we went back to my mom and dad's home for the last few days of our vacation.

Here are my top three favorite 'organizing' tips from the trip:

1) Pack one suitcase half full. Of course, since this was a 12-day trip, we had quite a bit of clothes and toiletries to pack--never mind the big bag of wires we needed to keep our cell phones, DVD player, camcorder, digital camera and laptop up and running. My husband packed one suitcase (his included those wires since he always packs light), I had one suitcase, and my daughter had one smaller suitcase. We also had one extra suitcase that we used for a few odds and ends, that was only half full at the beginning of our trip. Between the gifts we received and the souvenirs we purchased on our vacation, we had enough to fill that half-empty suitcase on the way back.

2) Ride, then rest. Hershey Park is a huge amusement park in Hershey, PA -- sort of like a Great America or any other typical theme park. In order to avoid stress and aggravation, never mind heat stroke (it was so hot and humid that day!), our ride rule for the kids was that they could ride on 3 rides and then rest, 3 rides and then rest, etc. Being that the kids were aware of this rule, there was no crying when it was time to rest. Rest time included either having some food or water, sitting on a bench for a little while to people-watch, or sitting down to watch one of the performances.

3) Do laundry while you're away. There was no way I was about to return home and have to do 12 days of laundry for 3 people. I did all the laundry wherever we were, during the time we were eating breakfast or just sitting around relaxing. We did not have to put one piece of dirty laundry into our suitcases, and when we returned home, we were able to simply put all of our clean clothes back in the closet and dresser.

P.S. If you're interested in visiting Hershey, PA, it's a fun place to go. If you enjoy amusement parks, you'll love Hershey Park. It's enormous and has oodles of things to do. My only advice would be to go on a cool day, since there is a lot of walking necessary.

There is a slow-moving ride that takes you on a simulated trip through the Hershey Chocolate Factory. There is also a very cool 3-D show and a trolley tour of the town of Hershey.

We stayed at the Hershey Lodge, which was lovely. It had 4 restaurants right in the hotel, an indoor and outdoor pool, a mini-golf course, as much free chocolate as you want, and appearances by the Hershey characters throughout the day.

Although we didn't do it this time around due to time limitations, you can take a short drive to the Amish Country or Gettysburg if you wish.