Just in time for Valentine’s Day here are my picks for some “sweet” travel destinations for families with children of all ages. Each of the following destinations has one thing in common–the chance to sample delectable treats (and in most cases, they’re free). Our family has had a blast at each attraction. Here’s hoping your family will have as much fun spending “Love Day” at one of these yummy destinations. Happy Valentine’s Day!
1. Hershey’s Chocolate World, Hershey, Pennsylvania
Gather the family and hop aboard the Great American Chocolate Tour Ride at Hershey’s Chocolate World. It re-opened less than a year ago after undergoing a $5 million update, and the improvements are incredible. The ride is meant to simulate the experience of being in a chocolate factory, while educating you about the chocolate-making process, from bean to candy. The interactive experience begins when you climb into a cocoa bean shaped car and ride a would-be conveyor belt similar to the ones that transport cocoa beans into the factory. Along the way you encounter dancing cows; zoom past all your Hershey favorites, from Kit Kats to Reese’s peanut butter cups; get “showered” by chocolate confections; then end up in the company store where you receive a free sample of some of the goodies you just saw being made.
This is an option for families who are willing to travel to Fairfield, California (located about an hour north of San Francisco) or Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin (located on the Wisconsin-Illinois border). We took the mouth-watering tour in Wisconsin where the sweet smells from the factory waft into the parking lot and inside your car. The tour begins when you hop on board the Jelly Belly Express train, which then takes you on a ride down “Candy Alley” where six- foot giant jellybeans are suspended from the ceiling and you are treated to a chorus line of Jelly Belly characters that are designed to teach you how the famous candy is made, packaged, and marketed. As you ride through the factory, you are treated to the smells of popcorn, peanut butter and exotic fruits, which give the candy its unique flavor. At the end of the tour you are given free samples and if that doesn’t fill you up there is a snack bar that offers pizza and hamburgers in the shape of Jelly Bellies.
3. Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory Tour
If you find yourself in Hilo, Hawaii on Valentine’s Day, I highly suggest heading over to the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut factory, home of the world’s largest macadamia nut company. The free tour includes a visit to the chocolate plant where you get to see how the nuts are made into candies. What kid wouldn’t love the chance to watch the nuts ride a conveyor belt through a shower of sweet chocolate? Or, witness macadamia nut shortbread cookies being hand-dipped into pure milk chocolate? The smells of melting chocolate are amazing and free samples are waiting for you at the visitor’s center.
4. “Chocolate By The Bald Man,” New York City
Israeli restaurateur Max Brenner has a new chocolate bar off New York’s Union Square called “Chocolate By The Bald Man.” This place is a chocoholic’s Heaven. It caters to chocoholics of all ages, but one step inside and you feel like a kid in a candy store. The interior of the restaurant is lined with whimsical wallpaper and the exposed pipes across the ceiling give it chocolate-factory look. If you are looking to treat your children this Valentine’s Day then this is where you need to go. Try the hot chocolate in oval-shaped cups called “hug mugs” that you cradle in your hands. Or, order the ice cream Popsicles, which come with bowls of melted chocolate, chocolate waffle balls and caramelized pecan bits for dipping.
5. Weber Grill Restaurant, Chicago, Illinois
This place is a treat to visit for parents because the menu offers delicious meal options for the entire family. Even your pickiest little eaters will find something they’d want grilled to their satisfaction. Practically everything on the menu (save for the beverages and some starch options) is grilled. From steaks and hickory roasted prime rib, slow smoked BBQ to charcoal-fired burgers, grilled seafood, grilled veggies… and of course, the ever kid-friendly hamburgers, hot dogs, and cheese sandwiches. But, the reason this place is such a “sweet” dining option on Valentine’s Day is my favorite— grilled dessert. The restaurant offers grilled pie, grilled cookies, and grilled fruit sundaes (grilled fruits–from pineapple to peaches—heaped onto mounds of vanilla ice cream and drizzled with chocolate sauce). SWEET!
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