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The Sweetest Thingby Dina Gan"Welcome to Scotland!" the starter said with a wide smile as he took my golf bag and loaded it on a cart. True, the winds were blowing up to 37 mph that morning, but this wasn't the famous St. Andrews golf course in Scotland. This was the Hershey Country Club in Hershey, PA. That's right, Hershey, as in chocolate. My husband and I had chosen the windiest weekend in April for our first golf getaway of the season. I hadn't been to Hershey since I was a kid, and back then, it was all about the chocolate. Now, it's about the golf -- and maybe just a little chocolate. The Hershey Golf Collection includes three 18-hole courses (East Course, West Course, and Hershey Links) and a 9-hole course designed for kids. I was determined to play the three full-length courses, no matter what the weather. Muddy Fairways 
The day before, when we arrived, we had already braved cold winds and saturating rain to play the Hershey Links, which would have been a tough course without the awful weather since nearly every hole entailed a forced carry over a ravine or creek. But we trudged on, losing some balls to the tall fescue grasses and taking shelter in our golf cart when the rain began to come down in a sheet. In the end, we only made it through 15 holes. So today, at the East Course, as the starter was joking about Scottish winds, I was thinking "Hey, at least it's not raining."
The East Course was blessedly flat compared to the Links. The way the sun lit up the greens was a site for my sore, bloodshot eyes. But the wind was so savage it would make a kite-flyer think twice. Sometimes the wind helped the ball fly, making some of my tee shots rival someone on a high school golf team. We made it through the full 18, but the conditions made it feel like work. After two days of that kind of golf, we were ready for some rest and relaxation.
Touring the Town 
Hersheypark wasn't open for the season yet, and though the Hotel Hershey has some rather famous spa treatments involving chocolate milk baths and exfoliation by cocoa bean, we opted to board the Hershey Trolley Works tour and go on a one-hour journey through the town of Hershey narrated by a man dressed in an old-fashioned conductor's outfit who told us interesting facts about Milton Hershey's life. We learned, for example, that he had failed as a candy maker several times before finding success with chocolate, that he and his wife couldn't have children, and because of that, he started a school for orphans which thrives to this day. We also learned that Milton's mother's maiden name was Snavely. (Good thing his dad was named Hershey, or we'd all be eating Snavely bars.)
About every 10 minutes, the conductor passed around a basket full of chocolate kisses. As we listened to his sermon about the good works done by their maker, the kisses melted in our mouths like communion wafers. By the end of the tour, I felt uplifted. It was nice to know that Hershey was a man who made life sweet for people in more ways than making chocolate. Pillows and Pie 
The historic Hotel Hershey is undergoing a $67 million building expansion, which will include a dramatic new lobby, guest cottages, swimming pools, and a year-round ice-skating rink, all slated to be complete by summer 2009. Though signs of construction abounded when I visited, it didn't diminish the high quality of service or the elegant feel of the guest rooms. While the hotel is luxurious, it didn't feel stuffy. Perhaps as evidence of the Hershey brand's universal appeal, the guests staying at the hotel seemed to come from all races and cultures. The hotel is a popular wedding venue too, and we saw guests milling about wearing tuxedos and evening gowns as well as traditional Indian saris.
We had dinner at the hotel's Fountain Cafe. Here I succumbed to the temptation of a Hershey chocolate martini, which brought back decadent memories of the sweet Hershey chocolate syrup I remember from childhood, except this time with a little vodka instead of milk. It was hard to choose which dessert to have, since they all sounded delicious, and their designer, Tina Haldeman, the Korean American executive pastry chef at the Hotel Hershey, has one of the best jobs in the world in my opinion. Finally, I chose the Reese's peanut butter cream pie, even though I knew my waistline would suffer for it.
Back to the Range  On our last day, we played the West Course in sunny, mild weather, without a wind gust in sight. But it was crowded, and there was golf cart traffic. The scenery was a welcome distraction, and the West Course is arguably the most scenic of the Hershey courses. Its undulating greens are pristine yet have a natural, not overly manicured look. Hole 5 was especially notable, requiring a forced carry over a cart path and up a hill to land on the front lawn of the Hershey Mansion. A player's assistant waits around the putting green, perhaps to prevent wayward balls from crashing through a window.
At the Corner of Chocolate and Cocoa After our round, we went back to the historic part of Hershey, where we visited The Hershey Story, a new museum which offers interactive immersion into the world of Milton Hershey. Using multimedia displays, the museum relates the details of the chocolatier's life, from his birth in 1857 to his early business failures which left him a penniless at 26, to the opening of his chocolate factory in 1905. You can look at vintage Hershey advertisements, design your own candy bar wrapper, and even make your own confections in the museum's Chocolate Lab. 
We ended our visit with a chocolate tasting at Cafe Zooka. For less than 10 bucks, we went around the world with a flight of 6 liquid chocolate shooters, ranging in cacao content from 32.9% to 75%. Each drinking chocolate came from a single country of origin, which allows each one's distinctive flavor to emerge, from the darkest Tanzanian cocoa to the sweetest Indonesian milk chocolate.
Since I usually avoid chocolate, as it has an undesirable effect on my hips, it was nice to throw caution to the wind for a weekend and revel in a Hershey moment. On the drive home, I savored the lingering tastes, all so warm, memorable, and sweet. |
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