Journey
Every year, our company holds an outing for employees and their families on Labor Day weekend. Though many companies cut thisoff budgets due to the recession, we still have it as usual. This year we went south to Pennsylvania and Baltimore. There were two coaches to bring us there.
The first day, our first stop was Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA. Longwood Gardens is one of the premier botanical gardens in America and it was started in 1906 by Pierre S. Du Pont. There are 20 outdoor gardens and 20 indoor gardens in the four-acre Conservatories. It contains more than 11,000 different types of plants and trees. It hosts 800 horticultural and performing arts events each year, including flower shows, fountain shows and musical recitals. We enjoyed our outdoor buffet lunch in the tent of the Terrace restaurant. Next stop was Baltimore, MD. We joined the tour and visited 4 historic ships in the Inner Harbor. Among them, I was impressed by USS Torsk, a small submarine but able to contain with 188 people inside; they got the best food, such as lobster, because if the submarine is in danger, none of them can survive in the deep sea.
The second day, in the morning, we went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. I liked the new exhibit, Jellies Invasion. The name is so cool and makes me think about the aliens from space. The Jellies were so beautiful, some of them were transparent and some were colorful. The Dolphins show was interesting as well; I sat in the first row which is the splash zone to get the best view of the cute and tame mammal. Dolphins have the second biggest brain among the animals, just smaller than human beings and that is why they are so smart. After eating the famous crab cake in McCormick and Schmicks seafood restaurant in the Inner Harbor, we went to Hershey's Chocolate World; it is the biggest chocolate factory in the world. We ate a lot of chocolates and enjoyed the history tour of the chocolate town by trolley. Milton S. Hershey built the Hershey kingdom after two big failures, but he tried again undaunted and it worked on the third time. He also built public schools and helped orphaned boy to get a better education and job opportunities in his town.
The third day, we spent at Woodloch resort in Hawley, PA and participated in the activities in the resort. It was a very relaxing day. I biked in the forest and could not stop on the downhill; I bumped the cart in front of me while racing the car; I got really wet when I played bumper boat and shooting game; I walked on the sand with my naked feet; I got lost and could not catch up with the ferry. There are so many things that can be done in the resort, but the time is short to finish them all.
In conclusion, I am so thankful to have had this chance to go out with my colleagues, and know their families better. Also I give thanks to my boss Jeff Cheng, who was willing to offer this trip while other companies cut their budgets. Above all, I really want to thank God for giving us such great weather during the three days; people said it usually rains at least one day during the Labor Day weekend. I am so happy and will remember this memorable outing while I was working in New York.
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http://www.longwoodgardens.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longwood_Gardens
http://baltimore.about.com/od/artsentertaiment/tp/Historicships.htm
http://www.aqua.org/
http://www.hersheys.com/discover/milton/milton.asp
http://www.woodloch.com/home/
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