In the middle of it all, her friend laughed. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! I can’t keep up with you, Kate!”
“Sorry.” Kate giggled as she plopped onto the bed. Biscuit started to whimper, so she reached down and picked him up, putting him on the bed beside her.
“Let’s start over again. You want me to go where with you?” Alex asked. “Hershey, Pennsylvania? The place where they make all of the chocolate?”
“Yes!” Kate practically squealed, causing Biscuit to dive under the covers. “You’ll never believe it. Of all the people in my school, I was chosen to represent the students at the young inventor’s contest. And Hershey is close to Amish country, so if you come with us, we’ll get to go to Paradise.”
“Paradise?” Alex laughed. “We’re going to heaven?”
“No.” Kate laughed. “Paradise, Pennsylvania. It’s a little town in Lancaster County, just a couple of hours from my house in Philly. I’ve been there dozens of times. The last time, I visited several pretzel factories.”
“I always knew you loved pretzels,” Alex said. “But I didn’t realize you loved them that much.”
“Oh yes.” Kate looked up at the poster on her wall, smiling as she read the words: BAKE A BETTER PRETZEL AND THE WORLD WILL BEAT A PATHWAY TO YOUR KITCHEN. “I’m crazy about pretzels. Hard crunchy ones. Soft chewy ones. You name it…I eat them!” She paused for a moment, realizing pretzels weren’t her only weakness. These days, she’d been snacking on anything and everything—chocolate, sour candies, chips, and more. In fact, her jeans were starting to get a little tight, now that she thought about it.
Alex kept on talking. “Wow. You’ve already been to Amish country? That’s really neat. I’ve only read about the Amish in books. Their lifestyle is very different.” She began to talk at length about what it would be like to live without electricity and cars, but Kate’s thoughts had already drifted. She couldn’t help but think about her invention.
“Amish country is where I came up with the idea for my Turbo Heat-Freeze,” Kate explained. “It happened at a pretzel factory run by two sisters. I can’t wait to go back and show them in person.”
“I see.” Alex paused. “So, you want me to be there with you in Hershey when you win the whole thing, and then we’ll celebrate by eating pretzels in Amish country afterwards?”
Kate giggled. “Do you think I’ll win?”
“You’re the smartest person I know,” Alex said. “But I can’t say for sure that you’ll win, because I haven’t seen your invention yet. What is a Turbo Heat-Freeze, anyway?”
Kate started to tell her, but then decided not to. Not yet, anyway. “Ooh, I don’t want to give it away. It’s a big surprise. Just ask your mom if you can come, okay? I think you would love the town of Hershey. It’s the best!”
“Well, you know I try to eat healthy foods,” Alex said. “But I love chocolate too. It sounds great. Besides, this would be the perfect opportunity for me to tape some episodes of my cable column documentary, ‘From a Kid’s Eye View.’”
She began to talk about all of the things she could tape while there—the various competitors involved in the festival, the rides at the Hershey amusement park, and even the people who lived and worked in the town of Hershey.
“Can you imagine living in a town filled with chocolate?” Kate asked. “It would be like a taste of heaven on earth!”
Alex giggled. “Must be wonderful. I can hardly wait to get there. I wonder if we’ll get tired of chocolate after a while.”
“Never!” Kate laughed. “Impossible!” After a little more chatter, she ended the call, and then got on the internet to research Hershey and Amish country. As the Hershey site opened, Kate smiled. “This will be a blast!”
She looked at the page describing Hersheypark, the town’s theme park.
Just then, an Instant Message came through. Kate smiled when she saw it was Bailey, the youngest of the Camp Club Girls.
Bailey: Whatcha doing?
Kate: Researching Hershey, Pennsylvania.
Kate explained her reason and Bailey congratulated her. Before long, the two of them were both reading about Hersheypark and other fun things to do in the town.
Bailey: Oh Kate, you’ll have the best time ever! I wish I could go too! I’m so excited for you and Alex. Be sure to ride the sooperdooperLooper roller coaster!
Kate: I will. I’m sure that will be my favorite!
Bailey: I’ll call the other Camp Club Girls and ask them to pray for you. Maybe if we all pray, you will win the big prize!
Kate started to tell her about the dream she’d had, but was distracted by Biscuit, who rolled over, begging for his tummy to be rubbed.
Kate: Bailey, I have to go. A spoiled little dog wants attention.
Bailey: Gotcha. Well, have fun!
With those words, Bailey disappeared.
Kate closed the laptop and leaned back against the pillows on her bed with a sigh. Biscuit licked her nose and she laughed. “What do you think, boy? Ready for another adventure?” Kate and the girls had found Biscuit while on their first mystery at camp. Kate had gotten to keep the dog, and he’d even helped the girls solve some mysteries.
He snuggled closer to her, wriggling like crazy, and Kate couldn’t stop laughing.
“Okay, okay!” she said at last. “Hang on for the ride, boy! I have a feeling this trip to Hershey is going to be filled with surprises!”
She also suspected they’d encounter several tasty opportunities along the way…and not just the chocolate kind. Surely this trip would be one she wouldn’t soon forget!
A Sweet Reunion
Two weeks later, Kate and her family arrived in Hershey.
“Did you see what that sign said?” her brother hollered as they entered the town. “Hershey, Pennsylvania, the Sweetest Place on Earth!”
“I saw it!” Kate laughed. “And I’ll bet it’s true.”
“I can’t wait to go to Hersheypark,” Dexter said. “It’ll be a blast.”
“Hershey has a lot of wonderful things to offer,” Kate’s mom said. “There are strolling bands, concerts, even a chocolate spa. I might have to check that one out!”
Kate’s father laughed. “I’m eager to see how the rides at the amusement park are constructed. I brought my camera to take pictures.”
Kate grinned as she thought about how different her family members were. Her dad loved figuring out how things were made.
As they settled into their room, Kate peered out the window. Unfortunately it was cloudy. She could barely make out the top of the roller coaster. Not that anyone was on it in the rain. All the rides were shut down due to the weather. Bummer.
“Come and look out of the window, Dex!” she said. “You can see the sooperdooperLooper from here. You have to look hard to see it through the fog, but it’s there.”
Dexter whistled as he glimpsed it. “Man! It’s huge. I’ll bet it’s really fast. And scary.”
“Doesn’t seem scary to me,” Kate said. “It looks like fun!”
Biscuit whimpered in his crate. “Ready to come, boy?” Kate looked around the hotel room. “You have to promise to behave while we’re here. Don’t break anything…and don’t have any puppy accidents!”
A beep sounded, and Kate scrambled to get her cell phone. “Ooh! It’s a text message from Alex. She and her parents just arrived. They’re in room 389.”
“Great,” Kate’s mother said. “See if they want to join us for lunch in the dining room and then we can all go to the exhibition hall together. You can show everyone your little oven freezer thing.”
Kate looked at her mother. “It’s a Turbo Heat-Freeze, Mom,” she reminded her.
“Right.” Her mother nodded. “Turbo Heat-Freeze.”
She gestured for Kate to sit beside her on the bed. “And in case I’ve forgotten to say it recently, I’m so proud of you, Kate. I should have known you would turn out to be an inventor like your father is. You’ve always been such a smart, creative girl.”
&
nbsp; Kate giggled. She loved being compared to her father. He was the smartest person she knew. Maybe that’s why she had become so competitive with Phillip lately. She wanted to show her dad that she was smart…and inventive. That way he would be really proud of her.
Just then Mr. Oliver came into the room carrying a bucket of ice.
“Somebody talking about me behind me back?” her father asked with a twinkle in his eye.
“In a good way, Dad,” Kate said, running to give him a hug. “Mom was just telling me that I take after you because I like to invent things.”
“And because of all of those gadgets of yours.” Her mother pointed to Kate’s backpack. “Did you bring them with you?”
“Of course!” Kate opened the bag and stuck her hand inside. She took out the tiny black digital recorder. Next she found her teensy-tiny digital camera. Kate then reached for her text reader, which looked like an ink pen. She ran it along the words in the hotel’s Bible and it recorded the scripture from Romans 12:3: “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”
Kate nodded. Perhaps God was trying to share a message with her! Winning the competition would be fun, but what would it prove, really? All of the people in the contest were talented and had great ideas.
Kate reached for her cell phone. It might come in handy while here. So might the next gadget she pulled out.
Kate stared at the smartwatch her father had given her the year before. She could hardly believe it was possible to check her email or browse the web on a wristwatch, but it always came in handy.
Finally, Kate pulled out a pair of mirrored sunglasses, smiling as she put them on. “Yep. You really can see what’s going on behind you when you’re wearing these. Cool.”
“I’m not sure why you brought it all here with you,” her mother said. “Are you expecting to solve some sort of mystery while here?”
Kate shrugged as she pulled off the sunglasses and tucked them back into the bag. “You never know. It’s good to always be prepared.” She had the strangest feeling she needed to be ready for anything this week, though she wasn’t sure why.
A few minutes later Kate tagged along on her parents’ heels as they walked to the hotel’s beautiful dining room. Alex and her parents arrived moments later.
Kate greeted her friend with squeals and laughter.
“Look at you!” she said. “You look so great!”
“So do you,” Alex responded. “I like your new glasses. They’re really cute.”
“Thanks.” Kate shrugged. She didn’t really mind wearing glasses. They made her feel smart, in fact.
“This was such a great idea, Kate,” Alex said. “This part of the country is beautiful. My mom loves it already.”
“It’s true,” Mrs. Howell said, smiling at Kate. “We’ve been needing to get away for a while, and spring break was the perfect opportunity. And what woman doesn’t like chocolate?” She laughed aloud and everyone joined her.
“I only have one complaint,” Mr. Howell said. “It’s been hot and muggy for spring.”
“Yes, does it always rain like this?” Mrs. Howell asked. “I do hope the weather clears up.”
Kate’s mother shook her head. “We’ve had a lot of rain lately and you’re right…it’s exceptionally warm for spring. I wish we could have offered you better weather.”
“Well, we can’t blame anyone for the rain,” Alex’s mother said, then laughed. “At least it’s not snow. And besides, we’ll be indoors at the exhibition hall much of the time. I can’t wait to see what Kate and the other young inventors have come up with. I’m sure it will be wonderful.”
When the waitress came to take their order, Kate chose a hamburger with extra bacon, along with an order of fries and a soda.
As they ate and everyone chatted, Kate was so excited she could hardly sit still long enough to eat. She wanted to get to the exhibition hall right away to show the others her invention. And she could hardly wait to show Alex the pretzel factory!
Lunchtime seemed to fly by, and before she could count to ten, Kate found herself in the exhibition hall, checking in. Above them hung a large sign: THE YOUNG INVENTORS’ FESTIVAL, SPONSORED BY THE MILTON HERSHEY SCHOOL.
“Oh, I read all about that school online,” she said. “They do great things for kids in need.”
“Wonderful!” Alex said. “That makes it even better!”
Kate picked up a packet with her name on it, smiling as she pulled out the badge.
“You’re official!” her mother said, helping her clip the badge into place. “You’re a true young inventor.”
Kate beamed and felt a sense of joy wash over her. “I know it’s true what the Bible says, Mom. God really does give us the desires of our heart. I’ve always wanted to invent things…like dad does.”
“Speaking of inventions…” Alex’s face lit up. “When are you going to show me this invention of yours, the one that’s going to win the whole thing? I brought my video camera so I could get some footage for my column.” She held up the tiny video camera and grinned.
“We don’t know that it’s going to win anything,” Kate whispered. “But I did have a dream that I won the grand prize!” She told Alex about her dream and how she woke up in class afterwards.
“I think it would be totally awesome if you won,” Alex said.
Kate shrugged, thinking about the verse she’d just read on her text reader. She didn’t really consider herself better than others, so what did it matter if she won the big prize or not?
“Where’s your invention?” Alex asked.
“Oh, it’s already on display,” Kate said. “Come with me.” They walked down the long aisle of other inventions.
“Ooh, what’s that?” Alex asked, pointing at a lamp made out of old car parts.
“I think it’s a living room lamp,” Kate said with a giggle. “Pretty clever, right?”
“No kidding. Everything here is clever. And to think kids invented all of these things. Pretty impressive.”
Kate smiled. “I’m sure a few of them had a little help from their parents.”
“Did you?”
Kate shrugged. “Well, you know my dad is a robotics professor, so I’ve learned a lot from him over the years. But I can honestly say that this invention is completely mine. He didn’t help with it.” She led the way to the booth where the Turbo Heat-Freeze was on display and pointed at it. “This is it.”
“Wow.” Alex gave her a funny look. “It kind of looks like an Easy Bake Oven.”
Kate laughed. “There’s a reason for that. It started out as one. But not anymore!” She drew near. “I call this my Turbo Heat-Freeze.”
“Heat-Freeze?” Alex looked confused. “I don’t get it.”
“It’s an oven and a freezer in one,” Kate explained. “The left side heats and the right side cools.”
Alex leaned down and looked closer. “No way. Show me how it works, Kate.”
“Okay.” She placed several bite-size pieces of a soft pretzel in the tiny easy-bake pan then laid a piece of chocolate bark on top. “Watch this.” She put the pan in the little oven and began to count. “One, two, three, four, five…”
Alex joined her. “Six, seven, eight, nine, ten.”
Kate reached in to grab the pan from the other side and Alex gasped. “Kate, use a pot-holder. You’re going to burn your hand!”
“No I’m not.” She shook her head. Kate held up the little pan, showing her friend the little pretzel bites, which were each coated in just the right amount of chocolate. “It’s not hot at all, and the chocolate is perfectly hardened.” She passed the cold pan to Alex.
“Wow!”
“Have a taste,” Kate said.
Alex shook her head. “I really shouldn’t. You know I try to eat healthy.”
“Just one little bite,” K
ate suggested.
“Okay.” Alex reached down and took a bite of one of the pretzels, then looked up, her eyes wide. “Oh Kate! This is fantabulous. Seriously, it’s the perfect blend of salty and sweet. And I love the fact that you’ve used soft pretzel bites. This is so much yummier than those chocolate-covered pretzels you can buy at the grocery store.”
“I know.” Kate laughed. “My dad said the same thing. But my mom says the peppermint version is best.”
“Peppermint?” Alex looked at her with a wrinkled brow.
“Yep. Watch this.” Kate reached for another pan, adding several pretzel bites. Then she lifted up something that looked like a white chocolate bar with bits of red running through it. “This is peppermint bark.”
“Mmm. Sounds yummy.”
“It is. It’s white chocolate with crushed peppermint candies.” Kate laid it on top of the pretzel bites, then put it in the oven and counted to ten. She pulled it out, completely cooled, and handed one of the delights to her friend.
Alex’s eyes widened as she bit into the tasty concoction. “Oh Kate! This tastes like Christmas!”
“I know.” Kate giggled. “My mom served them to our guests last December. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve also used dark chocolate, caramel, and all sorts of other things to coat the pretzels. But my absolute favorite is melted jellybeans because they come in so many flavors. The possibilities are endless.”
“Your invention works the same with the jelly beans?” Alex asked. “No way!”
“Yes, it’s always the same,” Kate explained. “The machine rapidly melts the candy, then hardens it just as quickly. And the really cool part is, you can use specialized pans to solidify the candy-covered pretzels in whatever shape you want. Look at this.” She held up a tiny pan her father had designed with several star shapes.
“Are you serious?” Alex did not look convinced. “The candies are going to come out shaped like stars?”
“Sure.” Kate put one pretzel bite in each star-shaped hole then reached for the bag of jellybeans. “What’s your favorite flavor?” she asked.
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