What’s this giant mushroom and why are you posting it on New Year’s Eve, you may be wondering? Well read on. The snippet below is from last year’s December trip to Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

And of course, what would a stay at this place on New Year’s Eve be without sticking around to see the famous Mushroom Drop? Yes, the mushroom capital of the world rings in the new year with a 700 pound illuminated mushroom. I’ll say this: if you don’t appreciate small-town America, you could not appreciate this event. It was cute. It was amusing. It was also kind of boring. I don’t mean that in a way which trashes the town or the people; but it was sorely lacking. The street vendors hardly had anything appetizing, and there wasn’t enough entertainment or open shops to sustain multiple hours in the freezing cold. The “party” at the youth/garage center (which was more like a fundraiser) was bland. The poster said you pay a $10 cover charge and “food and drinks provided”. Now, I wasn’t expecting anything for free, but to pay $10 just to be allowed into a gigantic empty room only to pay $8 more for a Styrofoam cup of barely passable wine was just not good. Will was not as upset because he was freezing and this allowed us to sit inside and be warm for as long as we wanted, but there was nothing to do in there besides play ping-pong or air hockey on a table that wasn’t plugged in. He was happy and I was no longer cold, so I chalked it up as a donation and say it is what it is. I did appreciate the family-friendly atmosphere of the whole event, though. There were no rowdy drunks or people acting stupid from what I could tell. That’s a blessing to us all. The drop itself was not accompanied by much fanfare, or even an audible countdown until people started screaming it when it hit about five seconds. By 12:01 we were out of there to beat the traffic. Was I glad we went? Absolutely, but it’s not something I need to do again.