When I announced to the kids that I’d be taking them on a mini vacation to Vermont for a few days, they excitedly asked how long it would take to get there. I assured them it would take no longer than four and a half hours from southern Massachusetts.
At least that’s what MapQuest said, anyway. Clearly MapQuest doesn’t know me very well.
To be fair, that totally would’ve been the case had I not stopped at a truck stop in New Hampshire to let the kids go to the bathroom.
And also if I hadn’t left my purse at the same truck stop. Oh, and also if I had realized it sooner than an hour after I drove into Vermont. Sigh.
A full seven and a half hours later, we were finally in Vermont. To redeem myself, I took the kids on the Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour in Waterbury. Surely some chocolatey ice cream goodness would make it all better.
So, I paid the $12 for the tour, and on we went to learn all about how Ben & Jerry’s comes to be from cow to cone. But the only thing we really cared about was the free ice cream at the end. We were starving to death, after all.
Did you ever see the movie A Christmas Story? You know how Ralphie was so excited to get that decoder from the Little Orphan Annie show? And how disappointed he was when he used it and found out that the much anticipated code was an ad for Ovaltine?
Yeah, that’s how we felt. At the end of our tour we got Lemon Poppy Seed ice cream samples. No Chubby Hubby. No Cherry Garcia. Not even Chunky Monkey. Lemon Poppy Seed.
My kids were like, what the heck is this? I sort of talked up this Ben and Jerry’s tour like the land of milk and honey, so to say that they weren’t impressed with Lemon Poppy Seed would be an understatement.
So, I did what any good and desperate mom would do. I bough them a bucket of ice cream and let them have at it. I’m all about solutions.
Four mongo scoops of ice cream, brownies, cookies, gooey fudge and caramel toppings. Oh, and a banana tossed in for the health of it all.
Wait, don’t forget about the gummy bears. Who needs cherries when there’s gummy bears?
6.5 minutes later it was gone. Not a gummy bear left behind.
We weren’t moving too fast after that. We moseyed on over to some adirondack chairs and plopped our cream and sugar filled bodies down to enjoy the sweeping vistas of the Vermont mountains. Quite a sight to behold.
No one mentioned the purse snafu again. Mom was redeemed. Actually, mom was even further redeemed when the kids saw where they were staying this trip. But that is a story that will have to wait until tomorrow.
Mom is pooped.
If you decide to take in the Ben & Jerry’s Factory Tour in Waterbury Vermont, be sure to budget some extra time to wander around the grounds. There’s a cute Flavor Graveyard that has headstones of flavors that have been retired, and a nice playground for the kiddos.
It wouldn’t be a half bad idea to let them run that sugar buzz off before you stuff them back in the car, if you know what I mean. And while they run around the playground, you can sit and enjoy the view. It’s pretty scenic up there.
Check back tomorrow for further updates on our adventure. My son is convinced that he’s going to get me to sit on a scooter and slide down a mountain. Silly boy.
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Glad you all got there in one piece. There must be something about Vermont because last year on our vacation there I accidentally left my purse with about $300 in vacation cash and my iPad in a shopping cart in Walmart. Even more miraculous is the fact that someone turned it into customer service with everything still in it! God bless honest people!
That is amazing. In this day when there is so much bad, it is so good to hear stuff like that. There are some good people in this world!!
You’re up in my neck of the woods!!! Well, Essex- not tooooo far away from the factory. (-: I hope you enjoy your mini vacation. You’re one of my favorite bloggers so I’ll be on the lookout for a Goddess spotting. (-:
Awww, thank you Deanna! If I had more time here, I would’ve loved to have met for coffee. Next time! You are so lucky to live in such a wonderful place. I really loved my time here!
I’m heading up to that area of Vermont for a wedding in a month and already planned a trip to Ben & Jerry’s but that bucket of goodness really seals the deal.
Yup, it’s a must visit. There is so much to see and do up here. You’re going to have a blast!
Blech, lemon poppy seed? Its funny, you reminded me of a road trip my sister and I took to Vermont years ago. Ben & Jerry’s and Cabot were on our list of to-do’s but we got hopelessly lost. This was before GPS’s were popular so we were really up a creek. We couldn’t even find the hotel we were supposed to stay at. I remember driving up and down the same stretch of road, searching in vain for the road that Mapquest had told us would lead to our hotel – nada. It was the last day of our trip, so we stopped somewhere for breakfast and drove all the way home to NJ without making our pitstops. Someday I’ll get there!
Oh my. That’s a nightmare. I vaguely remember the days before gps, lol. Maps are now antiques.
We were there a few weeks ago and lucked out with Cherry Garcia samples. There is a great hand-blown glass gallery down the road where the artist demonstrates glass blowing most days. We also added a tour of the Cabot Creamery – just 30 minutes away – to our trip. At dinner that night, my 13 year old daughter declared the cheese samples her favorite part of the day – I’ve taught her well!
Enjoy your trip!
Ok, you sold me on cheese samples. We’ll hit that on our way out. You can never have enough cheese. Oh wait, Aidan is lactose intolerant. I guess I’ll have to eat his samples. That glass blowing place sounds lovely. I think we passed it on the way in. Will check that out too on the way out. Thanks for the tips!
We planned an entire New England trip one year just because we wanted to take the Ben & Jerry’s tour! All the way from NC…pretty sure we got 2 ice cream samples, so the 12+ hour drive was well worth it
That’s a long ride for ice cream! And I thought our ride was long, lol.
Oh, I love Vermont! My husband and I eloped there 4 years ago.
We took the kids to Ben & Jerry’s and did the tour too, but unfortunately we didn’t get to see the ice cream being made since the machines weren’t running that day. The tour at the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory was fun too. I wanted to go to Cabot, but no one else was interested so we had to skip that one.
Well, that means you just have to come back for another visit! What a beautiful place to get married at. I bet you got some awesome pictures!
You need to hit the Budweiser plant in NH–they have better samples!
The kids can look at the clydesdales!!!!
Only if you drive me home when I’m done with the tour. Deal?
Glad you had fun and got your purse back! My dad and brother went on a motorcycle ride across the US this summer (maryland to alaska and back) and my dad lost his ipad. He left it sitting on motorcycle for a second when they took a break at Mcdonalds in a jailtown in rural Utah. Despite all of my calls to Apple, posts online on Craigslist and such we didn’t get it back. So you are Very lucky to get your purse back!! Have fun!!