We noticed that the road signs had indeed changed. Rod Blagojevich's name has definitely been removed.
We passed the Welcome to Wisconsin sign on the way to the Pleasant Prairie Outlet Mall but realized that we were about 15 minutes too early. We'd heard that there might be snow this afternoon so we left a little early.
Suddenly we saw a Jelly Belly Factory Tour sign and Tif mentioned that she'd always wanted to see what it looked like. Since we had time to play with, we decided to make a stop.
What a pleasant surprise! The factory had some fun displays for KC to see. There were a lot of Jelly Belly artwork. This picture of the Art Institute of Chicago is all done in Jelly Bellies. There were also Jelly Belly portraits of Ronald Reagan who put Jelly Bellies in the White House, Princess Diana, Elvis and other famous personalities.
The store was like a little Jelly Belly Disneyland. KC immediately smiled and could hardly contain herself just to see everything that was displayed. We never gave her a Jelly Belly but she loved seeing everything and was soon charging across the store.
You could sample Jelly Bellies at this counter. They said there were 50 flavors. I saw a flavor called Ear Wax at the store and thought of Harry Potter. No, I didn't sample that one!
The train ride was the highlight for KC who got to wear a Jelly Belly hat during the tour.
We weren't planning to buy any jelly beans but we couldn't help ourselves after that tour. Do you know the dark chocolate Jelly Belly really does taste like chocolate?
After this, the Pleasant Prairie Prime 1 Outlet Mall paled in excitement. Still, we did manage to get some nice buys. I bought several plastic pot scrapers. Art got a nice jacket.
Tonight, we've got a good friend bringing dinner over! This will be fun. We don't have to cook! Yahoo!
Kay, sounds like you had a wonderful day!! I love Jelly Bellys!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that there was a Jelly Belly store within driving distance of me! Yum I am watching what I eat but I'll keep it in mind! Nice that they had things that Kc could enjoy.
ReplyDeleteWe had a bout an inch of snow here...maybe we got Wisco's snow...
I've never seen anything like that, but WOW it looks like fun! I have a few new cavities just looking at the pictures LOL.
ReplyDeleteyou don't let any grass grow under your feet. on the go whether rain, snow or sleet-sounds like the us post man or person. jelly bellys and train rides-who needs a mall.
ReplyDeleteI think this day would be a favorite of mine for sure! Talk about being in heaven...with all the jelly beans I would be ecstatic. What a neat place to stop and visit with your "girls". You must have so many wonderful new memories to bring home with you.
ReplyDeleteI love Jelly Bellies, but I do draw the line just before the ear wax flavored ones!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this shot of colorful fun! Aloha-
ReplyDeleteI love reading about your outings! It's almost as fun as being there! I'm so glad you're all having such a great time! Enjoy dinner!
ReplyDeleteCandy factories are fun! and I don't even eat candy... they just like in the movies. So colorful and happy.
ReplyDeleteI love jelly bellys! Never had the chocolate ones, though.
ReplyDeleteJelly Bellys are adictive!
ReplyDeleteKeep on having fun. You can rest at home.
What a lovely tour you took us on Kay. Had fun looking at all the photos. KC must have had so much fun didn't she?
ReplyDeleteI read your posts every day Kay and really enjoy all your adventures and love your little granddaughter. It will be hard to say good-by and head back home again..Michelle
ReplyDeletethe visit/tour to the jb factory sounds like a lot of fun. now you make me want to try the chocolate jb :)
ReplyDeletehave a great day.
erin
How fun and how like you to detour and share it with us.
ReplyDeleteI doubt anyone could have managed to leave without a few Jelly Belly samples.
What a pleasant surprise your stop-off turned out to be, it looks like fun!
ReplyDeleteEar wax jelly beans? OMG! Still having lots of fun I can see!!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great day!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI've been to that outlet mall. My daughter and I went there when I was up for her graduation from boot camp at Great Lakes!!! We really enjoyed ourselves!!! Do they still have that rain forest restaurant there?
Oh I was thinking for a while what great self control you had not to buy at least a few Jelly Bellys. Looks like fun. I went to Hersheytown once and couldnt believe it. I felt like I was a kid again. I can just imagine KC's excitement!
ReplyDeleteKay Dennison: We used to go up to the Great Lakes Naval Base for our medical care and shopping the last three decades. It's a great training post. The Rainforest Cafe is at the Gurnee Mall. We went farther north to Wisconsin for the other outlet mall. I'm forgetting what it's called. They actually closed the Kenosha one. We go to the other one close by.
ReplyDeleteEverybody: Oh YES! KC had a terrific time there at the Jelly Belly Factory. Although we didn't let her have any of the Jelly Bellies, she loves the crinkly plastic package with the beans inside. She actually takes it to bed with her to play with. I think she likes the colors and sounds it makes. One of these days we're bound to find her sitting there with the package opened and empty with a smile on her face.
ReplyDeleteOh great! Good to see you're doing your part to keep the economy afloat, (heheehee)hope you spent enough to take care of part of mine...LOL...I haven't been shopping for anything except groceries for the longest time. It had nothing to do with the economy, I just haven't felt like getting in the middle of all the hustle and bustle to shop.
ReplyDelete