Field Trip to Blue Bell!!

Last week we took our first home school field trip of the year.  This is also the first time we have ventured far enough to need a hotel room.  I really want the little girl to have fun and enjoyable outings to foster a love for learning.  (Ha!  We went for the ice cream!)

 Picture time with the Blue Bell statue.

"Blue Bell Creameries, founded in 1907, is the manufacturer of Blue Bell brand ice cream.
Blue Bell sells its ice cream directly in only 23 states, mostly in the Southern United States, although Blue Bell ice cream has also been eaten aboard the International Space Station and at Camp David. Despite being sold in only 23 states, Blue Bell is the third highest-selling ice cream brand in the United States as a whole.
Corporate headquarters are at the "Little Creamery" in Brenham, Texas." -Wikipedia

 

Another view of the Blue Bell statue.

 

 The husband may be trying to to pick up the Blue Bell statue.

 

"Please give me more ice cream."

 

 During the 45 minute tour of the factory we weren't allowed to take any pictures.  They did show us every detail of how the ice cream was made.  They answered every question anyone on the tour asked.  They walked us through the entire production line from start to finish, past an employee break room, and administrative offices.  It feels a little like being in Willy Wonka's factory.  

At the end of the tour everyone gets a free scoop of ice cream.  There's many flavors to choose from.  Any additional scoops cost $1.  You can even walk in off the street and just buy a scoop of ice cream.  I picked Mocha Almond Fudge.  Wow!  That's delicious.

 

  The prize for this trip was meeting this guy.  This is the importance of being a good student.  I recognized him from studying all the pictures on the wall before the tour started.  As we were eating our ice cream I noticed him standing against the wall and said, "Aren't you the guy in the picture downstairs?"  He said, "Oh I hate when people recognize me from my picture."  Sarcasm of course.  

This is Paul Kruse.  He's the CEO of Blue Bell.  He is incredibly nice and loves to talk and make people laugh.  I know this because he came and sat down with us and talked about everything under the sun.  He answered all our additional questions about making ice cream.  We even got the inside scoop (get it?) on why they bake their own cookies for the cookies and cream ice cream.  Bet you didn't know it was one of the most troublesome flavors to make.  

Something else incredible was watching him interact with the employees.  After talking with us for about 20 minutes and taking pictures he walked around and talked to every single employee working in that area.  I can't help but think he must do this everyday.  So I highly recommend taking one of the last tours of the day and you might get to meet him.  Or you could probably just ask.

What could possibly top this field trip?