Touring Bluebell Creameries
Before I begin my next Girl Scout adventure this weekend, I thought I would give you a taste of our last one. Pun is absolutely intended!
Every August our girls plan the activities, journeys and field trips they want to experience that year. If you do not have a yearly planning meeting, I HIGHLY encourage you to start. Girl Scouts is all about the girl after all. By allowing them to research and plan what THEY want to do, the girls become more invested in the year and their scouting experience.
One of the activities the girls plan is a family event where everyone from siblings to grandparents are invited to adventure with the troop. This year the girls voted to tour Bluebell Creameries in Brenham, Texas. The factory is only open on week days. We took advantage of the MLK holiday to travel to Brenham, a little over an hour from us. The website said we had to make a reservation for parties over 15. We had 46 RSVP’d to go. I called to set our time and the lady on the phone laughed and said there was no way we would get in with that many people on a holiday. I assured her we were Girl Scouts and would be on her doorstep when the factory opened. She refused to take the reservation. I don’t think she believed me.
When all 34 (there are always a few cancellations) of us showed up at the door when they opened at 8:30am, I hope the not-as-helpful-as-she-should-have-been lady on the phone was there to see it. My girls are go-getters! Needlessly to say, the parking lot was EMPTY when we got there and we all the made the tour easily.
I apologize for not having pictures of the tour, but it was forbidden! Something about the privacy of their employees… You know, in case someone posted the pics on a blog or something like that… The girls and adults enjoyed learning how their ice cream is made. Bluebell is only sold in 23 states, but is the number two seller in the entire country. Before we moved to Texas, my husband, a native, used to go on and on about how amazing everything in his home state was. I would roll my eyes, because no state is that perfect. After living here for 12 years, my eye rolling was justly used, except for Bluebell. He was right about that ice cream. If you’ve never had any, you can get it shipped to you!!!
After the tour and the ice cream tasting (by far everyone’s favorite part), we ate our packed lunches at the Fireman’s Park less than a mile from the factory. The weather greeted us with blue skies and comfortable temperatures. The girls played on the playground equipment while the adults talked and bonded.
My favorite part of the trip, and the reason I continue to work so hard for these girls, came at the end when we did our Scout’s Own Ceremony. Each girl said what they liked best about the day trip. I was amazed by the number of girls, and families, who had NEVER toured the factory before. That is why I keep volunteering. This is why the program is so important to me. We live in a big, beautiful world with much adventure right outside our door. I want the girls to do things in scouting they never would have experienced otherwise.
My silly girls, along with a few guests!