There was a fun playground in the middle for the kids *ahem* to play on, too.

In the wallaby enclosure, you could see what it was like to be a joey, or baby kangaroo…

Jacob’s favorite exhibit was the tigers – it’s easier to show you than to describe it – so here’s a pic:

My personal favorite exhibit was the hippos – we got to walk through a glassed-in tunnel and watch hippos swim around us. I liked it when two of the hippos “kissed.” Tim liked it when the mama hippo pooped underwater right in its baby’s face. Either way, it was fun.

We are two and a half hours from Waterbury, Vermont, where the Ben and Jerry’s factory is located. It was a beautiful drive through the northern part of the state – the leaves were past peak, but the contrast of the evergreens, bare brown branches and pockets of aspens which were still bright orange and yellow was striking! While I didn’t take pics out of the car, you should google “Stowe Vermont” to see a quintessentially charming Vermont town that we drove through – we hope to go back there to visit sometime this year! Gabled houses, Victorian style, festive displays of chrysanthemums and pumpkins… it was beautiful!

But of course, our destination for the day wasn’t Stowe, it was Ice Cream Heaven! After we arrived, the adults spent a couple of minutes by the cars, getting diapers bags, purses, etc… but the kids just couldn’t wait – they raced on up the stairs towards the ice cream!

Here’s the entrance to the fabled factory…

We took a tour of the factory, which included a video on the history of B&J’s, a tour of the factory floor, and a healthy-sized “sample” of the flavor of the day, which was Triple Caramel Chunk. Yumm! Then, just because we were there and you just have to… (right?) we also ordered small servings of ice cream from the scoop store – I chose a test batch of Pumpkin Pie, which I heartily approved of, while Tim enjoyed some Chocolate Fudge Brownie.

After our treats, we let the kids play on the playground while the adults took turns checking out the “Flavor Graveyard” – a mock cemetary to lay to rest the discarded Ben & Jerry’s flavors. Among the deceased were “sweet potato pie” and “peanut butter and jelly.”

And of course, if you’re just hankering to pretend to be Ben or Jerry, there’s the obligatory “stick your head here” photo op!

Next up, the zoo!