We're in Maine and our campground is super close to Acadia National Park! We've got to go explore it!
Today is a travel day, and we're headed to a state that no one in this family has been to. We're off to the very top of the North East United States! Maine!
Wow, we've been to a lot of different stops on our trip so far.
Near our Sandy Beach campground is a dairy farm that has had some rave reviews for their flavored milks. We've got to see what all the fuss is about.
Contoocook Creamery at Bohanan Farms has been operating since 1907 and their fifth generation of farmers are working there.
There's so many tasty places to visit while we're in New Hampshire! Today we're stopping by a "Don't Miss" ice cream stand according to Yankee Magazine.
Beech Hill Farm and Ice Cream Barn is celebrating 250 Years of operation! Nine generations of the Kimball family have been working this farm!
It's no secret that Alli loves Snickers. They are her favorite candy bar ever. For a little while I've been collecting different kinds of Snickers bars whenever I see them. Now it's finally time to have the taste test!
Alli - This is going to be good! This is going to be good!
If we're going to hit our goal of 500 biking miles in one year, some of the rides we do are going to have to be long ones. Back when we were in California, it was easy enough to go out on the weekends and ride through the neighborhoods to get some miles. Being on the road, finding those long stretches of open road or trails has been a little more difficult.
When Theresa found the Londonderry Rail Trail online, it looked like the perfect opportunity to make up a few of our lost miles.
The Rails to Trail initiative is trying to take old abandoned railway trails and redevelop them into biking and walking trails. They're even trying to connect the Pacific Coast to the Atlantic Coast with the Great American Rail Trail!
I already did a Pizza Night for Massachusetts, but why not another?
The Fluffernutter sandwich was invented in Melrose Massachusetts in the early 1900s. Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Fluff are a delicious combination, so I bet it'll be good on a pizza too!
A few weeks ago, Theresa, the kids, and I were fortunate enough to visit Jake and Pauline Couture and their Maple Sugar Farm. They showed us their Sugar House where they boil maple sap to get maple syrup. Attached to their house, just off Vermont Route 100, is the Couture's Maple Shop with a whole bunch of different products they make in their kitchen and sell in their shop.
I love maple flavor and I'm pretty sure I know who I got that from. My mother! Any time we're getting donuts, her favorite is maple, and anything maple is sure to be delicious. I was super happy that my mother was here so we could do this Maple Sampling taste test together!
We're visiting with new friends today. This is Jake and Pauline Couture! They own a Maple Farm in Vermont that's just 5 miles south of the Canadian border! But it's not just the maple farm, they also have a dairy farm! Back in the 70s, they bought 2 cows, and they haven't bought another cow since!
Sometimes you just meet the nicest people randomly. Such was the case for us when we met Jake and Pauline Couture. I was trying to back my RV into our campground site and was having difficulty getting it lined up between the trees. Jake came over and gave me some help. To say thank you, I made a loaf of Rustic Bread and brought it over to their camper. We chatted for a while and Pauline asked us if we'd like to try some maple syrup. Then Pauline and Jake invited us up to their farm where they make Real Vermont Maple Syrup! How could we say no to that?
It's been a full day exploring Vermont, but there's one more place that has to be on our list. The Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory!
Earlier today we visited the Cold Hollow Cider Mill. Now we're heading further West to a working dairy and cheese farm. We're headed to Shelburne Farms in Vermont!
We're in New Hampshire this week, but right next door is Vermont. We've got to make a stop over there! Theresa and I were here back in 2008 for a long weekend to look at Fall Foliage. That was before kids, but we always knew we'd be coming back eventually.
This week we're in Massachusetts! What is Massachusetts famous for with food? Well Boston is known as Beantown, so why not try to make a Boston Baked Bean pizza this week?
Welcome to Sandy Beach Campground in New Hampshire! Today is a travel day and we're going to get in a bunch of new states today!
Yesterday we got a whole lot of apples from the Saunderskill Farms Apple Orchard. Having a whole lot of anything around here means that we're going to have a taste test with them! Let's figure out which ones we like the best!
We're in New York at Rondout Campground, which happens to be right next to Saunderskill Farms. It's a Saturday so we expect it to be busy, but we're going for it anyway! It's literally half a mile down the road. If it wasn't a busy road, we would have walked!
Another travel day, but this one wasn't so fun. Normally we are traveling on a Tuesday. The roads aren't too busy. The camping sites aren't busy. I don't have to worry about moving the RV around so much. But this is a holiday weekend and we're driving on a Friday. Well let's get moving.
It's time to finally leave Pennsylvania and start heading north to hunt for Fall Foliage leaves as they change colors. Let's go to New York!
Wait! Skittles is making yogurt now?
As we were walking through a local grocery store in Hershey Pennsylvania, Ian happened to spot something new when we were going down the yogurt aisle.
Ian - Daddy! Skittles!
Alli - Can we buy it Daddy? And do a taste test?
After confirming that they had all 3 of the flavors of Skittles yogurt, I agreed. Who knew the harder part would actually be finding the Skittles to try them with. We drove to 4 stores just to find that bag of Wild Berry Skittles.
It's another travel day! Our next RV site is the Appalachian Camping Resort in Shartlesville. It's also in Pennsylvania, so there's not going to be any new states added to the map today. Over the past few weeks, we've spent a lot of time in Pennsylvania! This is just going to be a short stay though of only 3 nights as we try to maneuver our way up North to see Fall Foliage.
Pizza Day is here! We're in Maine which is famous for its Lobster! We're right by the ocean and there's so many food shacks selling lobster, but I don't care for seafood. What else is Maine famous for? Blueberries! Tonight I'm going to make a blueberry pizza!
Time to continue the rest of our stay at Hershey Thousand Trails!
Any time the pool looked free, the kids wanted to stop by. Makes sense because in a few weeks it's going to get cold and the pools aren't going to be so enticing. Both kids piled on top of Ethan and he'd swim underwater with both of them holding on.
Today we're doing something awesome that the kids have been really looking forward to. We are going to be making our very own chocolate bar! They've been talking about all the different things they will add to their chocolate bar like cookies, candy, and other things.
And it's not just us! We've got Rita, Ethan, and Aubrey here! Let's get started!
While walking through a local grocery store (not Walmart) Theresa noticed a brand of soda she'd never seen before. Birch Beer? What's Birch Beer? I haven't even heard of it before. That sounds like it should be a taste test!
Today we're visiting the Hershey's Chocolate World in Hershey Pennsylvania. We've already visited the Hershey's Factory Tour, but there's a whole other part of Hershey Chocolate World to explore!
Who likes Mustard Pretzels? These three like Mustard Pretzels. And since we've got three different brands of something, around here that means it's probably getting turned into a taste test!
Today we're visiting a place that I've wanted to see for a while! It's a place that's all about chocolate. Welcome to Hershey's Chocolate World!
Opened in 1973, Hershey's Chocolate World is very well reviewed, holding a 4.6 of 5 stars with over 24k reviews!
Mmm, I know this Sunday pizza day is going to be a good one. With the ingredients I'm picking today, I don't see how it couldn't be.
It's Sunday and while our RV is parked in New Hampshire, we've taken multiple trips across the state line into Vermont, so I think it's totally fair that I should do a pizza tribute to the state of Vermont.
Now if there's one delicious food I love from Vermont, it has to be their Maple Syrup. And the best Maple Syrup both Theresa and I have had has come from Couture's Maple Shop in Westfield Vermont. I will have a whole write-up coming for them in the coming weeks. And there's no added fillers or corn syrup here. This is Pure Vermont Maple Syrup, directly from the Maple Trees on the Couture Farm.
Today is a move day! And guess what? We're headed to some place chocolatey! It's time to go to Hershey Pennsylvania and the Hershey Thousand Trails Camping Resort!
"Welcome to Hershey! The Sweetest Place on Earth!"
We're in Hanover Pennsylvania and Theresa had a sudden realization. Her favorite pretzels ever are Snyder's pretzels, and the bags don't just say Snyder's; they say Snyder's of Hanover. I wonder if that's this Hanover? Sure enough, it is!
After visiting the Utz Factory and the Factory Outlet Store, I knew we'd likely come away with a few things to do a taste test with.
Earlier we were able to visit the Utz Chip Factory in Hanover Pennsylvania and visit their Factory Outlet Store. Ian was super excited because his favorite Cheese Ball ever is the Utz brand. I think he remembers back in California getting a few mini-packages for Valentines day.
After having just gone on the Utz Factory Tour, we were all excited to head over a few blocks to the Utz Outlet Store. In the Utz Factory, they showed a whole bunch of different products they make, and we want to buy them!
We're around Gettysburg for a few days, and while we were out doing our weekly grocery shopping, I noticed a sign for the Utz Factory. Do they make those near here? Yes they do! But do they have factory tours? Yes!
Let's go!
Happy Sunday! Pizza day is taking a little bit of a different feel today. That's because we're in New Hampshire and one thing we've been seeing a lot of in New Hampshire has been dairy farms. We've stopped at 3 so far! Many of them have ice cream to buy, so for today, I'm making a New Hampshire Ice Cream cookie pizza!
Today we're taking one more trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield. We saw the Battlefield, but there's one more place that has history in this location. Abraham Lincoln was here and gave his famous Gettysburg Address when the cemetery was dedicated on November 19, 1863.
For today's post, we're stopping by a place that's very important in American history. Chi has wanted to come here for years but never did make it. Now that we're mobile, they can come visit and go on some adventures with us!
