Yesterday we drove from Buffalo to Watkins Glen to begin our vacation in the Finger Lakes region of New York.
What was supposed to be a straight drive of about 2 and a half hours changed a bit when we saw a billboard along the highway.
It advertised a JELL-O museum in LeRoy, the birthplace of JELL-O. I Googled it as my husband drove and we decided it wasn’t too far out of the way. So how could we not stop?
We exited the highway, followed a few signs
and pulled into the empty parking lot. We were a tad early as the museum opens at 1 p.m. on Sundays. (I guess I was caught up in the excitement and missed that part of the website.)
It was Noon, so we wandered around town, picked wildflowers, played in leaves (we don’t have those at home),
took pictures of the water (We don’t have that at home, either!)
and then had a bit of a picnic in the parking lot.
Once it was open, we learned all sorts of JELL-O history and enjoyed looking through old advertisements, products and reading JELL-O stories.
We learned how the owner of the company finally convinced people to buy his product: He sent a team door-to-door, handing out either a box of JELL-O or a recipe book free to each home. The moms started making it and the demand at the grocery stores grew.
We learned that no, JELL-O is not made from ground up cow bones or horse’s hoofs and that a bowl of lime JELL-O and the human brain have similar waves on an EEG machine.
Our son (the one who hates writing and will do anything to get out of writing anything) enjoyed following a scavenger hunt through the museum, filling in the blanks on a sheet
and was rewarded at the end with a box of chocolate JELL-O pudding from the gallery.
We also watched a DVD journey through the 30-year history of Bill Cosby’s relationship with JELL-O and all of his silly commercials, as well as some other commercials through the years. (My, how times have changed!!)
We also visited the transportation museum downstairs and saw carriages and beautiful sleds like I had never seen.
After about an hour, we loaded back into the minivan and continued our journey to Watkins Glen.
Once we turned onto Route 14, we drove alongside Lake Seneca, one of the Finger Lakes, and all of us were amazed as to how long it is.
“It’s still going!!” my daughter marveled.
We stopped at Fox Run Vineyards, a winery we will be visiting later in the week, to pick up a few bottles of wine to taste and then continued to the Harbor Hotel in Glen Watkins.
Once we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted with a very friendly staff. We checked in as the concierge pulled together quite a stack of literature on the area for us and then pointed out several family-friendly options. She gave a us dinner recommendation within walking distance and promised more help throughout the week.
Our room is amazing. I’ll try to post some photos soon (although now it is quite messy!!). We have a great view of the lake and lots of space to spread out.
So far, our travels here have been just what we needed: a bit of adventure and a lot of relaxation.
On tap for today: A winery visit to Anthony Road and potentially some waterfall sightings.
Later in the week we will definitely hit the Corning Museum of Glass and some more wineries.
Psst. This just in: The JELL-O museum was featured on CBS Sunday Morning on November 27. Click over and watch the six-minute story for more jiggly fun.
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