This Sunday just past Ava celebrated her birthday with a small group of friends at Fenton's Creamery in Oakland. We hadn't been to Fenton's before but it's such a nice place that it kind of suited saving it for a special occasion. And what could be more special than a birthday party?
As part of Ava's birthday party we went on the behind the scenes Arctic Tour. The kids, all wearing their "soda jerk" hats learned all about the history of Fenton's, watched how the whipped cream for sundaes is made, watched how the ice cream is made, felt the freezing cold conditions in the ice cream freezer, and, most importantly, tasted freshly made cookies and cream ice cream.
Here's a look at the tour...
After a brief history lesson the kids headed to the counter to learn how to make four different types of whipped cream for sundaes and milkshakes. Of course, a tasting of all that delicious whipped cream followed.
We then headed out the back to learn how Fenton's make their ice cream. We watched a staff member make cookies and cream ice cream and tasted it fresh before it was frozen. The kids were all pretty impressed. We watched a few more flavors being made and had fun guessing the smells of the different flavorings.
Now for the Arctic part of the tour. Once the ice cream is made it is put into a super cold freezer. It stays in this freezer for a day or so and is then transferred to a regular freezer. The kids went into the freezer to check out the cold temperatures but it was so much colder than expected so they all came running straight back out! I convinced them all to follow the guide through to the other side but they ran so fast through the freezer I missed getting a shot!
After the tour it was time for lunch. Hot dogs were pretty popular with the kids. They must've been good as even Lola ate a whole hot dog and she usually just eats the bun. Ava drank her drink through her ridiculously long Happy Birthday straw. It takes a long time for the drink to start coming through (and it's hell to clean!) but the kids were all pretty impressed.
After lunch it was time for the kids to make their own sundaes. The sundaes were gigantic - even more so once the kids had finished topping them with sauces, sprinkles and cherries.
Then it was time for cake. Unfortunately the kids were so full after their giant sundaes that they couldn't possibly fit in cake as well. Instead we just sang Happy Birthday and Ava blew out the candles.
We had a great time at Fenton's and can't wait to go back. It really is such a special place to celebrate a birthday.
Happy birthday Ava!
No comments:
Post a Comment