New York City in the summer is truly awesome. You want to know what’s even more awesome? Leaving New York City in the summer. There’s an abundance of places in the tri-state area that beckon visitors in this short window of warm weather, and you have to strike while the iron’s hot.
Pumpkin and I decided to Zipcar it up and head to the country. I never thought I would describe New Jersey as “the country” (or as “pretty,” for that matter), but there you have it. It could be the L.A. in me, but it just feels good to get out of the city and drive somewhere.
Naturally, lunch was at our preferred roadside destination, the Cracker Barrel. No matter where you are in America, you can take comfort in the fact that if you visit a Cracker Barrel, the setup is exactly the same. It’s almost the Holiday Inn of theme restaurants.
Due to “the system,” I had to somewhat behave, so I ordered a salad. But this is the Cracker Barrel afterall, and I would be damned if I didn’t leave without ingesting one (in reality, two) of their delicious biscuits. But biscuits aside, the other reason I always enjoy a trip to the Cracker Barrel is that Pumpkin and I always seem to be the hottest people there. And I feel hot as often as it snows in Vegas.
So why Jersey? Aren’t we trying to eschew Bridge and Tunnel on a constant basis in the city and also trying to avoid being victims of freak table flippings? Well, courtesy of Time Out New York, we thought it would be fun to tour the Valley Shepard Creamery, a dairy farm and cheesemaking facility in rural New Jersey. Plus, we have a thing about choosing vacation/day trip destinations based on being able to buy jam on the side of the road.
It was hard to stay focused on the tour with the denizens of screaming misbehaved children on the tour, but these gleaming pyramids were especially distracting.
The children weren’t the only wild animals, though. The cheesemaking and automated milking areas are surrounded by the various sheep, goat and cow pens.
What was truly special, however, was getting acquainted with this little lady, who is a mere three days old!
Isn’t this photo of Pumpkin and the little girl just absolutely precious?
As I held the babe in my arms, I was worried she might suddenly start urinating or even God forbid go number two all over me. Luckily, I escaped unscathed, but that’s not to say we left the farm without our fair share of contact with doody. Just look at what was for sale in the farm gift shop, the Sheep Shoppe.
Cute, huh? And you thought this was going to be shitty ending.
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