We were a scant 640 miles from home and pointed homeward! We’d just spent a month in CA for work, after driving there, and were nearly done with our boomerang trip. We could feel home in our bones, and the 17 year old Jeep Cherokee that we’d limped across the country could feel an oil change coming in it’s engine block.
“Was that a gummy bear factory?” i asked as we sped East on Route 30 deep in the heart of Indiana.
“It was,” my wife and P.I.C.* replied.
“Oh man, i wish we had time to stop…”
“Let’s make time, when will we be here again?” she convincingly argued.
So we stopped. We swung into the Albanese Gummi Bear factory. A company that boldly boasts on their logo “World’s Best”. i was excited to see a where delicious, translucent, tasty bears were made, and doubtful to the bold claims of this company. “World’s Best”. Bold Claim.
Gummy candy is a weakness of mine. Ever since as a child visiting my Aunt and Uncle in Pennsylvania and being introduced to the red wonder of Swedish Fish i’ve held not just opinions but convictions about gummies!
As we entered the doors of the Albanese factory i was decidedly a Team Haribo Gummy Bear sort of fella. When we left a short time later i was Team Albanese where bears are concerned. A superior product in general and the sampling (and subsequent purchase) of literally the best gummy anything i’ve ever tasted won me over.
What is the best gummy anything that i have ever chewed, chomped, and masticated upon? (my mouth waters even thinking of this master-work of the confectioners of Indiana) They huddled together in a clear acrylic bin, like the rest of the bears here. Their orange flesh intermingled with a less transparent milky white flesh. This ultimate bear, The greatest gummi bear to ever wiggle and jiggle on God’s green earth. Gummius Ursus Rex. The pinnacle of corn syrup and gelatin. The Creamsicle Gummi Bear!
i sampled it with dozens of other offerings and to this day it is a flavor i chase but will likely never experience again. Much like that amazing circuit of the U.S.of A. a trip that even if repeated can never be replicated, this Gummi will likely never be equaled. i’m left only with sweet memories and a child-like longing. Honestly i’m glad to carry both!
When life gives you the chance to swing into the proverbial Gummi Bear factory, make that U-turn. Drive a little later that night. Dance with Type-2 diabetes that day. It was an unplanned diversion in a trip filled with life-changing wonders (Yosemite, Yellowstone, The Badlands, House on the Rock, on and on), while the gummi bear factory may not be life changing it was life-enhancing.
In your life may you find your Creamsicle Gummi Bear!
*P.I.C.: Partner In Crime
** Gummi is the Albanese spelling of Gummy, i tried to respect their mid-west preference whenever referring to their product.
Grasshopperking(0) 