The 3 C’s of September: Cheese, Chocolate and Cactus

This post is dedicated to the three C’s of September: Cheese (Oregon’s Tillamook Cheese Factory), Chocolate (Nevada’s Ethel M. Chocolate Factory) and Cacti (Nevada’s Botanical Cactus Garden.

Cheese: While we were in Oregon, we learned of the Tillamook Cheese Factory whose origins reach back to 1851, when European settlers discovered the Tillamook Valley was perfect for raising dairy cows. They began forming small creameries and officially banded together into the Tillamook County Creamery Association. By 1958, Tillamook became known as “the prize-winningest” cheese producer as they began taking home hundreds of state, national and world competition awards. In 2009, they celebrated their 100 anniversary as a farmer-owned co-op, and the very next year they kicked off their “Loaf Love Tour” featuring bright-orange VW buses traveling to over a hundred cities in 9 states, with the goal of “bringing tasty cheese to the people.” Tillamook now sells cheese, ice cream, and sour cream. In 2018, Tillamook built their new and improved creamery where self-guided and guided tours are offered. We took the free self-guided tour, which featured large windows overlooking the factory production areas and posters explaining some of what happened. It was neat to see, but we were glad we didn’t pay to take the guided-tour. We ended our time at Tillamook by enjoying some delicious Tillamook ice-cream.

Random cheesy fact: National Cheese Day is June 4!

And just for kicks, here’s some cheesy jokes for your enjoyment :)

Q: What do you say to someone who is trying to steal your cheese?

A: This is nacho cheese!

Q: What did the cheddar say when he tried on a blazer?

A: “I look sharp!”

Q: What’s the cheesiest line in Shakespeare?

A: “To brie, or not to brie, that is the question!”

Chocolate: In Nevada, we visited Ethel M Chocolates, a gourmet chocolate factory

known for their small-batch, hand-crafted sweet treats. Forrest Mars, the man responsible for

creating M&M’s and Milky Ways, founded Ethel M Chocolates 40 years ago in memory of his mother who made sixteen different types of chocolate at their kitchen table when he was a child. These 16 pieces are now sold as part of the wide variety of chocolate products produced by this factory. The factory offers self-guided tours as well as chocolate and wine sampling events. Being chocolate-lovers, we decided to schedule a chocolate sampling session. It was enjoyable, although maybe not quite worth the price. We got to sample four of their popular chocolates, all of which were delicious! After our session was over, we stopped by the gift shop and picked up a few more chocolates and splurged on some of their highly popular ice-cream malts. All in all, it was a sweet experience (pun intended), and we loved having the opportunity to sample different types of gourmet chocolates.

Random chocolatey fact: National Chocolate day is July 7!

Here’s some chocolate jokes to sweeten your day :)

Q: What is a French cat’s favorite dessert?

A: Chocolate mousse.

Q: What do you call an ant dipped in chocolate?

A: Decad-ant

Q: What do you call a sheep covered in chocolate?

A: A Candy Baa.

Cactus: The Ethel M Chocolate Factory also features a 3-acre cactus garden with over

300 variations of cacti and desert shrub. Cacti can live up to 200 years, despite usually living in harsh desert conditions. Some can even live for 1-2 years without any water. The massive

saguaro cacti, which can reach up to 45 feet, actually takes about 10 years to grow to an inch tall. After walking through this unique garden, I have to admit that I’ve developed a dream of having mini-cactus succulents in my bedroom when we get back home. During the winter/Christmas season, the Botanical Cactus Garden features over 1 million sparkling lights.