Showing posts with label Snacks. Show all posts

The headline reads "Twinkies Maker Hostess Files for Chapter 11" (click the link to read the article)

The sad truth of the matter is that Hostess is our go to source for all cakes snackable. CupCakes (not the homemade kind, but those dark chocolate, cream-filled, two-packed--so you can share 'em with a friend--cakes with the hard edible plastic cover that has a white curly design on top), which were followed by the DingDongs, and the HoHo's, and the multiple-flavored Zingers. There are a world of snack cakes out there, and now the maker of the premier ones (not the cheap-o knock-offs from other bakeries) is going belly-up!?

I blame our health-conscious nation, as well as the fast-food industry which turned eating snacks that are calorie-laden into an art form. My wish in all of this is that the shelves so stacked with preservative-filled, taste-bud-tempting treats will not disappear altogether. Why, they last forever, those Twinkies do.

And speaking of "Twinkie Doo", if Hostess goes under, where will we get that last bit of tasty Yum that sticks to the cardboard packaging? You know, that last bit that you scrape off with your finger so that you can get every crumb of the luscious Twinkie?

Snack cake lovers, beware!

So we took the time to use the trip to Six Flags that someone anonymously gave to us on our second anniversary in Mulberry Grove. The trip to the park wasn't too bad aside from a five-mile slowdown for overpass construction.

We arrived sometime after the park opened and were blessed with prepaid "preferred" parking. We found a nice spot in row 5!

There are plenty of kid-friendly rides at Six Flags, so we rode and we walked and we walked and we rode. The kiddos seemed to enjoy the water-themed rides the most. We even met some cartoon characters and super heroes. In the "Bugs Bunny" area we found rides that the children could enjoy while the Blushing Bride and I stood outside the fence and watched. This, btw, is as much fun as a roller coaster.

Our gift package included tickets for things called "Daffy's Delight" and "Tweety Tweets". Before departure we searched the website but found nothing to explain these items. So when we got to Six Flags we spent our first twenty minutes waiting at the Guest Relations window. The Host who took my question finally came back with the answers I needed to give me confidence to proceed: "Daffy's Delight" is a funnel cake and a medium soda, and "Tweety Tweets" is a giant pretzel and a medium soda.

Mid-afternoon we decided to indulge in our treasure and found the eating establishment in "Bugs Bunny" Land. "We don't have Tweety Tweets here," they said. "Try Calico's Chicken." So the Bride and little ones stayed at the Character Cafe to get the funnel cake, and Puddin' N Pie and I went to search for the pretzel and bring it back. "We don't even know what that is," was the response at Calico's, "try Colonel Cobb's right around the corner." At Colonel Cobb's we saw the pretzels, but they didn't know anything about "Tweety Tweets" either. Back at the Character Cafe, I asked again explaining that the front gate had told me it was a pretzel--"Oh, we don't have pretzels here, but just across the railroad tracks is the Treehouse. Just tell them what it is and they should serve you." I left the whole family this time to enjoy the already procured snack items and proceeded across the tracks to the Treehouse. Pretzels were there but the boy in the snack shack knew nothing about "Tweety Tweets". "Sorry," was the best he could do.

Back at the Character, I sat down with the fam and sipped a drink-ade while examining my coupon. It was labeled "Tweety Tweets" with a confirmation number and "Six Flags St. Louis" printed clearly on the front (along with the price paid plus tax). The reverse side of the ticket had all the small print which included "No Refunds - No Rainchecks" among other things. So the idea of just getting a refund was out. Our anonymous friends had paid the money though, so we didn't want to waste it. At the counter, I tried to see if we could apply the money spent to something they did have. "Wait," he said, "our food service supervisor is right there." I showed her the coupon and immediately we went back to the Treehouse where I was awarded a giant pretzel and medium Pibb (like Dr Pepper only not-so-much). The explanation as to why know one knew what Tweety Tweets meant: "We do have a coupon for 'Tweety Tweets' but it doesn't look like the plain gift ticket that you have."

But finding the elusive "Tweety Tweets" was not the best part of the day. That came when we were back at home having family devotional time. When Bubba prayed it was along this line, "Thank you for the Batman cape. Thank you that I met Green Lantern and Wonder Woman and Batman. Thank you that I saw Shaggy and Scooby." And then he proceeded to go on to thank God for the family. And this is from the one who usually says grace even at bedtime prayers.

My point--we should be like children thanking God for even the simplest of things: a day out with the family, searching for hidden treasure, meeting superheroes along the way.

Have a great day, my friends.