My boyfriend is from Vermont so we planned a trip to go visit his family. I am a city girl, so I was a bit hesitant to visit middle-of-nowhere Vermont, but I ended up loving it!
I had never stayed with his family before, so I was a nervous about how it would be in general, never mind with my food allergies. Luckily, his parents are amazing and were so wonderful with my allergies! They double checked all ingredients for our lunches and dinners together, while also making sure that there was plenty of food in the house that I wasn’t allergic to so that I could always find something to eat. They understood the severity and being careful with cross contamination.
We had some fabulous meals all together and there were no allergies issues the entire week. I appreciated the ability to feel relaxed and be aware but not worried about what I ate. The only real concern that I had while I was there was that the nearest hospital, which was a good 40 minute drive away. To ease this concern I brought plenty of epinephrine and antihistamines and stayed especially aware of what I ate.
An Ice Cream Visit
Since we were in Vermont, we HAD to go to the Ben & Jerry’s Factory. I LOVE ice cream (as if you don’t know that by now). Ben & Jerry’s has some of my favorite flavors. We did the tour around the factory. At the end, they gave you a complementary scoop of ice cream to sample whic
h is pre-scooped. They had another flavor option if for some reason you couldn’t eat that one. Unfortunately, I couldn’t eat either flavor. I went up and asked our guide if I could get a different flavor because I was allergic to both options. Instead, he gave me a coupon to go get a free cone after the tour. I thought that was a nice gesture, and worked out very well! I asked him also about cross-contamination, and how they keep their nut free ice creams separate and he explained to me their entire process.
My week away was a wonderful escape from the fast paced life I am used to and a positive allergy free trip to Vermont! :)
