Like a Kid in a...

cheese factory!

A few months ago, I thought about taking the girls to the Tillamook Cheese Factory in, where else, Tillamook, OR. It's about a 2 hour drive from our house and close to the beach, which makes it a great destination for a day trip. Naturally, when I first brought up the trip, we were in the last 6-8 weeks of school; one of the busiest times around here so the trip had to wait.

Yesterday, after living in the Portland/Vancouver area for just shy of 19 years, I finally made the trip to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. Of course, I took The Hubbs, Biggs, Lil' Miss and Cousin with me.

Voila! I was so excited I forgot to take a picture of the actual factory. This one is courtesy of 52 Perfect Days.com http://www.52perfectdays.com/articles/savoring-tillamooks-cheese-and-coastal-beauty/

It isn't an exaggeration that I was like a kid in a candy store. I LOVED watching the packaging team work their magic to make it so I can buy and consume the most incredible cheese on the face of the earth. As I watched the workers, my mind was racing. I was wondering all kinds of things like, how someone came up with the idea and automation of the factory machines, guessing the flavor cheese being cut and packaged, hoping they would start the machines on the left side of the room, and also thankful I'd spent some time reading up on cheese making on their website. There are signs everywhere telling the history and what is going on but how could I read the signs when there was CHEESE BEING MADE??!!

Lil' Miss asked if she could be the photographer. Being the supportive mother I am, I handed over the camera. She has taken amazing photos in the past and I knew she'd come through again. Here are some of her photos:

Playing with camera angle

Here come the "forties"...42lb. blocks of cheese. Lil' Miss said this might be enough cheese to hold her over for the day.

Slicing the forties into 2lb "Baby Loaf" size

Did I tell you how much Lil' Miss LOVES cheese yet? She definitely had her eye on what they were doing with her precious cheese.

Moving toward packaging

Lil' Miss and Cousin thought the machines with blue tubes should be called Octopus Machines.

I think Octopus Machine totally fits, don't you?

Extra cheese shaved off and put into white tubs....

I laughed at this picture when I first saw it. Lil' Miss must have been wondering what they were going to do with all the "extra" cheese. :D

The pictures have a cheddar quality to them don't you think? ;) We had to turn the flash off because it was reflecting off the observation windows. Cheddar-vision will have to do!

On the opposite side of the Factory are HUGE vats of milk used to make the "forties". We were able to see some of the production on both sides of the factory.

One vat holds 53,500 pounds of milk. There are 8 vats!

"Forties" getting vacuum sealed

The "forties" come out, sealed and ready for boxing.

Once in a box, it takes a ride up and out of the packaging rooms. I wonder where that conveyer belt leads...

I noticed Lil' Miss taking picture after picture after picture of the trophies and medals in display boxes. After what seemed like 50 pictures, I told her that was probably enough pictures of bronze cows. She did get some great shots though.

Of course, my favorite shot of the day is this one of Biggs, Lil' Miss and Cousin...

It was a great visit to the cheese factory! I'm sure we'll be going again. After all, where else am I going to find a 2 pound block of Smoked Cheddar Cheese? Maybe I can smuggle out a "Forty." ;)