Images of the Jelly Belly Factory – central California, taken in May 2019.

Created and placed on the market in 1976, Jelly Belly bills itself as “The Original Gourmet Jelly Bean”. It actually takes seven to fourteen days to complete the process of manufacturing a Jelly Belly and there are 50 different flavors.

I visited the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield California, it was on the way to one of my park visits…well, just a few miles out of the way…OKAY, it was 30 miles out of the way and it was in the opposite direction from where I was going! Don’t make a big deal out of this, I like candy!

I guess I should have expected that when I walked through the door there would be a busload of screaming kids in line ahead of me but it didn’t dampen the blow of the reality of the situation. I got in line to take the self-guided tour and waited only to find out that I didn’t make the cut for the first tour group, I would have to wait some more…NOOOOOOO! I’m not proud of this but I hopped out of line and pled my case to the late-teen ring master for this tour process…”I’m alone and I need to get back on the road, any chance you can put me in that first tour?” He rolled his eyes and put his hand on his forehead, I’m sure he sensed that this was the beginning of a very long day for him, at which point he gave me a tour ‘Jelly Belly hat’ and sent me on my way.

The tour was interesting and went smoothly and in the end I scored myself a ‘dime bag’ of assorted Jelly Bellies and made my way back to my car…OKAY, I have a candy addiction, don’t make a big deal out of this!