This report is a continuation of day 1, where we visited the Crayola Factory and Canal Museum on our way to Cape Cod.

Following our Crayola Factory Discovery Center visit, we went next door to get ice cream at the Purple Cow Creamery. My wife had read some great things about the Creamery, and she was right. The Purple Cow makes all of their own ice cream on the premises. In addition to the typical flavors, they had lots of gourmet flavors that you probably can not find elsewhere. Perhaps my favorite of the gourmet flavors was the Mexican Chocolate Diablo, which started off with a nice sweet flavor, but ends with a little heat. It was a flavor I knew I could not eat in an entire cone though, so I played it safe and went with the Peach Melba Chocolate Chunk in a house made waffle cone. My wife had the watermelon lemon ice, and my son had soft serve.

110611 Purple Cow Creamery

110611 Purple Cow Ice Cream

Overall, we were very satisfied with the quality of the ice cream, as we definitely have a refined pallet when it comes to frozen concoctions. I can usually pick out a cheap ice cream from a finely crafted creamery, and Purple Cow met our demands.

Following our time in Easton, PA, we jumped back onto the highway and headed to Milford, CT and the Hampton Inn. Upon arrival to the hotel, we realized it would be a lot easier to go to eat before checking into the hotel so we did not have to unload and then load the kids back up after the long drive, so we had all decided on the Hooters located one exit up. I know, I know, Hooters? Well, yes, typically we do not like to frequent chain establishments. However, we knew that for the rest of the week we would be sampling some of the finest fresh seafood the east coast could offer. In addition, all the Hooters restaurants from back home closed years ago, and it is one of my father-in-laws favorite places. Plus it was close and fast, as our sons were hungry. Time to see if my sons would enjoy the ambiance and atmosphere of a wing establishment.

Following our meal, we headed back to the hotel to check in. By this point it was already 8 or 9 at night, so the hotel was pretty quiet. Check-in went off without a hitch. Since we had not stayed in many Hilton properties over the past year and lost our status, I did not remember what Gold HHonors benefits we were entitled to, so I asked the girl upfront.

I was informed we could each receive a bottle of water and a granola bar. Really? Wow, how generous. Thank goodness we received gold status for free from my post Free Hilton HHonors Gold Status (or 5,000 points).

Both my in-laws and we each reserved a King room. The rooms were adequate for our one night stay, and the Hampton had the typical amenities we have come to expect. There was not a pool on the property, but we were barely in the hotel and would not had been able to take advantage of it anyways.

After our night stay, I think I have finally come to realize that I am not a fan of the Hampton beds. Several years ago Hampton revamped their image and made a big deal about their bedding. I remember my sister even telling me how wonderful they were. I used to always stay with friends when I traveled and never had much hotel experience. Now that I am married, and especially with kids, it is hard to always ask friends to stay the night, so we look for cheap hotel stays. We have stayed in countless Hampton properties over the past 4-5 years, and I finally made an opinion that maybe I need to give up on their beds and look to better Hilton properties. I always wake up with a sore back after staying at a Hampton Inn, and I initially always thought it was just a fluke, but it has happened at almost every one since. Or maybe my body is just really used to my comfortable mattress at home.

Another thing I have noticed with the hotels on this trip is their televisions. Here I am drafting all these posts while the rest of my family sleeps, and I have the television on. It is a nice flat panel TV, yet the signal is not high definition. What is the purpose in having a nice television without high def? Might as well just left the old tube style TV in the room.

In the morning, we arrived down for breakfast probably a little later than we should have, around 8:15-8:30, as the area was pretty crowded. They had the breakfast area poorly configured, in that there was no clear and defined direction. In addition, if you had to wait for the toaster or waffle maker, there was no good spot to stand and wait without blocking other guests. The food was your typical Hampton breakfast, hot eggs and sausage, waffles, assorted pastries, fruit salad, and yogurts. There was also a juice machine, coffee, tea, and milks. We also grabbed some fresh apples and bananas for the road.

Upon checkout, we grabbed our “Gold” bottles of water and trail mix bars for the road too. Overall, we can not really complain based on the amazing price of $146.83 with AAA discount for two King rooms, that included breakfast. In today’s market, scoring a sub $75 hotel room per night after taxes and fees is a rarity, and the consistency of the Hilton brand is well worth the cost savings.