Lea And The Giant Peep

Sunday of my recent SCONY Mountain Weekend trip was one of the most amazing days I've ever had. This is at long last the final post about that trip. In my last post, I talked about some spankings, some goodbyes, and a surprise visit from Santa. In the middle of the day there was a visit to the Peeps store. Yes, there is a freaking Peeps store! People seem to be surprised by this. Why is there a Peeps store? I think the correct question is, why not? 

Note- I am not endorsed by Just Born or any of the Peeps people for my opinion about how awesome their stuff is. I'm just a girl, standing in front of a Peeps store, asking it to love her. Or something... (That is the only time you'll hear me quote anything from a Hugh Grant movie. Blech.)

Outside the Peeps store!

There are only 3 Peeps stores in the entire U.S. Sadly, none are out west by me. National Harbor, MD was the first one opened just outside of Washington, D.C. I'm not sure why this is since the home of Peeps and it's main factory resides in Bethlehem, PA. But in February of this year, 2 more retail stores opened. One at the Mall of America in Minnesota and one in Bethlehem, PA. Bingo! 

I was saddened in the past to learn that the Peeps factory does not allow tours because of FDA regulations or something. Otherwise I would've already made a trip happen. News of this store opening had me all excited and I talked to my friend R about the possibility of visiting during the mountain weekend. It's about an hour from where we stay. She said we could make it happen. *excitedly clapping*

Arriving at the mall

Sunday has a bit more downtime after a lot of people check out or rest so we left in the early afternoon. R very kindly drove and M came along too for the crazy ride. It took under an hour and seemed to fly by. The store is located in an outlet mall outside of the Sands Casino so was very easy to find. When we pulled up and I saw the signs it was kind of like that moment when you are first

riding Space Mountain waiting to see what comes.

We went into the mall and quickly located the Peeps and Company store. I was already taking pictures and had R take one with me standing in front of it. Walking in, it was like the movie Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. There was stuff everywhere. Every bit of merchandise you could possibly think of. Incredible store design. And a very happy employee already giving us samples of things. Lemonade and bubble gum were the special promotional flavors.

Lea and the Giant Peep

One of the first things I saw in a display window was the above giant pink bunny. I immediately picked it up and got some pictures. The store employee said, "With being after Easter, everything in the store is 30% off. You can get that for just $105." Just $105? For a stuffed animal? Yowzer! Don't be fooled by my height though, that bunny is about 3 feet tall. It was pretty awesome. If anyone really wants to get me one, my birthday is in August. Giant Bunnies. :-D

I thanked her for the information and continued going around photographing every single part of the store and all the merchandise. Though not a giant store, it took a while. I'm glad that they had no problem with it as some stores do not allow you to take photos or will kick you out. I had been a bit worried about that. A giant chick plush Peep was also there so I couldn't leave it out.

Lea and another Giant Peep

They have adult clothing but also lots of stuff for kids and even babies.

There were many displays featuring different flavors of Peeps and Peep Pops.

There were tons of plush Peeps in varying sizes and colors, even plaid! And these ones are under $10, woohoo!

A center display is topped with a giant Peep that changed colors throughout our visit.

Thermoses, mugs, clothing.

Really cool looking wall selling Peepsters chocolates in bulk.

Just Born, the company who makes Peeps, also produces Hot Tamales, Mike and Ike, and Peanut Chews.

You could put your hand on the Hot Tamales thing and buzzers would sound off  and the meter would tell you how hot you are. Must be really annoying to the employees all day. Lol.

Mike and Ike flip flops anyone? I was actually wearing my Peeps flip flops during this visit and the employee saw them and said they don't make them anymore. I'm holding onto them forever!

They also had giant boxes of Mike and Ike.

When I say they had everything, I mean everything. Peeps scented glitter nail polish. Yeah, it's a thing.

The center of the Peepsiverse.

Peeps rode a video rollercoaster above the register.

Bunnies, stickers, notepads, and art supplies.

When I finished all my pictures and started scooping up stuff to buy, I quickly realized I could not carry it all. I almost wanted to go ask someone "uh, do you have a cart?" M got me a bag to help.

I wanted to get a little bit of everything but luggage space was a concern. I tried to aim for a bunch of small-ish things so I could get it all home. I still left with a lot. I must've been the easiest sale they ever had. Lol. Once I was grabbing everything, one employee would bring me more stuff. "Oh I see you got the metal keychain. Did you see the plush keychains over here?" Me- "Sure, add it on!"

What I went home with: Plush bunny, plush chick, set of tumblers with straws, lip gloss/balm sets in strawberry and watermelon, scented glitter nail polish, magnetic memo pad, notepad, pen, metal keychain, plush keychain, nail file, blue magnet, a container of Peepsters for L, matching BFF bracelets for me and L, and of course, Peeps. (Thank god for the sale, right?) My bags were totally full so most of the edible stuff had to be mailed back to me. Thank you Joey for doing that.

It was an awesome visit to the Peeps store and may just have to become an annual thing. Gotta restock on stuff, ya know? Sorry to everyone remaining at the weekend who had to hear me talk about it for the rest of the night and the next day while carrying my bag of stuff around with me. Even Mr. R patiently sat through me showing him all my pictures and stuff and said "I think you're crazy, but I'm happy for you." :-D 

A big thank you to my dear friend R for making the trip possible. It was really out of the way and I appreciate you still taking us. She told me it was no problem and seeing the look on my face was like taking a kid to Disneyland for their first time. <3 <3 Man, I have some great friends. Enablers? Yes. But still great. Lol. It made leaving that much harder. I can't wait to see everyone again in October.