The Delicious Ice Cream Adventure (Ice Creams of Chincoteague)

Believe it or not, Van and I went to the beach last weekend. Yes, I know, surprising and comical all at the same time.
Luckily though, we did not go to the actual beach part of the beach. Meaning...the water and sand.
Instead we stayed on the nice little island and wandered about eating delicious food.
And that is exactly what I am here to talk about.

As much as I don't want millions of people flocking to Chincoteague, I feel as though it is a place deserving of millions of people.

It is a tiny, tiny little island in Virgina, and I must say that it is wonderful. Though, I kind of wish I could keep it a little secret because lets face it, the place isn;t what it used to be.

Back in the day, when I was little, it was the ultimate place to go for vacation.
There was the beach, a wildlife reserve, a few places to play mini golf, places to fish, a park, a carnival and some awesome restaurants. I could probably name most every store there from memory.

Granted, it still has all of those same things, but now theres even....more...
Everywhere you turn there is a souvenir or Tshirt shop. They've installed a Dairy Queen and a McDonald's. Its gotten a bit out of hand. But it still is a great place.

All of this aside, the main reason I was writing this, is to talk about the ice cream.
Delicious, delicious ice cream.
Ice cream.


First and for most, there is the Island Creamery.



My personal favorite.
Everything there is homemade, the ice cream, the fudge, even the waffle cones.
They always have a wonderful assortment of flavors. Birthday cake might be my favorite.

Van and I went there first. It was our first ice cream experience on the island.
I got my Birthday Cake icrecream on a cake cone, and Van got their variation of a Blizzard. Pony-tracks ice cream (vanilla ice cream, fudge swirl, peanut butter cups), with Reese's pieces and hot fudge all blended in a cup.

We had a very delicate rating system for each ice cream shop. Basically it went something like this:

Service:
Taste:
Originality:
Value:
Experience:

Yes, I realise that spells STOVE....
The rating goes from 1-10.

So, lets take a look at the Island Creamery.

Service: 9
The Island Creamery is always busy. Busy busy busy, with the lines out the door. But, they always move very quickly. Its actually rather impressive. On top of that, they're so friendly! Its great.
Only thing that is keeping them from getting a 10, is the fact that they had an employee there with piercings in her face. As much as I like piercings, I don't like them around my food. Other than that though, flawless.

Taste:9.5
Delicious. Simply wonderful ice cream. That's all there is to say. Its homemade, its tasty.

Originality: 7
They get points because its homemade and they have some ridiculous flavor es (margarita and cantaloupe?)
But, its really just an oddly large ice cream shop. No gimmicks or anything. They don't sing or mix your ice cream for you, but they really don't need to.
Though, I will mention that they do have a thing called the Round Up. 5 scoops of ice cream, 3 toppings, whipped cream and a cherry. If you eat it all, you get your picture taken. Cool enough.

Value: 9
Excellent. I believe that between the two of us, it cost around 8 dollars. I got a single scoop cone (but the scoops are so huge its like a double) and Van got a Blizzard..or something similar. We were stuffed by the end.

Experience: 7
Its cool to see them making the waffle cones there, to browse through their gift shop and to pick out your treats, but there isn;t any unique feel to the shop. Its Chincoteagues primary ice cream store, and that is really what they have going for them.

Over all : 8.3


Next place we went was called Muller's




Muller's was a very small ice cream shop that was set up on the first floor of a house. I assume that the owners live above it. I believe that most of their ice cream is homemade.

Service: 7.5
The staff is extremely friendly and talkative, which is always refreshing.
The only downside it had though, was it took a bit too long to get our food. They seemed to be disorganized, especially when it came to serving multiple customers.

Taste:9.7
Van and I both got root beer floats.
I must say that it was by far the best root beer float I have ever had in my life.
As far as the ice cream goes, I can't really say, as I only had vanilla floating in the most excellent root beer I've stumbled upon. But as I said, this was by far the most amazing float ever.

Originality: 9
The whole house was very quaint and almost Victorian looking. It had a really old-timey feel. Not like 50's old-timey, but even more so. It was wonderful.

Value: 8
Offhand, I can't remember how much we payed. I would be willing to pay 10 dollars for one of those floats though. I'm pretty sure it was under 12 for the both of us though.

Experience: 8
As soon as you walk in the door, you see all of the different things you can try. From peach and waffle sun days to a malted milkshake. They have such a selection and its such a nice little house. It was really great.

Over all: 8.4




After Muller's we went to Build Your Own Cookie



After playing a competitive round of mini golf in 97 degree weather, we decided...well...I decided that ice cream was a must. The closest to the golf course was BYOC, or Build Your Own Cookie.
Seemed interesting enough!

BYOC is literally a horse-trailer with 2 tables outside. The tables were both made out of stacked up 10 gallon buckets, a table top and an umbrella. You walked up to the window and picked the following
1 cookie, 1 ice cream flavor and 1 topping (more cost more.) You then got your treats, then stood at the tables. This is fairly normal for Chincoteague, as several places are stand-outside style.


Service:10
This is the one place that I will give a 10/10 for service. This lady did it right! She was very friendly when we got there and ordered, she was very quick also.
Then, while Van and I were outside eating, she came outside with two cups of ice water for us. She mentioned that eating these always made her thirsty. It was very nice of her. I was extremely impressed.

Taste: 7
The cookies were enormous and delicious, they were also homemade. That is the only reason I am giving this score a 7 instead of a 5. The ice cream was just Hershey's ice cream, which was disappointing, since you can get wonderful homemade ice cream almost anywhere on the island.

Originality: 8.5
Cookie sundaes? Awesome. I've never done that before. There is definitely nothing else like it on the island.

Value: 6
It cost us over 10 dollars for two sundaes. They were good,yes. The cookies were homemade, yes. But the ice cream was not. I could buy 2 cartons of ice cream and 3 boxes of cookies for that price.

Experience: 7.5
It was really fun standing outside eating ice cream. The staff was friendly and the cookies were great. It was perfect after that oh so strenuous mini golf.


Total: 7.8


Lastly we have the famous Mr. Whippy. Mr Whippy (aside from Dairy Queen) is the primary source for soft-serve ice cream.



Service: 5
Typical teenager working their summer job. I was certainly not impressed. Considering their large menu, they were not very patient while we were deciding our orders.

Taste: 8
I really enjoy soft serve ice cream. Mr Whippy is by far my favorite place for it. Sure, its not the most exciting thing ever, but it is still good. I got a vanilla cone dipped in cotton candy shell. It was pretty good, I must say. Van got an Oreo sundae. He seemed to also enjoy his.

Originality: 8
The over-all feel of the shop is very lodge-like. They have interesting toppings and flavors, cute names for their menu items, and their own ice cream truck.

Value: 8
Mr. Whippy is both yummy and inexpensive. It was under 10 dollars for both of us, and we got large portions.

Experience: 8
Aside from the service, the overall experience was good. It isn't as unique as an old fashioned ice cream shop, or standing outside to eat, but in general it is a good experience. The store was clean and the service was fast.

Over all: 7.4




In the end, I would have to say that The Island Creamery is my favorite for just good ol ice cream. They would be my number one pick each time. Fast service, awesome ice cream and a nice shop. But, if you're looking for the best root beer float in town, Muller's is the way to go!

The Sound of Settling

Apparently my last post was the big 170.


So here is the even bigger 171! There is no area code in the United States that is 171.





I've been on this kick lately, where I feel like my life is very meaningless. This is something I have been struggling with a lot recently. I feel like my failures greatly out-weigh my accomplishments, and frankly, this is not the way I want to live. So for the past few weeks I have been trying to compile a few different ideas as to what I want to do.


Long story short, I feel the need to do something life changing. The likely hood of this happening is little to none.


The best option seems to be joining the military. After doing quite a bit of research I decided on the Army. The Marines were my first choice, but since I have so many tattoos I cannot join. But that is okay, I have no regrets.


I have been looking into the Army, trying to decided when I would go, find what jobs I would do and so on. I was 75% sure I would be joining. The only thing that was holding me back was the fact that I would have to leave Van, and I really don't like the idea of that. I still sit and wait for a sign though, to show me what I should or shouldn't do.


Strangely enough, though, I think I kind of found it.


This morning, at about 6 AM, I had a dream.





Van and I were in a plane, waiting for it to take off. Everyone was seated, thick fog clouded the surrounding area. The pilot spoke over the loudspeaker, telling us that we were ready for take off. The engines started, the plane began to move forward, steadily gaining speed. It began to lift, as if slowly peeling gravity off of it in thick layers. Though, just as it started to leave the ground, it would slam back down, unable to break free from the runway. The captain came over the loudspeaker again, apologizing. He tried to lift the plane off again, but the same thing happened. We were nearing the end of the run-way. Finally, on the third try, the plane lifted. It accelerated upward, passing through the fog. It increased in altitude, then finally leveled out as it reached it's peak in the sky. Only then did it start to waver side to side. The plane shook violently as it began it's downward spiral. I then got a view of the front of the plane, as if a camera were stuck on the nose of it, pointing downward at the on-coming ocean.


All I really remember at this point, was the plane's rapid decent to the ground and the impact as it hit the ocean. I do not know how I got out of the plane, I do not know how I got my seat belt off. The next thing I remember is being swept away underwater, disoriented and hazy, my vision tunneling and my limbs weighing me down. Suddenly, I felt a hand on the back of my shirt-collar and heard Van's voice in my head saying "I gotcha...", then suddenly being pulled quickly upward. It was at this point that I woke up.








I feel like this dream means something, but I'm really not sure what. Its kind of making me lean more toward not joining the Army for some reason. We will see.





Now that I have gotten that out of my system, I would like to share something with you.

Archer Farms S'mores trail mix. It is strangely delicious and most likely very unhealthy.

BUT it tastes JUST like Dairy Queen's Pecan Mudslide (minus the caramel, plus graham cracker bits). I am strongly considering throwing some on top of ice cream. Delicious delicious...
I got it at Target, perhaps it can be purchased other places too. I then snacked on that and a bag of free popcorn while watching Kick Ass.

And as for you who are curious about Kick Ass, I give it a 6.8/10. Think a more comedic version of Watchmen, but with kids in it instead of adults. Also an hour shorter and no blue penis.

Get Me A Muzzle...

We had the It's Super Effective reunion tour today. What a good time. Sitting around and bullshitting about my old high school, about our lives now, and about the injustices of life. And about Watchmen. I, of course, made the most epic of blunders, as usual.

"Have you seen The Watchmen yet?"
"No! I really want to. Though I heard there is a lot of blue wang."
"Oh. Ha, yeah, there is a lot of blue wang. Dr. Manhattan walks around naked a lot...
(A few seconds later)
It's really long...
...
...Wait! No! The movie! Not..the...wang...

...you know what I mean..."


Go me.

And again, with my blunders. I made yet another. In my attempt to speak French.
We all know I do not speaka Frencha.


Here is what I tried to say:

"I am trying to speak french I do not speak french But I am trying. I am speaking french to say I love you in french. The first time I translated this, It translated to Dutch. You do not speak Dutch. I am sorry if I wake you up. Have a good day, my wonderful and favorite hermit crab"



This is what it said to say:

"J'essaye de parler français Je ne parle pas français Mais j'essaye Je parle français pour dire je t'aime en français La première fois que j'ai traduit ceci, il a traduit au Néerlandais. Vous ne parlez pas néerlandais que je suis désolé si je vous réveille Ayez un beau jour, mon bernard l'ermite merveilleux et préféré"

I then sent that text message, not really thinking.
I then looked to check and see how correct it was.

This is what it really said:

"J' try to speak French I do not speak French But j' I test speak French to say I t' like in French the first time that j' translated this, it translated for the Netherlander. You do not speak Dutch that I am sorry if I awake you Have one beautiful day, my Bernard l' marvellous and preferred hermit"


A for effort, right?

Oh, Dairy Queen is open again, and they have grab bags. (see one of my previous posts: "Grab Bags" for more information.)
Definitely got some ice cream that's still in the freezer. It is not chicken flavored.

Oh. One more blunder.
I successfully managed to rip the tire open on the car. Along with scratch the rim and break part of the bumper. I really don't know how that could have possibly happened because I really didn't hit the curb that hard. I don't think my parents believe me, but that's up to them whether they do or not. I know how hard I hit something. It was no different than any other time you run over the curb. I honestly don't understand how it could have done so much damage. I did hit my head pretty hard though, but I didn't mention that to my parents, they probably would have just freaked out more and believed me less about how hard I hit the curb. Oh well. I'm just happy that I somehow forced myself to not Frisbee my dinner plate through the sliding glass door like I wanted to. its nice to be home for a while, until I sit down at the dinner table. For some reason, sitting at the dinner table just makes me want to leave. Maybe because 95% of bad conversations happened at the dinner table, even since I was a kid. The other 5% were either in the car or in some other place, probably in the doorway of my room or the computer room. For some reason all the fighting happens at the table. When I have my own house, I will not have a dinner table. Dinner tables just lead to bad things. I want to go back to school now.

I need to go work out again. Perhaps in the morning. My hair feels like spaghetti and I'm getting into one of those moods where I want to cut it all off. Hopefully I won't give in and do that again, I'm trying to grow it out because I think I might actually look pretty again if I do.
I got some new clothes today, but I really just felt like crap the whole time I was shopping. Something about clothing stores makes any shred of self esteem I had just disintegrate. I really can't wait until I am pretty again. I miss how I used to look.
More like this, less like I do now. Someday. Maybe after I get out of school and I start working more and having more of a life. Who knows.

Alright, I'm done being upset. Lets be happy.
I've gotten close to 400 new songs today on my itunes and I'm not even finished yet! Im going to have all kinds of great stuff to listen to at school now. And I'll go and buy some blank CDs and I'll make people mix cd's and they'll all be happy, and then I'll be happy because they're happy. And tomorrow I'm going to the grocery store!! I love t he grocery store! And Ill make my mom a tart for her birthday. She wont decide what she wants so I'm just going to have to make something up. I think Ill probably make some kind of cake and some pate a choux to decorate it with or something. I really don't know. I have an idea for it, but I'm not sure yet. Oh well, I guess we'll see tomorrow. I heard a funny song about Toast today...that's exciting, yes?

I think I am going to go make crepes...

Grab bags

My family often likes to go to Dairy Queen. We usually all get the same thing. Some odd mixed hot-fudgy concoction, a heath bar blizzard, and another blizzard.
Its all generally the same, except for when my dad gets a grab-bag.

Grab-bag, n.

A bag of mixed, randomly selected frozen treats from Dairy Queen

Syn: bag of mistakes

We've come to realize that all a grab-bag is, is a bunch of mess-ups that are put in a bag in the freezer that you get for cheap.
GROSS!