The great ice cream challenge

Until my camera is fixed, I can't post any pics from Boston, but I thought I would share with you a little challenge Brian decided that we should take on during our trip...find the best ice cream in America (or in the states we went through and saw little ice cream stands). We weren't sure what the rules would be. We debated for a while...should we stick with one flavor? Would that flavor be vanilla? Chocolate? Do we do add ons like nuts or sprinkles? We had A LOT of time on the road to discuss it. We finally decided on ice cream. Just that simple. Whatever looked good at the time, we would order it.

We started in Walla Walla, WA where we had fresh strawberry ice cream. It was homemade and was quite tasty, but was a little to icy and not very creamy. The flavor was good though. We forgot the camera that night, so no pic :(

The next time we got ice cream was in Butte, MT. It was at the restaurant where we got the bad beer. We didn't have high hopes, but decided to go for it anyway. They didn't have just ice cream on the menu, so we got a dessert that had ice cream in it. It was vanilla ice cream...nice and creamy. It tasted like the ice cream I used to get as a kid that had the wooden spoon that came with it. It was definitely a contender.

From there, we drove down winding two lane highways to Yellowstone National Park. Along the way, we found a little ice cream shop and decided to stop in even though it was only 10:30 in the morning. We got plain vanilla there too. Nice and creamy, but very much just your standard vanilla ice cream. Not bad, but not a winner either.

We had to skip a couple of places. Alli was going to take us to eat ice cream in Billings, but unfortunately, we just didn't have time. We had so much fun though, it didn't matter that we missed out on ice cream...plus, we had great ribs!

Our next ice cream adventure was on the way to Mt. Rushmore. We were driving through this little town, and saw that they were selling homemade ice cream at the local antique store. While we didn't find anything to take to the Antiques Road Show, we did find some darn good ice cream. Brian got the "Black Hills Gold." It was chocolate ice cream with fudge, caramel, and butterfingers. I got the vanilla version of the same ice cream. DE-LISH!!! It was the top runner of the trip so far.

Next stop on the ice cream adventure was Chicago. We walked around for a while looking for ice cream, but didn't find anything. Finally after looking around - walking through the city in HEELS - we asked someone where we could find the closest ice cream shop. Once we were pointed in the right direction, we found it. Only, it wasn't ice cream, it was fro-yo. Fine...frozen yogurt could probably ease the pain that was radiating through my feet. Well, I was wrong. We got chocolate/strawberry fro-yo. It was disgusting. So, I had sore feet and a bad taste in my mouth. That soon would change...in a little town outside of Buffalo, NY.

We were on our way to Buffalo. It was a loooooooonnnnngggg drive through lots and lots of states. We both needed to take a little bio break when we spied a little ice cream shop called "Two Scoops". It was there that we found it. THE BEST ICE CREAM IN AMERICA (or at least the best we found on our trip across the country). The flavor was Birthday Bash. It consisted of cake batter ice cream, blue frosting and sprinkles.

**Sigh** - a little piece of heaven...

We tried more ice cream in other places too. Like, in the Adirondacks, after our long and sweaty hike. Brian ordered a medium, and I ordered a small. I really wonder what a large looks like...

Our final stop for ice cream was Woodstock, Vermont. It was a little place called the White Cottage. We stopped there for lunch, and grabbed ice cream too (well, Brian had a shake and that doesn't count in the contest). I had the cake batter ice cream. It had chocolate swirls and pieces of yellow cake in it. While it was good, it wasn't the best.

So, there you have it friends...if ever you want to eat the best ice cream in America (or at least in the states we went through), head towards Buffalo, New York. AND, since it is only a few hours from Boston, come by and see us too. Oh yeah, one word to the wise, if you like sprinkles like I do, note that they don't call them sprinkles on the east coast. The are called "jimmies." I learned that the hard way.

Niagara Falls and the Adirondacks

I am almost caught up with the trip. I have decided that I am also going to try to keep the blog up as we live in Boston, get to know the city, and meet new people.

Ok...Niagara Falls...

It was a little side trip that we hadn't planned on doing, but we are happy we did (especially since it was only 20 minutes outside of Buffalo, NY). We drove in and had no idea where to park, but then we saw this guy in a uniform with a gold badge on his shirt directing traffic, so we followed his instruction. We paid our 10 bucks and parked the car in this big, dusty dirt parking lot. As we start walking over to the falls, we see where we could have parked (probably for free) much closer to the falls with official signs and stuff. Yes, the stupid tourists got tricked by the uniformed guy with the gold badge! Brian was not happy.

While very tourist-y, the falls were beautiful!

We quickly left and set out for the Adirondacks. The park was really pretty. Lots of rolling hills and streams. We stopped off at a gas station on our way to the Bed and Breakfast (one of many trips to gas stations because Brian stresses out if the gas tank gets close to being only half full...one time we had to stop to get gas and only needed a gallon and a half to fill her up - heeheee!). So, we stopped by this gas station, and we walked in to go to the bathroom, and it was just like in a movie...everyone stopped and stared as we walked through. I guess they don't get many outsiders in that station...especially not an outsider who stands at 6'8".

We finally made it to Ruah Bed & Breakfast overlooking Lake George. It was a pretty cute place, but wasn't very comfy. I don't think that either of us slept more than a couple of hours both nights we were there. AND, there were stuffed animals all over the place...not the toy kind... (I'll post pics of the animals when I get my camera working again).

The next day, we decided that we wanted to go hiking. We ate like ravenous dogs the entire trip and other than the short hike in the Badlands in South Dakota, we didn't exercise one bit. Soooo, we wanted to get a little exercise in. We drove to a place called the Cook Mountain Preserve and as soon as we got out of the car, we knew that we we also had to get the deet out of the car. WOW, I have never seen so many mosquitos in all my life. It was crazy!

We seriously had to re-apply this "12 hr" insect repellant about 4 times throughout the 2.5 hour hike. We finally made it to the top. It was really different from hiking around Seattle. The trees were different and the terrain was different and it was pretty humid. When we got to the top, we realized just how out of shape we had gotten.

After a hot, mosquito and sweat filled day, we decided to go to a nice dinner that night. Upon the suggestion of the innkeeper at Ruah, we went to a place called Uptown. It was a small place that only sat about 30 people. They serve a salad, 2 main courses, 2 veggies, and a dessert each night and only stuff that is in season and fresh. It was absolutely delicious! Our server had even picked the berries that went in the cobbler that day. It was a great way to end out visit to the Adirondacks.

Next stop...BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS!!!!

Chicago and Buffalo

After having such a lovely evening in Stillwater, MN, we set out for Chicago, IL. Fortunately, the drive wasn't nearly as long, but we did run into some traffic and were fairly late getting into the big city. We drove through Wisconsin and saw many a cow and many a state trooper. It was rather strange. The only thing we were a little upset about was not eating any ice cream while we were there. We DID eat some cheese curds that were quite tasty.

We arrived in Chicago around 6:30 Tuesday night. We were supposed to be meeting someone out for dinner AT 6:30, and that didn't happen because of the crazy traffic. I should have known, but I haven't been to the Windy City in a long time and forgot just how big and traffic-y it was.

After dinner, Brian and I decided that we wanted to knock around the city a while. We had a really light dinner and figured that we couldn't leave Chicago without having a piece of pizza. We stopped by this little place for a slice and were sitting outside. We heard some music coming from somewhere, and soon saw where...there was a big party bus going down the street. Because we were sitting outside, we got to see the show. There were probably 30 really drunk people on this bus. Some of them were dancing on the tables on the bus, others were just yelling out the window. They were stopped at a red light for a while right next to the restaurant. This couple sitting next to us (who looked to be in their mid-50s) started dancing to the music coming from the bus and tried to get everyone at the restaurant to join. As the light turned green, and the bus started moving, one girl on the bus decided to leave us with a little present...she bent over, pulled up her skirt and shined her big naked butt at us. Wasn't that nice?

We stayed at the Conrad in Chicago. It was one of the nicest places we have ever stayed. Yes, and if you look below, it IS directly next to Nordstrom. I was a good girl and didn't buy any shoes (but only because we couldn't fit another thing in our car).

The next day, we got up for our EXTREMELY long drive to Buffalo. I decided to drive the first leg...that was a pretty big mistake. WORD TO THE WISE: Don't rely on your GPS to get you out of a city of tall buildings...it does not work!! I have no idea how we got out of there. The lady in the GPS kept yelling "Re-calculating" over and over again. I finally saw signs pointing us to I-90 and followed them. This little country girl just got a nice lesson in city drivin'!

We drove through many states, and saw lots and lots of corn farms. Who knew that we grew so much corn!! We went through 5 states that day to get to Buffalo, NY (Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York). On the way, after we had made it into NY state, I saw a really cool rainbow. I don't think I have ever seen one end to end, but i did in New York.

Corn as far as the eye can see...

We made it to Buffalo pretty easily and without much traffic. We arrived, and checked into our hotel, and went to grab a bite to eat...Buffalo Wings. As we left the hotel for dinner, we noticed that Buffalo is pretty dead at night. The next day, we noticed that Buffalo is pretty dead during the day too. After a tasty (and free) breakfast, we were off to the Adirondacks!

South Dakota to Stillwater, MN

People told us that the trip across South Dakota would be a tough one, but we didn't really believe them....we do now. WOW...what a boring place!!! After we left the Badlands, we saw basically nothing. Seriously, NOTHING, but cows every now and again and corn all the time. At one point, we ran into some road construction, and the signs told us to expect up to 30 minute delays. GEEZ! Brian and I would have KILLED each other if we would have had to wait for 30 minutes looking at absolutely nothing. They had shut down all lanes in both directions except for one, for nine miles. So, that meant that traffic on one end or the other was stopped until the people from the opposite direction made it across the nine mile stretch. We were literally the last car that made it across without having to wait. We had to carry a black and white stick to the other end to let them know that the last car had come through (see pic of Brian below).

Sites of South Dakota...

Hay:

Brian with the stick:

And a weird animal head (we think it is an antelope) and an upside down hammer:

After a really long drive (535 miles - our longest drive to date), we made it to Stillwater, MN.

We stayed in a really cute B & B called the Ann Bean Mansion.

We went to the Freight House (thanks to the suggestion by Leah!), and then had dinner at the Dock Cafe.

After a night cap of a Premium Grain Belt Beer in honor of our Minnesotan friends, we called it a night. Short trip to Chicago is next!

Days 3-6 - Sorry for the delay

I apologize for the delay in posting. We have been super busy the past few days, and I am just now finding time to type. Whew!

So, we left Walla Walla heading to Butte, Montana. Some people like to call it "Butt" Montana, but we thought it was pretty charming. We left Walla Walla and headed north and then east. We went through Spokane, WA. I had never been through there before, but it would definitely be a place I would like to visit again one day.

Then, we crossed the state line into Idaho. I wish we would have been going to Boise, because I would have taken a pic of the "Ore-Ida" potato place. I had no idea until last year that the potato company was named that because it was on the Oregon/Idaho state line. Kinda like the "Florabama" but not quite as fun.

Anyhoo, Idaho was beautiful. I have to stop here and tell you that Brian and I have started a kind of cheesy collection. When we went to Whitman Mission (see first post), we learned that each national historic site/monument has a "stamp". So, we decided to get as many stamps on this trip as we could. So far we have gotten seven of them. We were driving through Idaho and saw a sign for a National Historic site, so we stopped. It was actually the oldest standing building in Idaho. It was a mission, and it was really neat. We got our stamp, and went on our way.

Soon, we passed the MST time zone, and we were in Montana. By far, the prettiest state we have been through. It is so beautiful. People made fun of us for staying in Butte, MT, but it was a really cool little town. Apparently, it was a really big, happening place for minerals mining, but isn't really anymore. We ate at an old bank there (and drank a really disgusting beer - see Brian's face below) and drove around the city a bit. The next morning, we got up to go have "Butte's Best Latte" at a place called the Great Harvest Bread Company. So, I go up to the counter and said, "I'll have a grande, sugar-free almond, non-fat latte". The guy behind the counter said to me, "You'll have a gra...nd...e what?"...then, he says, "All we have is 12, 16, and 20oz cups". I felt really bad for being an awful Seattle coffee snob, and I think he decided to show the "city slicker" who was boss by giving both of us the worst coffee we had ever had. HOWEVER...he gave us a taste of some cinnamon bread that would knock the socks off of any Starbucks lover any day. We ended up buying a loaf of it.

From Butte, we drove along a 2-lane highway to Yellowstone National Park. It was CRAZY! Of course, we stopped by the junior ranger station as soon as we got there to get our stamp because we are cheesy losers that way. Then, we started driving through the park. We were going along, and then, TRAFFIC JAM. I was like, "Geez...am I on 520?" I was having major flashbacks. We found out about 30 minutes later the reason for the congestion...a heard of buffalo. It was so cool. We were only about 20 yards away from them.

As we drove on through the park, we came to some really neat geysers. They had a big boardwalk around them. We saw some fumaroles, and boiling pools of acidic water. The whole area where these things were was called a caldera. There was boiling mud and really cool (but scalding hot) pools of water that were a pristine aqua blue color (this was because of dissolved copper). Brian's aunt Marji said that there are several people a year who die here because their dog runs into the scalding hot mud and they go chasing after their pet. Really scary! We drove across the Continental DIvide a couple of times too, which I thought was pretty neat.

We then drove to Old Faithful where Brian tried, unsuccessfully (or so we think) to stop it up. We didn't have time to wait for it to blow, but we did see where it would have blown.

Then, we made our way on through the park and up to Billings, MT, and the home of Chandra and Dale (Brian's cousin and her husband).

They graciously waited on us to get to Billings, and we went and had dinner with Aunt Marji, cousin Chandra, her precious daughter, Alli, her husband, Dale, and cousin Sonja. THANK YOU, Chani, for letting us stay in your house for a couple of days - and thank you, Tyler, for letting us take over your bed! Chani got up and made us a tasty breakfast on Saturday morning, and Dale drove us over to Custer's last stand - or more appropriately known as "The Battle of Little Big Horn". I think that Alli ESPECIALLY liked going there (Alli is almost eleven and probably would have preferred to be anywhere other than the site of the Battle of Little Big Horn - I know at her age, I would have rather had my eyes rinsed out with rubbing alcohol, but she was a trooper). We learned all about the battle, and also learned that we gave the native americans some really crappy land to live on for reservations.

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The highlight of the visit to Billings (other than finally meeting Brian's cousins - because really, that was the REAL highlight - well, that and the ribs) was getting to drive Brian's uncle Brad's Shelby Mustang GT 500 - yes, that is "500" for 500hp. What a fine piece of machinery!

After an awesome meal of ribs and corn on the cob, we called it a night, and went back to Chani's for our final night in Billings. THANK YOU again, Chani and Dale for being such great hosts. It was great meeting you both, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

We left Billings Sunday morning and headed east to South Dakota. After a brief run through Wyoming, we made it to SD. We went to see the Crazy Horse memorial first. It is pretty crazy that it has taken them 50 years just to carve the face of Crazy Horse. It will not be finished in our lifetime, and probably not even in our children's lifetime. We stayed there for all of about 10 minutes, and rushed to Mt. Rushmore. It was really neat. I thought that I would think that it was cheesy, but, no, it was really cool. Brian and I thought that Lincoln and Washington looked the best. We stayed there about 20 minutes and left for the Badlands. This is such a whirlwind trip, it's crazy! (Note: On the Crazy Horse picture, you have to look pretty hard to see it as you can't get very close to it, and only the head is complete).

We were driving along, in South Dakota (I was in the driver's seat), and the Garmin told us to turn down a dirt road. Of course, my redneck came out, and I was tearing up that dirt road...riding with the window rolled down, wishing I was listening to some Free Bird. At first, we were just passing some pasture land, and then, all of a sudden, it was like we were on another planet. Apparently, the "Badlands" started forming about 75 million years ago and it looks like something you would see in a Sci-fi movie. The pictures don't even begin to show the beauty of it.

We made our way to our "cabin" for the night. After a cool hike through some of the Badlands, we went and ate dinner, checked our beds for bedbugs (we were staying in a national park, and I was scared of bed bugs because of Brian's Aunt Marji's stories), and went to sleep. We had 535 miles to cover the next day...