Don't Be an Ice Hole

"How many slams in an old screen door? Depends how loud you shut it. How many slices in a bread? Depends how thin you cut it. How much good inside a day? Depends how good you live ’em. How much love inside a friend? Depends how much you give ’em.” ~ Shel Silverstein

Our snow cone (shaved ice, whatever) adventure has been so much fun! It's nice to take a little breath at the end of the day and spend some quality time with friends. We've all got things going on, but just taking that 30-45 minutes to sit in the sun, eat a snow cone, and catch up has been good for my soul.

If I'm learning anything (other than just how much I love snow cones), it's that the little moments are worth the effort! It doesn't matter how tired I am. It doesn't matter what else is happening. And we're having a blast with our summer taste testing. (PS. We post where we are going on our Facebook page, so you are always welcome to join us!)

Now, down to business:

The Ice Holes got back on the road and tried three more stands this week. We even came up with a strategy for going to them all. We'll go street by street, then branch out to the smaller communities nearby. This week we lucked out and went to a stand on its opening day. We got to meet more owners and talk about all things snow cone!!

Xtreme Ice in the Cool Horse parking lot at Bell & Arden

So, Brian and Ashley decided to buy his cousin's trailer and start their own stand. Little did they know, Amarillo is RIDICULOUS about the rules and regulations regarding stands. What was good for Plainview apparently is not good enough for Amarillo. (Let's just say I love the lemonade stand law, and now I think there needs to be a Snow Cone one to stop the red tape with stuff like this. For all that is holy, city codes are out of control.....)

They practically gutted the trailer, got their business plan in place, and opened up shop this week. And y'all... it's good. Their stuff is cheap, fun, and they are the SWEETEST people. They are still working out the kinks, because their staff is having to get into a groove. Be sure to take your patience with you and give them a fair shot as they might be slower than some stands, but they are worth it!

We tried the following flavors:

Orange Pineapple with Passion Fruit boba

Pina Colada Delight

Zombie Virus

Zombie Antivirus 

(Guess which 2 were the guys' flavors? haha)

Some of our comments:

"The small and medium are pretty close in size and amount."

"The table is in a grassy area."

"Excellent customer service."

"Menu board is very cute."

The location is street side, so it's a little noise. But the flavors were great! We all agreed that the price is right ($1 for a small, $2 for a medium, $3 for a large) and going back will happen soon!

Shaved Ice at Coulter Gardens in the Coulter Gardens parking lot sat 45th & Coulter 

We stopped by this little fan favorite and found our first drive thru! Super cool idea, and I bet it gets used a lot. You can tell this stand has been around a long time, and it has a loyal following. We saw a lot of people who probably see it as their neighborhood stop.

The menu has a LOT of names that have to be explained on a separate sheet, so it was a little harder to order. There's something to be said for just calling something a normal name! (This is a theme though. They all do it! This stand just has a bigger list of them.) They do give you a Dum Dum sucker in your straw. Nice touch! The ice was good; the flavor was good. It's a solid choice, but not anything remarkable. 

We tried the following flavors:

Rock n Roll

Island Breeze

Blueberry

Pomegranate

Some of our comments:

"Styrofoam cup is hand, and the Dum Dum is a great touch.
"Great ice texture."

"Need more seating."

"Drive up is nice."

Overall, I think this one has been there long enough to have staying power. And I'm sure the neighborhood close to it are happy with it. I've never met a snow cone I didn't like, but this one isn't at the top of the list for awesome.

Caribbean Ice at 45th & Bell 

We were all kind of rushed and unprepared for this stop, but it was worth it. The first day to be in the 90's this summer made us all need something cool and refreshing. Caribbean Ice, another stand with a drive through, was next on the list, so we dashed there to get our fix. 

There's a nice little fenced-in area with tables, so it's curb appeal is really good. The stand is SUPER clean, and the service moved a decent pace. The staff was young and not overly friendly, but they got the job done. Prices are similar to Xtreme Ice, so cheap! But this is less flashy. It's "get the job done" kind of stand. I can appreciate that! Somehow we didn't take pics of our choices, so use your imagination. (Heat does funny things to old people...)

We tried the following flavors:

Passion fruit

Cherry Lime

Peach

Cantaloupe

Some of our comments:

"The cherry lime tastes like cherry coke."

"I like yours better." (Peach and cantaloupe were promptly traded.)

"The ice and flavor are good."

"This cool ice really cuts the heat!"