Taste and See that Life is Sweet

“Sweet is the scene where genial friendship plays, the pleasing game of interchanging praise.” ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

If you've read my blog at all over the years, you know that relationships are very important to me. And my friendships are made up of people I consider family. So, you won't be surprised that, once again, my friends have come to my rescue! This time to save me from Graduation Grief.

We are months away from being empty nesters, and the thought is daunting. We've spent the last 22 years of our lives chasing children around, and pretty soon that phase will be over. (More about that another time, because I do have a lot to say on it.) THANKFULLY we have friends who are a bit ahead of us who are going to be the perfect mentors for our new normal: Pete and Pennie.

Pete isn't just some ol' friend. He's someone I've known for almost all my life. We went to the same church, grew up together, attended college together, wore Mickey Mouse watches together, and are now going to grow old together. He's one of those friends you can always count on; and, even though he's so tall that my ear practically hits his belly button, he gives the best hugs too. His wife, Pennie, and I have been friends since college; and, eventually Pete and Kerry became friends too. 

Last week we were all at a baseball game when Pennie and I decided we wanted snow cones. The guys ran to buy us some, and our first "empty nest" adventure came to mind. This summer we are going to visit every snow cone stand in town (or near town) and rate them. Who doesn't love some sugar and ice???? And you know I can't go on an adventure like this without sharing it!

So, here we go.... the next few (or many) blogs will document our snow cone (snocone, shaved ice, whatever) tour. Feel free to let us know if there's one we need to check out, because we're ready!

We are rating them with a 5-point scale on cleanliness, curb appeal, customer service, price, ice and flavor. (Scoring: 5 is high.)

Here's a little info on our first two stops:

BrrBeary Snowcone on Soncy (by ER on Soncy)

We shouldn't have made this our first stop, because it's going to be a tough one to beat. (Not that we are necessarily trying to find the BEST one.) HOLY MOLY. We all fell in love. We gave it all 5's, and we fell in love with the owner and her mission. We paid $3 for a small that we couldn't finish, and just 50 cents extra for ice cream.

I'm sure we won't get the story on every stand, but this one is a great one. A college kid bought the trailer and told his dad that he planned to sit out a semester of college. The dad picked up the trailer, hauled it home, and sold it to Becky (who works at the emergency room). She parked it at work, where often the doctors "prescribe" snow cones, and she is all about giving back to her community. She makes her own syrups and only uses premium water for her ice. She also has dairy-free ice cream as an add on.

This place is ah-mazing..... and they serve the snow cones in little take out boxes! So cute!

We tried the following flavors:

Strawberry with ice cream

Fuzzy Navel with ice cream

Silver Fox with ice cream

CoCo LoCo

Some of our comments:

"80s music is a big bonus!"

"Interesting packaging"

"Super friendly and great serving size!"

"Great customer service, and they knew their product."

The location isn't necessarily street side, so you have to look for it, but they have two tables to sit and enjoy your treat. We definitely want to go back!

Hokulia (34th and Coulter)

This is a great location for a snow cone stand, and I imagine they get a lot of business. The umbrella-covered tables with "Cone holes" is awesome. If I had small kids, I'd plop them down there and let them eat! 

The snow cones are served in flower cups that are pretty thing, but seem to hold a huge amount! The flavor options were great, and we enjoyed them immensely! The stand was run by some kids who were friendly but there to do a job. 

They packed the snow cones well, and they gave us plenty of syrup. This is definitely worth the $3 for a small (98 cents for ice cream added), and almost overwhelmed the little cup! We gave them 4s and 5s with our only real complaint being that the ice cream wasn't very good.

We tried the following flavors:

Dreamcicle with vanilla ice cream

Tiger's Blood with vanilla ice cream

Pomegranate

Some of our comments:

"The ice cream isn't as creamy as the other place."

"Great size for the money, but not so fond of the ice cream."

"Nice seating under umbrellas."

"Great location and better parking. Very flavorful!"

So, there ya go. Our first two stops of the summer. Stay tuned for more on this crazy adventure. (Pray for my diet.... this sugar can't be good for us.....)