Ice Cream First

When we were walking through Boston on Saturday, Andy wanted ice cream. No one else really did, so he said we could just get some on the way home. Then he, mom, and Sydney fell asleep in the car and the rest of us didn't give it another thought.

Until we hit Stephentown. Then Laura remembered ice cream. By then, Andy's craving had mostly passed. Laura argued that Neil's can do a chocolate flurry with M&M's in it. It had been several hours since lunch, and the rest of us agreed an ice cream would taste good.

Neil's is actually called 'Gardner's Ice Cream'. That's what the sign on the road says. If it is mentioned in the local paper, it is also called 'Gardner's'. But to those of us who are local, it has always been Neil's. This is the benefit of living in a small town, surrounded by other small towns. People use their last name for the official name of the place, but since you know who owns it, you always use their first name. So Neil's is a little ice cream place. They have a coffee shoppe attached, which is open in the mornings. They have added a miniature golf and driving range. You can get hamburgers, hot dogs, french fries; the typical food. It's one of those places that says summer. They used to only be open in the summer, but I think now they might be open year round. It is staffed primarily by high school students. When I was in high school, the really cute boys worked there. So it is also a bit of a hangout. It isn't exactly a dive, and it is certainly not gourmet. You probably wouldn't want to eat there every day, but it is good and fills you up.

Saturday evening we all pile out of the car and place our order for ice cream. Then we go sit on the picnic tables and enjoy the ice cream, the quiet, and the nice evening. As we are sitting there, the breeze carries the aroma of the fryer- french fries, mozzarella sticks, etc. And it smells heavenly. I try to limit my greasy food intake. So I tried to ignore the aromas calling to me. Then my sister says 'Oh, the french fries smell so good!'. I told her I was smelling the mozzarella sticks. We both kind of laugh, and Andy asks her if she wants french fries. Laura tells him how good they are, because they are hand cut. Wanting to appease his pregnant wife, Andy goes up to get french fries. He comes back with mozzarella sticks too. As soon as I dip the hot cheese into the sauce, I remember how great they taste. The sauce is actually the spaghetti sauce with peppers and onions that goes onto the sausage sandwiches. It has so much flavor, and I find myself devouring the mozzarella sticks. Sydney is happily munching french fries and fried cheese- two of her favorite things!

Mom & Dad then mention that the cheeseburgers smell good. We all laugh. And it occurs to us that we ate lunch, and it is now dinner time. Of course, we already had dessert. Dad goes up to get cheeseburgers for he & mom, and asks what else we want. We tell him to get more french fries and mozzarella sticks. While Dad is waiting for the order, Laura decides she wants a cheeseburger too. Andy is getting pretty hungry, so the two of them walk up to place another order. Now we realize we need something to drink, so I go to the car and get the remaining drinks out of our cooler. Sydney decides she doesn't like the drinks mom has for her, and she didn't want water. I asked her if she wanted me to go get her a soda, and she said "Yes, and bring me back that ice cream on the roof" and points to this metal ice cream sculpture on the top of the roof.

When I join the rest of the family at the order window, the girls inside look at us like we are crazy. It was a slow night for them, and we were giving them a lot of entertainment. I told them we've been in the car together since 7am, and we're all a little slap happy. I bought Syd's soda, and took it back to her. Dad & Andy followed with the rest of the food, and we finally ate dinner.

It was really a backwards dinner. It was probably one of the few times Sydney will be allowed to eat ice cream before her dinner. When we were finally full, we piled back into the Highlander and headed for home; laughing at the latest adventure. At the very least, it will give us something to laugh over for a while!