…and being from there:
Hello Ben & Jerry’s Schweddy Balls!
Fun and wide open is how we roll in Vermont. Leave it to the one and only Ben & Jerry’s to create and launch a flavor like Schweddy Balls. I’m laughing, I’m loving it, and I can’t wait to try some in my next Vermontster!
Hat’s off to you Ben & Jerry’s for always being fearless.
Whoa nelly was today a fun day! One of those days where I just think as I sit here to type this at 1am- somebody pinch me! Life is oh so good. I wake up after a great visit with a childhood friend, get to drive this fantastic car that Honda has loaned me, I step behind the scenes of a delicious treat of a company and help make whoopie pies, and get to meet another truly amazing person who I’ve laughed and enjoyed every second with. (And there’s still so much more to come!)Â For anyone who thinks life can’t be exactly what you want it to be, I am here to tell you to think again! Go out and get it. It’s all out there for the taking.
On that note, today I was all about taking in desserts! More specifically Whoopsies Gourmet Whoopie Pies. How many did I eat today while helping in the kitchen? (Um, lost track.)
As soon as I walked in the door, I mean as in- like the minute I walked in the door, Owner Marcia plated up and served me a pumpkin whoopie pie with amaretto cream cheese nutmeg filling. I wasn’t shy:
After my snack we had to get to work! I put my chef coat on and started scooping:
The last bit in the bowl before washing it? I couldn’t let that go to waste!
It was a sampling party:
…complete with too much laughing, and jokes about saucy whoopie pie names:
This was round 1 of fun, with more to come tomorrow. I get to make caramel again! This was my masterpiece from today:
Mmmm…
Everyone loves a whoopie pie- Even Million Mile Joe, (so I found out today!) 2 days till I get to meet the man behind the miles. Perhaps I will have to bring him a treat after all my hard work in the kitchen as a taste tester!
In ever changing exciting trip news, I’ve been invited to go behind the scenes of another treat shop tomorrow in between Whoopsie time. I am digging adventures in desserts! More video fun of me noshing. I wish you all were with me so I could share! What else is coming up after that? Oh- you know, more lighthouses, sugar, lots of miles on the car to surprise places, and of course- the Honda Civic Tour. YEAH!
***Total miles driven today, day 6: 80
***Total miles driven since trip start (9/2/11): 725
***Total blue lollipops gifted/left behind since trip start (9/2/11): 9
…pies that is!
I am posting this as I have arrived in the kitchen of Whoopsies Gourmet Whoopie Pies and oh my god I am in heaven. Just wait until my post later. Until then CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR WHOOPSIES in the whoopie pie vs. cake pops challenge. I voted for whoopie pies of course!
Today was a bit of a catch up day. I went for a long run along the beach and around Portsmouth and did some trip planning for a surprise announcement I have coming. I hung out  at a local coffee shop that was packed with regulars. (My favorite kind of people watching besides airports.) The weather was that fall coastal drizzly kind with a chill, so my original plan to sit outside on the patio got axed, and so did my hopes of having some beach time in York. Fortunately, it made a good excuse for me to drive around the coast. I crossed the bridge into Maine, and of course geeked out about crossing a state line:
I headed to Stonewall Kitchen:
…as you hear on my video I was thinking from all I read and heard, Stonewall Kitchen was going to be a paradise for someone like me to watch cooking demos, try some yummy foods, shop for a few specialty items, etc. The property was impeccably maintained, the company store and cafe’ were attractive, and certainly held that New England kitchen feel- but I am bummed to report that 1.) It turned out to pretty much be a touristy stop. 2.) They scolded me when I tried to take any photos. Otherwise I had a relaxing hour in the cafe’ on my laptop nibbling on my cinnamon sugar doughnut snack:
I had to try something while I was there! (They did have this dark chocolate sea salt carmel spread that I tried too. That was delicious!) The cinnamon doughnut was one of the specialty boxed mixes they sell for at-home baking. The doughnut was good enough to eat- but wasn’t near as tasty as the Blue Benn Diner or Apple Barn homemade cinnamon sugar ones I love. (Who am I, some kind of cinnamon doughnut connoisseur now?)
After Stonewall Kitchen I was off to York Beach to drive in the drizzle. Barely over the state line, and lobster-fest was on. Every mile there were oodles of restaurants, retail shops, and roadside shacks that had all things lobster related. I thought this one was funny:
I hit the first spot on my ocean stops for the day, York Harbor:
…then Lobster Cove:
The beach screamed of It’s the day after Labor Day Weekend. Closed shops, barely anyone on the beach or street, and that one lone paddle boarder. Beyond Lobster Cove was Cape Neddick/The “Nubble” Lighthouse:
(Hmmm…I think there might be a lighthouse theme brewing to this trip. I’ll keep you thinking…)
It was time for dinner and visit with a good friend from high school, who I mentioned before was an original member of the blue lollipop soccer crew from back in the  day, so back over the border of NH I came. Tonight has been a special treat to see this friend again, meet her now husband (who I met as a boyfriend years ago) and her little boy. I have no idea how 13 years have passed with us not keeping in touch or seeing each other, but we agreed to never let that happen again. We have a natural hometown bond, but amplified from going through a time of great loss together that will never go away, so I was reminded of how much I have missed staying in touch. She had a great idea for an event blue lollipop inspired for next summer, that will bring together the rest of the old crew. (I guess you’ll have to keep following to see what it is!) It’s been a perfect night. There’s not much better than sitting on a couch with someone you’ve known for 25 years dishing on people you both know, filling each other in on life and what’s happened over the past 13 years, and going to bed too late.
I’d give up all chocolate, doughnuts, and any treat in the world to get time like tonight with special people. These times are the best treat to me. Thank you Kate Emma, Mike, Rowan and soon-to-be baby!
Tomorrow I am off to MAKE WHOOPIE! To Portland, Maine I go. This is guaranteed to be a wildly entertaining stop, and I can’t wait!
***Total miles driven today, day 5: 68
***Total miles driven since trip start (9/2/11): 645
***Total blue lollipops gifted/left behind since trip start (9/2/11): 8