(Big Island Abalone. Greenwell Farms, Kona Salt Farm) October 16, 2023 Gypsea Gelato, Kealakekua, Big Island, Hawaii Gypsea Gelato was an interesting place where one could come for the ice cream (or gelato) or expresso and stay to play Connect Four or corn hole, shop for a new hat, look at artwork or sit on a comfortable chair to read a book or play on their cell phone – an ice cream shop that has it all! Seating included a wooden boat with plenty of children’s books, large tables for groups, and padded throne-style chairs. Seating to make you feel like royalty There were plenty of frozen tre ..read more

July 31, 2023 The City Creamery, West Yellowstone, Montana The name “City Creamery” hit me quite funny because I would not consider West Yellowstone a “City”, but we are in Montana, not New Jersey. Much of West Yellowstone seemed to be a place for tourists visiting Yellowstone National Park to stay, unfortunately we did not explore the area beyond the tourist district – we simply ran out of time. Our visit to the City Creamery was at night after leaving Yellowstone National Park, The City Creamery Our friendly server showed us the machinery used to make the ice cream – older traditional machin ..read more

July 29, 2023 Reed’s Dairy, Idaho Falls, Idaho It is always fun to go to a farm for ice cream. Today we went to Reeds Dairy headquarters which has an ice cream shop and farm animals. Reeds Dairy Walking into the shop we saw cases of farm fresh milk (including huckleberry milk) cheeses (we bought cheese curds for later) and awesome looking pies. The walk-up counters served served grilled cheese, Italian Ice, gelati and most importantly, ice cream. With so many interesting flavors including Key Lime Pie and Blue Moo (blue Cookie Dough ice cream with Oreos and cookie dough pieces), I was glad whe ..read more

July 9, 2023 Milkhouse Creamery, Drums, Pennsylvania We arrived at this Milkhouse creamery (“homemade ice cream and quality dairy products”) farm store on a rainy day in July. Inside we found beautiful ice cream cakes, plain and flavored milks (such as orange) in glass bottles, snacks, beverages and plenty of seating at tables. At the ice cream counter, there were flavors available every day, and special flavors offered for a limited time. Happily all flavors could be made into milkshakes.. There were plenty of sundae choices, so I ordered a PB explosion sundae with Hoof Prints Ice Cream. Th ..read more

July 24, 2023 Main Street Ice Cream Parlor, Chestertown, New York Main Street Ice Cream Parlor The term ‘old fashioned ice cream parlor’ conjures up nostalgic images of a wooden counter with fixed round bar stools, and a soda fountain. Main Street Ice Cream Parlor delightfully fits all my criteria. it is indeed an old fashioned ice cream parlor. With lunch items (sandwiches, burgers, soups, salads),, desert items (pies and most importantly ice cream) it is a great place to enjoy a meal with friends, They served Hershey ice cream and had locally-themed sundaes. I decided on a “Snow Shoe” sunda ..read more

July 8, 2023 Widnoon Soft Serve, Widnoon, Pennsylvania This was our second stop on our Scooped Ice Cream Trail challenge. Widnoon has only soft serve – vanilla, chocolate, twist and a special flavor each day – today it was peanut butter. The customer in front of me got a small Turtle Sundae which looked huge and tasty. I decided to copy her so when I stepped up to the window, I ordered a small Turtle Sundae. Don ordered a milkshake. Their slogan is ‘Where portions are big and prices are small’. When they said big portions, they were not kidding! A customer in front of us got the biggest sof ..read more

August 2, 2023 Moo’s Gourmet Ice Cream, Jackson Hole, Wyoming Jackson Hole, Wyoming is known for its skiing, hiking, fishing and other year-round outdoor activities. Our visit there today included some hiking and a stop at Moo’s Gourmet Ice Cream. We walked into into the shop and immediately realized that we were not the only ones with this idea. There were display cases with chocolate candy and light up boards with espresso stuff, cold drink stuff and fruit smoothie stuff, and then the important stuff – ice cream flavors and make-your-own-sundae choices. Moo’s had plenty of interesting flavo ..read more

July 8, 2023 Widnoon Soft Serve, Widnoon, Pennsylvania Windoon Soft Serve was our second stop on our Scooped Ice Cream Trail Challenge in Pennsylvania. As the name implies, Widnoon has only soft serve – vanilla, chocolate, twist and a special flavor each day – today it was peanut butter. Their slogan is ‘Where portions are big and prices are small’. When they said big portions, they were not kidding! The customer in front of me got a small Turtle Sundae, which looked huge and tasty. Since I love pecans, and that sundae looked so good, I decided to also order a small Turtle Sundae. Don ordere ..read more

March 17, 2023 Louisville Ice Cream, Louisville, Kentucky Louisville Ice Cream Over the last few years. Louisville Ice Cream has won accolades from Food Network, Food and Wine and USA Today, so we had to try it. The shop, located in an older section of town, is easily identified by the bright blue ice cream cone sign above its door. There was a picture board out front with pictures of some of their ice creams and a list telling us they had they had vegan options, made their own cones and used local dairy products. The same artist appeared to have made made signs inside with creative sundae opt ..read more

May 21, 2023 32 Scoops by Mina’s, New Windsor, New York Scoops by Mina’s with Mina’s Spanish Kitchen next door What could be a better combo than a Spanish food restaurant connected to an ice cream shop? Welcome to Mina’s in New Windsor, NY. Although we did not have Spanish food today, we did enjoy the ice cream. In front of Mina’s is a wooden deck with a comfortable outdoor seating area. Inside is a deceptively large shop with more nice seating. Today there were TVs showing an intense pickle ball game – a sport I previously associated with senior citizens. Our young, fit-looking server explain ..read more