That's right folks. The Ice Cream Barn in Swansea, Mass opened on the first day of spring. I ate a whole lot of ice cream last summer trying to find Reed Dairy's equal. Although the Barn's waffle cones aren't as good as Reed's, their ice cream sure is and therefore, my life will continue without Reed's Dairy. Rhode Island folks, and to some degree, Massholes, LOVE their ice cream. In the summertime, ice cream shacks are almost as plentiful as the clam shacks. By December, almost all of them are closed, which I used to think was crazy given that Reed's is open (and busy) year round. I didn't really appreciate that only being able to get quality ice cream in the summer has its charms until I realized just how darn excited I was for March 20th to roll around. It's like something magical happens with the opening of the first ice cream stand. It's a rebirth if you will. It heralds the return of warm weather, beaches filled with human life, and ice cream and seafood as far as the eye can see. It intensifies the excitement of the upcoming summer season and I find that I feel almost giddy with anticipation. The remaining frat house members were just as excited as I was and as such, we decided several weeks ago that we would go to the Barn on opening night. I of course Snapchatted endlessly about the entire process. Here's the beginning of our trip...
And what was it like when we arrived? This!
We waited an hour to get our ice cream and the line wound around the building and filled the place to capacity for the entire time we were there. It literally was an endless march of people just like me... connoisseurs that had waited months for a little slice of dairy heaven. Was it worth it? Well of course it was. I decided to go with Heath Peanut Butter Cup after shamelessly trying a sample of everything I could get my mouth around so that I would be prepared in advance for my inevitable return trip. As I shoveled in my free samples, I got to stand in line next to a lady from Swansea who works at the local Walmart and had stocked up on several pints prior to the Barn's closing in December so she wouldn't be left without her ice cream during the long winter. She was hilarious and I wanted to Snapchat her too, but she politely declined. She did tell me in her lovely Boston accent about the Gah-den show they were having in Boston this upcoming weekend and that I should go so that I could find everything I needed for my Yah-d and Gah-den while also pointing out how much she loves the caw-fee flavored ice cream... Man do I love New Englanders and their awesome accents. Know what else New Englanders like, especially Rhode Islanders? Sprinkles. Except Rhodies call them Jimmies. I'm serious. Jimmies. They even roll their ice cream cones in them. Here's Kelsey's ice cream rolled in chocolate Jimmies:
It's bizarre. Jimmies in the western land I hail from are used mostly on cookies or cupcakes though can also be used on ice cream sundaes in moderation. I have yet to see a Rhodie use a Jimmie as a condiment. It's more like the ice cream is the condiment to their chocolate or rainbow Jimmies. It's hilarious and it's one more quirky thing that I just love about the folks out here. Since I was greedy and overzealous, I ordered a large waffle cone which consisted of about 5 scoops of ice cream. It was ridiculous. Renee and Kelsey ordered large cones too because they didn't know I was being an idiot. I finished my cone without fanfare or delay because I am an expert at cone demolition. Renee made herself sick finishing hers, and Kelsey had to throw out most of her cone. Lightweights. Not everyone is cut out for competitive ice cream consumption I guess. It's been two days since I finished my cone and I'm already trying to decide when I should meander back to the Ice Cream Barn. I'm not terribly worried about it because even if I don't manage to swallow a second cone in the next couple of weeks, another huge milestone is coming up on April first. That's the one year anniversary of when I left for the east, but it also is the first day that Del's Lemonade opens throughout Rhode Island. I'm going to shoot for a frozen lemonade on opening day but I'm on call and might not get around to it until April 2nd. The only other thing I need to complete my trifecta of summer joy is the opening of the New England clam shacks... Man, summer can't get here fast enough!
Have some jimmies for me.
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