Ice Cream Sunday

This past Sunday a few of us ventured around the twin cities to sample dairy products from some sources that are unfamiliar to most of us.  I tried to make the ride as easy to get to and participate in as I could.  I even made a rough route map and approximate stop times so people could join or meet up with us at specific locations. 

 

Ah, the joy of a simple Guinness cone

We began our ride at noon sharp at the start of the Midtown Greenway and River Road.  We started 4 and meandered our way to Crema Cafe.  Guinness flavor was my choice to start off.  Subtle, but tasty.  It was here that I also faced my first real test of the day...beer (in addition to the ice cream) or not.  I chose no and we set off for destination number 2.

Bridgeman's near Minnehaha Falls was that second stop.  I had been in contact with a couple more potential riders and also another friend who wanted to meet up with us.  We made a straight shot across town and were soon enjoying our second treat of the afternoon.  I chose Carmelicious here and WOW!  Definitely carmely.  Spencer hung out with us for a while and my cousins Marcy and Beth rolled up on their matching Milanos (sweet!).

Post 2nd stop napping

After everyone had their fill, we wondered up Minnehaha Creek and all the way to Edina and the Edina Creamery.  Green Tea was on the menu so how could I pass it up.  I will say that I wish it was actually gelato, but it was still mighty tasty.  Unfortunately we lost my cousins at this point so we were back down to four.

Enjoying what we can in Edina

I made sure to route us a different way back toward St Paul and besides a small amount of road construction, we made it to our next stop without incident.  We did loose one of the original four at this point, but the three of us proceeded.  As there was a small timing mix-up, we decided to take out one of the stops and proceed to dinner.  By this time I was ready to put something else in my stomach other than frozen dairy.  Fat Lorenzo's had some pretty good pizza.  It was too bad they ran out of Surly on tap, but Dead Guy Rogue in a bottle is an all right substitute.  We were really full at the end of dinner, but I couldn't NOT order a gelato.  Lemon goes down super easy.  It hit the spot.

We were also supposed to take a break from riding and dairy by floating on one of our lakes.  Well that didn't happen.  Instead, we rode straight to one of our favorite ice creameries, Izzy's.  Irish Moxie with a Hot Graham Cracker Izzy finished off the ride.  We did have one last meet up by Carrie.  I certainly didn't need any more dessert for the day, but there always seems to be room for Izzy's.  It's that good.  

Final cone of the day

This was a fantastic day.  I have had several people that had conflicts and want us to do it again.  All I can say is, not until next year.