Ice Cream Trail-Blazing

Have you heard about the Maryland's Best Ice Cream Trail? The Maryland Department of Agriculture has put together a "trail" of seven family-owned, independent creameries where you can buy farm-fresh ice cream and have your "passport" stamped this summer. "Trail blazers" who visit all seven by September 7 will be entered to win a DVD of the documentary The Maryland Harvest as well as the Dishing Up Maryland cookbook (which I've had my eye on for a while--it looks great!). There is a geocaching feature as well but I must admit, I don't quite get the whole geocaching component.

Timmy and I set out on this important mission last Saturday--when, luckily, it finally dipped below 90 degrees--with the Baltimore to Cecil County leg of the journey. Our first stop was the Prigel Family Creamery in Glen Arm, Baltimore County:



According to their website, the Prigel family has been farming in the Long Green Valley portion of Baltimore County for five generations.



Inside, the shop was buzzing with Saturday-afternoon visitors, mostly families and young couples on double dates. They offer blankets for guests to have picnics outside (sadly, we didn't take them up on that this time around) and many families seemed to be enjoying the lovely day.



Timmy was absolutely delighted that they carried Cheerwine, the North Carolinian soda which is surprisingly hard to come by in Baltimore. He ordered a Cheerwine float and could not have been happier!



In an effort to save my ice cream appetite I finished off the bottle instead of ordering my own ice cream treat.



They were hosting a BBQ that evening with food from Clementine. Of course, we would have loved to have stayed but we had more creameries to explore! After leaving the beautiful rolling hills of Glen Arm, we took back roads to Broom's Bloom Dairy, just outside Bel Air in Harford County.



The interior of their shop was bright and cheery.



I was surprised to see a whole bunch of solar panels in their parking lot, on top of the shop, and even in the fields. How cool!



There was ample outdoor seating, either on the big porch or in the cornfields.



I opted for one scoop of Orange Cream, which only came to $2.50! It was so refreshing.



We spotted this lovely blue barn on our way out of Harford County.

Our final creamery of the day was Kilby Cream, which I have been hearing about for a few months. Their farm just outside Rising Sun, in Cecil County, celebrated its seventh anniversary over the weekend.



They use this truck for home deliveries of milk, eggs and butter.



How fun is their ceiling?



Timmy chose the "Independence Explosion" and I had their amazing blueberry cheesecake.



This farm would be a delight to visit both for little kids and their parents. In addition to delicious, fresh ice cream, they also had a petting zoo and a playground!



That pony! So tiny!



I adore how they've painted a giant pink ice cream cone on the silo!

One of my favorite parts of the day was taking the Lower Susquehanna Scenic Byway around Susquehanna State Park on the way home. I'll be honest, this portion wasn't necessarily planned--we mostly just found ourselves on it and decided to follow the path. It was amazing.



Views of the river, just north of Havre de Grace, were lovely and the greenery was full.





There were lots of families enjoying the park by fishing, hiking, picnicking and kayaking.



There is so much rich history in this part of the state that I never knew existed! For instance, we stumbled upon the Rock Run Grist Mill--an amazing structure that has been operating in Harford County since 1794! Demonstrations take place between 1-4 PM on weekends from May to September; of course, we got there after 4:00 so we'll have to return another time. The park is also home to a former railroad--you can walk along the tracks, which are now a path--and the Steppingstone Museum. We also enjoyed driving through Darlington, a cute historic community along this route.

Our next leg of the Ice Cream Trail will be in Western Maryland, including our friends at South Mountain Creamery (Timmy worked at their stand at the JFX Sunday Farmer's Market for three years!). I can't wait to sample more of Maryland's Best!

Take a ride through Baltimore's history!

Readers, have you ever been to the Baltimore Streetcar Museum? Perhaps you've seen it while biking on driving on Falls Road, or seen the crumbling old railroad outbuilding from the Light Rail, and wondered what goes on there? It is definitely worth your time to check it out! It is a really unique museum that would has something for streetcar enthusiasts of all ages! Admission is reasonable at $7 for an afternoon of riding historic streetcars--the very same ones that generations of Baltimoreans rode before you. For $7, you can to chat with adorable old men who take their streetcar-conducting very seriously, stopping at every stop sign:

You are given these beautiful, intricate tokens to board the trolleys:

And then you get a real vintage ticket as a transfer, so they can be sure everyone has paid their fare:

 You are surrounded by amazing vintage advertisements in each car:

You can browse the small museum itself, with detailed dioramas such as this one of a streetcar line I'd find useful today:

And you can talk to the volunteers who operate the museum and have restored these historic vehicles simply because they want to share their passion with future generations: 

All in all, I found the history to be fascinating and the interactive experience was certainly memorable. Considering the average age of the volunteer staff had to be at least 75, I'm not sure what the future of this museum holds. It seems crazy to me that Baltimore, like many cities, once had an extensive network of streetcars--but removed them in favor of auto transport. Such a step backwards! I know there were many factors at play, including the auto industry's financial influence, but it is remarkable to think about what streetcar travel throughout Baltimore used to look like.

By the way, have you heard about the Baltimore Streetcar Campaign (formerly the Charles Street Trolley)? Despite my love of streetcars, I am not quite sure how I feel about adding a trolley line to a route already serviced by busses--but their website and design scheme is really snazzy and it's definitely worth a look! How do you feel about their proposal for a modern-day streetcar system?

Sailabrating the War of 1812

I sincerely hope everyone in the Baltimore area has taken advantage of the historic, monumental commemoration that has engulfed our city for the past few days! If not, go check out the tall ships before they leave tomorrow morning! I am not a connoisseur of tall ships--nor am I a huge fan of the Blue Angels, as their booming sound and uncomfortably close proximity to buildings freaks me out--but I have been totally loving the Star-Spangled Sailabration! The festival has been a genuinely exciting way to kick off the War of 1812 Bicentennial and show off our city to a wide swath of visitors. For someone who truly loves history, being able to share my adopted hometown's rich heritage with so many interested visitors was a dream come true!

One my favorite moments of the festival was attending the Star-Spangled Symphony, my first time hearing the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, (Governor) O'Malley's March, or the U.S. Navy Chorus. I absolutely love that tickets were only $15, opening the doors to the gorgeous Meyerhoff Symphony Hall to new audiences (including me). The Philip Glass premiere was very exciting, but the rousing American tunes that followed truly made my heart swell with patriotism and pride (the huge 15-star, 15-stripe flag draping the back of the stage probably helped too). O'Malley's March was pretty darn cool--the Governor has a gift for songwriting and some serious stage presence (no surprise there). The finale, of course, with red, white & blue confetti was really something to remember!

In addition to the symphony, I loved wandering around the Inner Harbor admiring the tall ships and of course, people-watching too. I have seen so many awesome American flag shirts and sweaters in the past five days (seriously, I love Americana and patriotic kitsch). The festival set-up at Fells Point was a delightful surprise as well. I didn't make it to two of my favorite places in Baltimore--Fort McHenry or the Flag House--this weekend but I am sure they were packed with enthusiastic visitors. 

I can only imagine all of the many, many hours of hard work that went into planning this event of international proportions--kudos to all involved at the War of 1812 Bicentennial Commission and Star-Spangled 200! I can't wait to celebrate the Baltimore of Baltimore in September 2014!

Here are some photos from the weekend. I realize there were many great photo ops but I seemed to have missed all of them! I went a few different days so that explains the change in lighting...

Thrifting in Baltimore: Cheap, Unique and Always an Adventure

I am excited to share some of my favorite thrift and second-hand shops with you today. I realize not everyone is into wearing used clothes (for the record: I absolutely am), but when it comes to furniture and décor for the home, buying used is so much more economical—and unique. I love all things historic and can’t turn down a bargain, so I end up getting almost all of my furniture, clothes, and other home goods in thrift stores (or by helping friends move out and receiving their left-behind stuff). You’ll notice through my photos that both Tim & I love vintage Americana, maps and flags—luckily for us, there’s a lot of this stuff to be found at thrift stores!

My advice when thrifting is to take your time. It’s a real adventure to pick through random assortments of all kinds of stuff—you never know what you might find! I prefer to go on rainy days when I have nowhere to be. Here are a few of my favorite places to shop second-hand. There are many, many more out there but these are my usual haunts. Some of these places don’t have websites, so here’s a map to help you find them:

View Auni's Favorite Thrift & Antique Stores in a larger map

Thrift stores

Value Village on York Road (Govans): Although almost all of these shops are hit-or-miss, I pretty much always find a gem at this Value Village. I have found a lot of professional clothes here, as well as some awesome cowboy boots, this USA Olympics sheet set (who is excited for the Olympics this year?!), and this creepy little figurine. The store is not extremely large, so it’s easy to stumble upon the good stuff. My favorite find from this store is this cartographic-themed dish set (now our “fancy” dishes)—we had these out at a party and some friends of ours told us they had donated the set to Value Village! Oh, Smalltimore.

Village Thrift on North Avenue: I can imagine this is a favorite shopping destination for MICA students considering its proximity to campus. Both the clientele and the inventory vary widely. They have a sizeable home goods department that covers the entire front and back of the store. When I was there last week I found this Brownie camera from the ‘50s (unfortunately, the film isn’t made anymore so I can’t really use it) for $7; we also got a set of six bicentennial glasses (hard to photograph) there. Check out the Village Thrift on Sundays or Mondays when everything is ½ price!

 

Village Economy (Essex): I consider this to be the granddaddy of all thrift stores. This place is a sure bet because it is HUGE, although Essex is quite far from the city and nearly impossible to get to without a car. They stock pretty much anything you could ever imagine here. I recall their kitchen section was quite well-supplied, and I’ve found some cool ladies’ clothes there as well. I’ve heard this is a good spot for costumes and crazy get-ups that you’ll only wear once…

Brooklyn Park Thrift Store: The reputation of this store, located just over the line in Anne Arundel County, had built up pretty high expectations in my head and I was a bit disappointed when I finally went. Like the Essex store, the large size means that there is a considerable selection from which to choose. This is supposedly one of the area’s best, so it’s definitely worth a visit for the second-hand connoisseur. 

GBMC Nearly New Sale: The sprawling hospital complex in Towson hosts a volunteer-run rummage sale each fall and spring. The selection and prices totally depend on which day you go (earlier = more selection, higher prices; later = more picked over but insanely cheap prices), so be sure to weigh your priorities when determining when to go. In addition to tons of men’s, women’s and children’s clothing, they sell games, athletic equipment, dishes, stationery, electronics, artwork, holiday decorations and other random stuff. We have gotten a lot of use out of this USA Trivia game that I bought for $1!

Value Village on Eastern Avenue (Highlandtown): This surprisingly large store on Eastern Avenue could provide hours of entertainment, browsing their aisles upon aisles of clothes. We ended up getting a handsome little side table there for a reasonable price—it’s cheap enough that if I decide to paint it some bright color, I won’t feel bad if it turns out horribly.

Goodwill on Greenmount (Waverly): I’m not in love with this small-ish Goodwill store, but I have donated tons of stuff here when moving and know people that have found interesting things here. Plus, it’s close to the Baltimore Book Thing and Pete’s Grille!

Goodwill in Fells Point: Like the Waverly location, this store is too small to find a whole lot of interesting items. However, it’s always worth popping in for a visit when strolling the neighborhood.

Salvation Army on Joppa Road (Towson): I haven’t been here in a while, but this was a popular destination when I went to Goucher. Their selection is quite large and I believe their furniture is usually of high quality.

Antique stores

Second Chance: This nonprofit salvages usable materials and provides green-collar job training for “those with employment obstacles”. They sell the reclaimed building supplies and furnishings in their 200,000 square foot retail space, making it a financially viable operation. They truly provide a second chance both for the salvaged furniture and home wares as well as the employees in their workplace development program. I have yet to visit the new consolidated warehouse just off Russell Street, but I would encourage anyone looking for high-quality, previously owned furniture to visit Second Chance. Second Chance does not sell at thrift store prices but there is a wide range of options. We got this Singer sewing machine-turned-butcher block for $100 and I love it!

HouseWerks at Bayard Station: This is another seriously amazing place to visit—an architectural salvage yard housed in an historic railroad station. I would say they cater to the rusted-industrial-chic designer’s aesthetic. Plan to spend a few hours poking around the iron gates, school desks, giant box of plastic letters, and 100+ pieces of a religious mosaic in the yard. I didn’t see any marked prices, but I have a feeling most of these curated objects are quite pricey. I would suggest going to feast your eyes and imagination, not to buy anything specific.

 David’s on the Avenue (Hampden): I have been in here a number of times without finding anything of interest at all, but the last time I went I saw an amazing mint green ‘60s kitchen cabinet, lots of well-priced living room furniture in great condition and tons of vintage maps and flags. I bought 12 maps at $.50 each and popped a few in embroidery hoops for very cheap, fast homemade wall art. We are planning to get a real couch (the cheapo IKEA futon we got off Craigslist two years ago just isn’t cutting it anymore) in the near future and David’s is going to be one of the first places we look.

Vanessa’s Vintage Treasures (Federal Hill): Vanessa herself greeted me in this little storefront in the shadow of Cross Street Market. She made conversation as I browsed her mountains of vintage costume jewelry, plates, textiles, and stationery—and offered me a nice discount for buying a number of items together. The shop might appeal to a more feminine crowd, but I would recommend it to anyone looking for some nostalgia in Federal Hill.

Avenue Antiques (Hampden): It’s possible I like this place so much simply because I live near it, but I almost always find something interesting at Avenue Antiques. They have three entire floors stocked by various antique dealers with wares ranging from pianos to ‘80s dresses to needlework to campaign memorabilia. I have bought some used but not antique items here (including a purse and a skirt) and always enjoy perusing their vintage postcard collection. Hampden is a treasure trove for antique seekers, with Millbrook Antiques (tons of postcards and paper goods), the Turnover Shop (furniture), Hampden Junque (kitschy memorabilia), Sturgis Antiques (variety), and some other more upscale furniture shops along the Avenue. Of course, Woodward’s Auction House used to be located right next to Avenue Antiques but has recently moved to East Baltimore. ­­­

DeBois Textile Co.: I don’t really understand what all they sell at DeBois Textile Co., but I went after seeing their ad in City Paper for years and was slightly confused. The front room of their Pigtown warehouse has upscale (and expensive) vintage clothes and wholesale textiles. The rest of the 65,000 square foot space contains giant cardboard boxes of loosely categorized used (not vintage) clothes and a loading/unloading/work zone. I left empty-handed but perhaps you will find something exciting in this curious establishment.

A final note: my dear friend Krystal—a Baltimore native—runs a really unique online home décor shop called Esther & Harper and blogs about it too. If you are looking for some vintage inspiration for your day, check out Krystal’s interesting collection!