June 8, 2008

Favorite Things: Slushy, fruit flavored treats

Posted in Uncategorized at 7:32 pm by wrenshack

1. The Hawaiian Shaved Ice

Montgomery, AL: Suffering over sixty mosquito bites in a night.  Enjoying a holiday meal at Taco Bell.  Using a Longaberger hamper basket as a desk in my bathroom office.  Choreographing circus routines on the swingset.  Falling in love with a sugary, multi-flavored concoction that would become my favorite summertime treat…

I didn’t see Hawaiian Shaved Ices for a long time after leaving Montgomery.  I had to discover substitutes for that crunchy, saccharine taste.  Then, one summer day we saw a little hut by the side of the road in Colorado Springs.  To my great delight, I was reaquainted with my dear, tasty friend.  Towards the end of grad school, a Hawaiian Shaved Ice place opened not five minutes from my home in Oklahoma.  I dragged everyone I could to the little hut in a parking lot and introduced several of my friends to the concept of liquid sugar poured over ice.  (I think they typically joined me to stop me from talking about it so much.  Apparently I have a habit of frequently mentioning icy drinks.)  This past summer I had the opportunity to introduce my roommate’s parents to shaved ices up at Bass Lake.  I’m heading back up to the lake in a few weeks and I’m eagerly anticipating another peach daquiri-blackberry mix of Hawaiian Ice perfection!

2. Sonic Slushes

San Antonio, TX: Deciding to become a piano teacher.  Making dear friends (the people I’ve known the longest whom I still contact).  Fulfilling my life-long wish of being dependent on crutches.  Wearing an atrociously ugly choir uniform that had interchangeable collars.  Discovering Sonic drive-in restaurants and their vast array of slushy drink options…

I confess that I used to think that Sonic Cherry Limeades were the best thing on the menu.  Now, I’m more of a Lemon-Berry Real Fruit Slush kind of girl.  Regardless, Sonic is one of my all time favorite restaurants.  Put me within reasonable driving distance of a Sonic and I rival the Starbucks addicts in frequency of visits.  I don’t typically eat the food – it’s really greasy, although the occasional corn dog hits the spot.  But I could (and have, although I probably shouldn’t confess to it) drink a slush on an almost daily basis.  Case in point: Norman, OK.  Prior the the Hawaiian Ice Hut opening, I actually budgeted money for my Sonic fixes.  After the shaved ice shack opened, I increased my budget and regularly frequented both Sonic and the Hawaiian Ice place.    What?  Gas was cheaper then and my rent was under $200 a month.  I could afford to eat all the flavored ice that I wanted!

Now that I’m in CA, I’m in Hawaiian Ice/Sonic withdrawal.  The nearest Sonic is only 63.5 miles from my house.  But, it just so happens to be on the way to Bass Lake!  When driving through that area on Memorial Day weekend, we stopped on the way up to the lake and each bought a slush for the road.  On the way home, I bought two slushes: one for the trip and one for my freezer.  I’ve been nibbling on it since, trying to make it stretch until this coming weekend when I’m heading up that same road again on a camping trip with church friends.  I’m campaigning hard for Sonic stops going both ways, but I may have to content myself with only stopping on the way back.  Don’t worry…I’ll bring a slush home from that trip too! 

Permalink