Hula Cowgirl Shaved Ice

I had to take a break from blogging, but I'm back! On September 30th, Seven and Nine (yep, we survived birthday season!) had a school fundraiser to Hula Cowgirl Shaved Ice. We decided it was a hot enough day to go support the shaved ice school fundraiser! Supporting the school and eating are two of my favorite activities!

Seven and Nine enjoying Seven's ice cream, my strawberry daiquiri with cream shaved ice, and Nine's coconut shaved ice.

The storefront is tucked away from the road by San Gabriel River, across Austin Ave. from Hat Creek Burger Company, near the Georgetown, Texas town square. I'll have a throwback blog for Hat Creek soon.

Hula Cowgirl is a small shop. It has a contemporary-country feel with a bubble chandelier, a striped accent wall, and wooden and teal metal picnic tables.

The girls were not impressed when I tried to sneak a picture of them and the chandelier.

There is a massive chalkboard with all the flavors listed. On the counter is a "secret list" of flavors that are only published there. In all, there are probably 55 flavors of shaved ice. Part of the counter houses the ice cream. There are 12 flavors of ice cream to choose from, lots of normal flavors, but a few seasonal treats like peach were included in their ice cream offerings.

The massive chalkboard with all the options.

The shaved ice sizes are enormous. My strawberry daiquiri was a small and that was the perfect size for me. Just big enough to get a manageable brain freeze! Nine tried to convince me we should get the large and share as a family. Maybe we'll do that again sometime, but I like the option of different flavors. The bases for the shaved ice cups are small, so we were provided with PVC pipes covered in cute duct tape to help stabilize our frozen treats. I should point out there is a kid size not shown.

More guests pondering their options and helping the school fundraiser.

The lady is nice, but she was the only one working. She was fast, efficient, and patiently explained how to order. I believe most of us coming in that afternoon were first time customers who wanted to help support the school fundraiser.

What sets this place apart from other snow-cone places is that the ice is shaved very fine. It melts in your mouth without any ice chunks. We had the option of adding cream or even ice cream to our shaved ice. I've never had that option before, so I went with the cream. It helped tame the super sweetness; however,the cream didn't reach all the way to the bottom of the cup. There was minimal pooling of extra syrup in the bottom of the cup, but not so much to make me want to pucker up and toss the rest.

Hula Cowgirl Shaved Ice is perfect for a hot summer day! We will be back, especially since autumn didn't get the memo that it should get cooler in October in Texas.

Eats on 8th

Kyla and I have discovered that we love it when our kids are invited over for spontaneous sleep overs at their friend's house.  Sleep overs mean date night, which also equates to us trying out a new Central Texas gem or going back to one of our favorites.  For this occasion we revisited a favorite of ours, but one we haven't written about yet - Eats on 8th in Georgetown.

Eats on 8th is another quaint restaurant on Georgetown's town square that prides itself on only using the freshest local ingredients for their culinary creations.  The restaurant is located just off the square in an old Victorian style house with both outdoor and indoor seating available.  While the decor and ambiance alludes to a fine dining experience, the welcoming atmosphere and friendly staff will make even the most casual diner feel right at home. Kyla and I still like to "dress to impress" for our dates - which after ten years of marriage normally means Kyla will wear make up and I'll find a shirt with a collar and use that cologne that I got on our honeymoon.  Other than that we were totally in shorts and flipflops for our evening out.

Quaint setting with great eats on 8th Street.

We of course had to start with wine, and while the wine list is modest, it is more extensive than most places we've found in Georgetown.  I had a nice red zinfandel while Kyla went for her favorite varietal pinot noir.  We were pretty hungry so an appetizer was in order, and there are plenty of interesting choices on the menu from duck fat fried potatoes to scallop ceviche.  We both decided we needed some more vegetables in our diet and begrudgingly turned down the duck fat fries in favor of a side salad.  One of the draws to the side salad was that from the menu description, it didn't look like your typical side salad.  With mixed greens, spinach, honey balsamic vinaigrette, bleu cheese, avocado, figs, heirloom tomatoes, candies walnuts, and fuji apples we were intrigued.  That intrigue ended up being the best salad either of us had in a long while.  The honey vinaigrette was the right combination of sweet and tangy, with the sweetness from the figs, walnuts, and apples providing a nice balance to the heartiness of the tomatoes, bleu cheese, and avocados.

Our first dilemma of the night, choosing a starter

Mix of fine and casual dining with the mason jar water glasses - collared shirt and flipflop material with the best salad ever

Deciding on a starter was only our first decision making cross-road of the evening.  We also had to choose an entree, which was an even more daunting task given the choices available.  Kyla's choice was slightly easier since she is a sucker for scallops, and the seared scallops with corn puree, fennel, sliced almonds, and apple wood smoked bacon immediately called her name.  I was more conflicted over my choices, with seared duck breast, grilled quail, red snapper, and lobster mac n' cheese all calling to me.  I ended up going with none of those choices and settled on the bourbon candied pork belly with crispy beans, turnips, and pork cracklins instead.  

This is where eeny-meeny-miney-moe comes in handy

Both of our dishes were awesome.  With the hearty salad we had as a starter, I can honestly say that our opinions weren't unduly influenced by hunger.  Kyla's scallops were cooked to perfection with the corn puree providing an interesting flavor profile.  My pork belly was both savory and sweet with the bourbon glaze, but the biggest and most pleasant surprise for me was the texture and flavor of the crispy beans and how well they complimented both the flavor and texture of the pork.  I personally love it when the side dishes play an integral role in the meal as opposed to be simply a side, which the chefs at Eats on 8th definitely strive for.

Kyla enjoying her scallops and corn puree

Bourbon candied pork belly with crispy beans - as good as it sounds

Of course our night couldn't end without dessert.  The desserts are made fresh each night with the server giving you the daily choices.  I can't remember all of the choices, but the two that we went for were the chocolate roll up which was chocolate cake rolled with a cream cheese filling and topped with ganache, ice cream, and berry glaze - the other option we went for was a lemon-berry cheese cake.  Both desserts were good, but the cheesecake was the standout of the two.  The cheesecake was sweet, with a light texture that wanted to melt in our mouths as we ate it.  The chocolate roll up was the richer of the two desserts, making us glad we opted for coffee.  After polishing off dessert we were fully stuffed and walked away from Eats on 8th more than satisfied with our experience.

Desserts were not only tasty, but substantial

With Eats on 8th having a fairly large footprint just off the square and right across the street from the very popular 600 Degrees Pizzeria, the restaurant is fairly well known within Georgetown.  While Eats on 8th does enjoy a good reputation for quality, endorsements are typically given with a caveat that the place is expensive.  Since we are not locals and are accustom to the food prices of places like the greater Baltimore-Washington metro area and Monterey, we didn't find the price of dinner exceptionally expensive.  Eats on 8th costs as much as a typical night out in Monterey, but does cost more than the average small town Texas eatery.  Comparatively speaking, you get great value when you look at what you pay for what you get at Eats on 8th, making it another gem on the Georgetown square and saving us the drive to Austin for fine dining quality with a come as you are atmosphere.

Road Trip #12 - The Long Drive Home

Thursday, June 25th

Today started our long drive home. We broke it up into two days and stopped for the night in Kansas City, Missouri. We stayed with Tim's friend from high school and his family. We had a great time catching up as it had been years since we last saw each other!

For dinner we had Kansas City BBQ take out. We ate Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que, formerly Oklahoma Joe's Bar-B-Que. Unfortunately we did not take photos of dinner.

Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que got its start in the competition BBQ circuit. Their team and smoker took home so many awards, they had fans begging them to cater and open a restaurant. Fate took over when a space opened in the gas station restaurant near their home. They opened their first restaurant in 1995. Now they have multiple locations and are critically acclaimed.

Personally I've wanted to try this BBQ since Tim was here on a business trip in 2011 and sang their praises over the years. The beef brisket and pork ribs we ordered did not disappoint! The meat was smoked to perfection. Tangy sauces complimented the meats to make an extraordinary combination. Everything was so delicious, Eight even ate 9 ribs! I was happy to finally indulge in the best BBQ I've ever eaten. I highly recommend Joe's Kansas City Bar-B-Que if you're ever in the area. Seriously, a gas station restaurant can be worth a 2 hour wait (but I'm happy we had another place to eat and could chose the take out option).

Friday, June 26th

We woke up the next morning and I discovered I was one of the few who didn't wake up for the huge storm that came through that night. The straight-line wind downed a tree in the backyard, took out street lights and made a huge mess. I must have been tired. After a delicious breakfast of homemade biscuits and gravy, we drove from Kansas City, MO back to Georgetown, TX. For the first time, we did not have to drive through a torrential downpour in Oklahoma City. That storm waited until we were south of Dallas and in the dark. The girls were extremely happy to see our cat at home. I was extremely happy to sleep in my own bed!

Nice to be welcomed home again!

Our vacation by the numbers: we drove a total of 4,035 miles, taking 12 days, through 10 different states in the minivan. Tim added an extra state with his airport layover. The girls earned 2 National Park Junior Ranger Badges. We attended 1 family reunion and 1 graduation. We took home so many memories and enjoyed lots of great food!

Now to return to our normal lives and blog posts on our favorite restaurants!

Road Trip #11 - La Crosse, WI

Wednesday, June 24th

Today we crossed the border into Wisconsin to surprise my cousin Chad. We attended his graduation from his Fellowship in Oncology and Hematology from Gunderson Health System, formerly Gunderson Lutheran Medical Center. We celebrated with dinner at the same place my family celebrated his Residency in Internal Medicine three years ago.

The Dr. Chad Fan Club after graduation

The Pizza Doctors is located in downtown La Crosse and is uniquely themed to cater to the medical community. As soon as we walked into Admitting, we paid for our Mid-Day Check-Up Lunch Buffet since we arrived before 4 pm. After 4 pm it becomes Exploratory Surgery for a slightly higher price. Children ages 4-11 pay $0.70 for each year old. You could buy your own pizza, hoagie, or Pre-Op (appetizers), but we stayed with just the buffet. One Local Anesthetic (soda) is included with the buffet. Refills are extra, as is General Anesthetic (beer).

Admitting where we paid for our lunch buffets and got sodas. (Note: Soda does not come in IV form!)

We started with salads to get something green in our bodies before gorging on pizza. There were enough veggies to choose from that even Six ate something green.

A view of the Emergency Rooms (bathrooms), Operating Room (kitchen), Admitting (cashier), Salad and Pizza Bars

Retractors, Scalpels and Tongue Depressors

Suction

As we finished our salads, but before we could get up to check out the pizza on the line in the warmers, waiters and waitresses came around offering up the freshest pizza from the ovens. Honestly, with the roving pizza wait staff, I never left my chair to get food during the rest of our stay. The wait staff even came around asking what pizza we would like to try next and had the Operating Room whip up the next creations.

Our favorites included: The Doctor Limpet (crab flakes, alfredo sauce and mozzarella cheese), The Doctor Foghorn-Leghorn (tangy barbecue sauce, chicken, onion and cheddar cheese), The Doc Holiday (turkey, stuffing, gravy and cheddar cheese), The Doctor Ziffel (bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and mozzarella cheese), The Freudian Slip (bratwurst, sauerkraut and cheddar cheese), The Doctor Wimpy (beef, bacon, pickles, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and cheddar cheese), The Doogie Howser (cheese sauce, elbow macaroni, more cheese), and even the kids liked The Young Doctor Kildare (broccoli and cheddar cheese). They made a chili cheese dog pizza that is not listed on their combos and it was delicious! There were 15 other pizzas on the menu that were also good. We realized a little late in the game that we could get one or two slices and share bites among the table. Everyone wanted to try all the offerings, but after a few slices, our bellies started to fill up.

Pizzas on the buffet line

Then came the dessert pizzas! The pizza crust was the same, or chocolate flavored, of course without regular pizza sauce. I did wish the crust was a bit more sweet or moist. The toppings were rich and we happily shared small slices around the table. Our favorites included: The Doctor Macintosh/Keen (apple/peach cobbler), The Doctor Double Stuff (marshmallow creme, oreos and mini marshmallows), and The Brownie (chocolate pizza crust, chocolate sauce, chocolate chips and powdered sugar).

The girls' favorite dessert pizza had a chocolate crust, chocolate pudding, crushed oreos and gummy worms.

The girls got tired of the adults taking time eating all the varieties of pizza and catching up. So they played in the kid's room. I didn't go to the door, since the glass walls made it easy to see the kids playing inside. If it wasn't called the Waiting Room, may I put that in your suggestion box? Very clever idea to have a play room!

We could see the girls playing in what I'll call the Waiting Room from our table.

The dinner ended too soon, as we had to get back to Minnesota that night. We are very proud of you Dr. Chad! Thanks for introducing us to a fun pizza buffet!

Road Trip Post #10 - Bernie's Grill - Faribault, MN

After our long night in Faribault watching the northern lights we had to fuel up for breakfast in the morning. When it comes to breakfast in Faribault, there is one particular place that we hold near and dear to our hearts - Bernies Grill.  This place is special to us not only because it's a great diner with home cooking, but also because we had our wedding reception right upstairs from Bernie's Grill in the Vintage Ballroom and Suites - with the same owners as Bernie's Grill.  Without boasting, we feel that we had one of the most fun weddings ever, with Bernie's and the Vintage Ballroom and Suites playing a significant roll in that.

Flashback to our wedding reception and getting audience input on where to hack into the cake

Our reception at the Vintage Ballroom and Suites was fun - complete with hats for the "YMCA"!

Bernie's is the quintessential small town diner, offering simple all-American fare at great prices with friendly service.  Ever since joining the Army, Tim is a sucker for biscuits and gravy, which can be found at Bernie's.  With the Big Biscuit Combo, he got two biscuits with creamy gravy, hash browns, and eggs.  The combo was big enough that it had to be served on two plates!  What Tim liked about his breakfast was that Bernie's does not skimp on the gravy.  There was plenty of gravy available for him to also coat his eggs and potatoes.  Needless to say, Tim was stuffed when we walked out, and didn't eat again until dinner that night.

Kyla was feeling nostalgic being in the same building as our wedding reception and ordered the chocolate chip pancakes, which were the same menu item offered for children at our wedding ten years ago.  The pancakes were fluffy and large, with just the right mixture of chocolate chips to cake batter.  The pancakes come by themselves, and with three of them are big enough for an entire breakfast.  If you are hungry enough for something on the side with your pancakes, Bernie's does offer a significant offering of sides with reasonable prices, especially considering the pancakes are less than $6.00.  With a bottomless pot of coffee, we were sufficiently fueled to continue our adventures with family in Southern Minnesota.

One of the highlights from our visits to Bernie's is always chatting with the co-owner, Janna.  We were one of the first wedding receptions in the Vintage Ballrooms and are sure to say hi to Janna whenever we are in town.  Despite being super busy with managing a restaurant, catering business, event hall, and suites, Janna always carves out a couple of minutes to say hi and chat, commenting on how our family and grown and that she's glad to see former wedding reception clients still together and still happy year after year. We are happy too - not only for the phenomenal party hosted by Janna, but for the continual celebration our life has been since then. 

Oh yeah, we are also happy for full bellies at great prices too.

The happy couple almost a decade later!

Road Trip #9 - Jamestown, ND and Moorhead, MN

Monday, June 22nd

We left the family reunion and started driving to Minnesota. First stop was in Jamestown, ND to see White Cloud, an albino bison and the statue of the World's Largest Buffalo.

White Cloud with the World's Largest Buffalo statue.

We continued on to Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where I went to school. We stopped to take pictures at my favorite places and raided the bookstore!

My girls with the college mission statement.

The girls with the Chocolate Man - former President Joseph Knudson. Sorry Eight, he's not really made out of chocolate.

After the quick tour of my college, we went to Dairy Queen on 8th and Main. I had many great memories of walking through a blizzard to get a Blizzard, and getting a free sundae every April 15th. This Dairy Queen is unique in that it is the home of the Dilly Bar. It still has it's 1949 contract that allows the restaurant to go "off menu" to create what the customer wants, instead of being confined by franchise standards.

Walk up ordering at the Dairy Queen on 8th and Main.

We went for different types of dogs and different Dilly Bars.

While fast food isn't normally known for being exceptional (with few exceptions), the Moorehead DQ was a pleasant experience.  The building itself harkened back to old-fashioned burger joints with a simple menu of all American fare - hamburgers, hotdogs, fries, and of course ice cream! The Dilly Bar was the main attraction that brought us to this particular Dairy Queen, and it didn't disappoint.  There were three flavors that we went for, with Eight and Tim getting traditional chocolate, Kyla getting Toffee (Heath Bar), and Six getting mint.  The Dilly Bars were traditional DQ soft serve on a stick, and satisfied our sweet teeth after a full day of driving.

We were in the need of more sustenance, so hotdogs were also ordered.  While our youngest always goes for a traditional hotdog without toppings, Eight and Tim went for chili dogs, with Kyla getting a bratwurst with the works.  I don't know if we were that hungry after a long day of driving, or if the hotdogs were that good, but I will have to say the chili dogs were some of the best I'd had in a while.  I know mine didn't last very long, and Eight mostly got her chili dog into her belly instead of all over her face.  The seating for the Moorhead Dairy Queen is all outside with picnic tables and umbrellas, which made for a pleasant outdoor dining experience.  I highly recommend heading to Moorehead in the summer months though, because winter can be quite brutal and definitely not ice cream weather.

With our bellies full and energy back up, we got back on the road for the second half of the day's drive to Faribault, MN to stay with Kyla's parents.  After a full day of driving we were all very tired and ready for bed.  The nice thing about road trips though is that there is always an unexpected surprise waiting for you.  This time, our surprise came with Kyla checking facebook, and seeing her aunt post from Montana that a massive northern lights show was expected to be seen as far south as Kansas that night.  I had never seen the northern lights before, and neither had the girls, so after walking outside and seeing a faint glow to the north, we raced back in and rousted the girls from bed to witness this phenomenon.

With the light pollution and tall trees in Kyla's parent's neighborhood we relocated to the small airport outside of town and got a spectacular light show.  I found myself just as awestruck as both our girls watching purple lights dance across the sky, and barely noticed the Minnesota State Bird (mosquito) feasting all over my legs.  Next time I'll remember the bug repellant.  We watched the northern lights until well after midnight, when we finally decided to head back to the house and get the rest we so desperately needed.

Road Trip #8 - Family Reunion

Saturday, June 20th and Sunday, June 21st

We raced back from Medora for our family dinner and talent show.

As part of the dinner, we had cake and ice cream to celebrate my Great-aunt's 90th birthday in September and another cousin's 80th birthday this summer.

Happy Birthday!

The talent show featured a few poems in honor of my Great-aunt, piano playing, guitar playing, autoharp playing with a bit of yodeling, lots of singing, and a tribute to all the Veterans in our family.

The instrument she is playing is an autoharp. It does not play automatically, but it does automatically create chords when the buttons are pushed.

I was very proud of my girls as they asked "the sisters" to join them in doing a skit. The sisters were enthused and happily played along!



We ended the night with more "conversations", but shorter as many cousins had to leave early to catch flights home.

I feel bad for my girls future college roommates! Maybe they'll learn to keep their space cleaned before then.

The next morning we went to Taylor, ND to attend the worship service at Taylor Lutheran Church where my Great-great-grandfather Thorvald Larsen was a pastor. Thorvald, working with the Board of American Missions of the Norwegian Lutheran Church, used this as his home base to found about 15 other churches in the West Slope area. After worship we had a wonderful family picnic.

Taylor Lutheran Church

Road Trip #7 - Medora and Teddy Roosevelt National Park

Saturday, June 20th

We spent the majority of Saturday in Medora, ND. It is a fun old western tourist town and was always a highlight of my childhood vacations! We started by going to one of the old timey photo places to get a fake turn of the last century rancher/saloon photo taken, but the earliest available time they had was when we had to leave to get back to the family reunion dinner. If you go, make a reservation as the first thing you do before sightseeing to ensure you get a time.

We ate lunch at the Cowboy Cafe. It is our traditional spot to eat buffalo burgers and drink sarsaparilla. We love the ranch decor with local ranch brands burned into the tables and booths. There are pictures of the local ranchers all over the walls. Even though the waitresses are young ladies, most of them have been working at the Cowboy Cafe year after year. There are also foreign exchange students who get to practice English and learn the restaurant business. The ranch feel is so authentic, Eight found a tick crawling on the table at our booth.

My aunt, niece, and sister at one table. Photo by Karen Rasmussen.

Tim, Six, me, Eight, and my dad at our booth. Cheers! Photo by Karen Rasmussen.

Decor is all about the local ranchers.

The menu really hasn't changed since I remember coming here as a child, or at least what we always order hasn't changed. We all went for the buffalo burger and sarsaparilla. Some of us branched out and got the buffalo burger special that came with potato salad, others went for a side order of french fries. Six being her usual self chose the chicken nuggets with fries that came in a cardboard car. She took it home to use as a Barbie car for the rest of our trip. The food is a novelty since you can't find this menu at just any restaurant. We were adequately satisfied and it was inexpensive. The Cowboy Cafe is a cash only establishment, so plan accordingly.

My buffalo burger, side of fries and sarsaparilla. I chose not to go for the special with potato salad.

After we fueled up, we went to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park so the girls could earn their 11th Junior Ranger badge. We attended the Ranger Program touring Teddy Roosevelt's house. He actually lived in this house, although it has been relocated a few times, with it's current location right outside the Visitor's Center. It was quite the ranch mansion in it's day because it has 3 rooms on the main floor for himself, two doors, and a second level for his ranch hands. At the original location, it also had a root cellar access from a trap door in the kitchen. He came to the Badlands to try to heal his broken heart from losing both his wife and mother within hours of each other, and hours after his first child was born. His daughter went to live with his sister because in those days single dads raising children was very rare. His time in the Badlands also helped form his view on conservation and preservation. When he became president, forming the National Park Service was one of his proudest accomplishments.

Teddy Roosevelt's house in the Badlands.

The girls and my mom in the kitchen with my dad and uncle with the Park Ranger in the living room.

We drove the Scenic Drive and enjoyed seeing the rugged nature as Teddy Roosevelt once did. We saw prairie dogs, wild horses, and a few bison off in the distance. One of the Junior Ranger tasks was to take a hike. While on the Wind Canyon Trail, we spotted a herd of bison crossing the road from where we just came. So we hurried back to our vehicles to see the herd up close. As we pulled up and off the side of the road, we opened the doors to take pictures without buggy windshields. In the process my sister managed to lose one of her sandals on the side of the road.

Prairie Dog town, their chatters and chirps were loud!

Family photo with the Badlands.

A beautiful example of the different layers of rock that make up the Painted Canyon of the Badlands.

Family photo overlooking the Badlands.

A herd of wild horses.

Very cute colt in the wild herd.

A view from the top of the Wind Canyon.

My little Junior Rangers enjoying a break on their hike, right before we spotted the bison herd.

Our cousins are in the red car!

Awe, baby bison!

This herd crossed the road and started grazing in the field near our cars. (This is where my sister lost her sandal.)

Huge bison.

So big and shaggy!

We could almost reach out and touch them. But we didn't because that would be really stupid. Leave the wildlife alone!

After many bison photos, we drove back to the Visitor's Center to turn in the Junior Ranger books. The Ranger checked over their books and had the girls swear in for their 11th Junior Ranger Badge. Then my dad took my sister to look for her sandal while I took the rest of the family back to the family reunion for dinner and the talent show.

The Ranger checking over the girls' work.

The Ranger swearing in the girls, taking an oath to be conservationists.

Congratulations on your 11th Junior Ranger Badge!