Tuesday, April 2, 2013

B - Baskin Robbins


These are the continuing adventures of a Swedish immigrant during her first year as an American. She boldly went where she'd never gone before...please come along on the Adventures in America.

I don't remember much about our flight(s) over the Atlantic. I do remember changing planes a lot, and being ultra tired when we arrived at JFK. Grandma Vivian was there to meet us! We were safely in America! And were about to go our for ice-cream. I didn't want to. I have nothing against a special treat, at that time didn't know I was hypoglycemic and shouldn't eat ice-cream, but all I wanted was a bed. A BED. Grandma was just so excited to show us all things American that she insisted. I don't know how my parents (probably even more tired than us kids, 8, 6, and 2) felt about this, but to Baskin Robbins we went.

I was overwhelmed when I saw our 31 choices.

(image free-extras.com)




In Sweden as I recall, (you'll have to bear with me on the whole recall thing throughout this series as this was THIRTY NINE years ago, and through the eyes of a child) there were four flavors of ice-cream. Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, and pear. Don't ask my why pear got such status, but to this day it's my favorite flavor. I couldn't decide. I could barely keep my eyes open. I ordered vanilla. Grandma was not happy. “Don't you want to try something you haven't tried before?” No, not really. This whole moving to America thing is enough without you force-feeding me ice-cream in the middle of the night. I have no actual concept of what time it was in NY, but for us, having traveled forever, it was NIGHT.

We ate our ice-cream. I don't remember anything more about that night except getting into a car and blissfully falling asleep for the long drive to Silver Spring, MD.

I of course got over my vanilla-ness. Grandma was a spoiling Grandma – she'd take us our for ice-cream FOR LUNCH. You might recall that my mother is The Nutritionist. I remember her approving this and wondering if she'd lost her mind. I think she probably just wanted some time to herself and would gladly let Grandma take us ANYWHERE. It's certainly what I do today. Best likes to treat the boys to LARGE Dairy Queen blizzards as a reward for surviving oral presentations. They never want dinner, and I don't care. I had some time to myself.

I've never really considered how this move was for my mother...perhaps now's the time to think about what she went through...after all, there are plenty more days of April left.

55 comments:

Trisha said...

Now, this is not fair - I want to go and buy some ice cream now! hehe. I don't eat it very often as I am not all that great with dairy products, but a nice fancy tub of Connoisseur now and then never goes astray!

Anonymous said...

Hubby and I still treat ourselves to Baskin Robbins on occasion. Growing up, Dad would take us, especially when we were really good - but it had to be all of us...there were 8, mind you. Yes, BR was and still is such a treat!

Jeremy [Retro] said...

dammit... lactose is a bitch.
wow i swore twice...

i would like to say "nummy"

great post for "B"

Jeremy [Retro]
AtoZ Challenge Co-Host
Oh No, Let's Go... Crazy

Annalisa Crawford said...

I get confused with too many choices - sometimes I walk away without any at all! Chocolate, vanilla and chocolate chunk... that's all you need :-)

Unknown said...

Yes, you just can't go past a good ice-cream.

Charlie Warren said...

Nom nom nom...ice cream!

Charlie @ The Semi-Retired Gamer

Ida Thought said...

My mum was also an immigrant - and now I am too. There are so many things to get used too.

Laura Clipson said...

I remember going to Italy as a child and being astounded by all of the different flavours of ice cream. It's so hard to decide which one you want!

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

You know you're tired when you don't even want ice cream.
Pear flavored? Doesn't sound appealing.

Sharon said...

You may not have wanted that icecream at the time but now you have a wonderful memory of your first hours in America. It wouldn't have been the same if you had gone to bed!

Cathrina Constantine said...

Sounds like the ice cream part really stuck in your head. And thanks for coming to America!

Dani said...

I like sleep over ice-cream too. But I'd probably pick something like mint choc chip.
Dani @ Entertaining Interests
#warriorminion

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Tina .. can quite understand how tired the family would have been - I'd have had trouble being polite! But that's today .. 39 years ago it would have been very different ...

Icecream - the good and the bad of it ... would love to try pear ice-cream though .. I'll have to look out for it ..

Cheers and loving these - Hilary

Brian Miller said...

ice cream for lunch...oh my...we have a roadside stand here where they sell ice cream for cheap...and big too...it is def a summer treat...growing up my biggest memory of ice cream is making our own...

JoJo said...

Oh see now I have to run out and buy some oreo cookie ice cream. Thanks so much for that Tina. lol Right now I'm all Yippee Skippee that the seasonal ice cream shops are open on the weekends, even if it's still a little too chilly for it.

Jo said...

I can so sympathise with you. When I came here I was taken to dinner with friends and their kids pestered me with all kinds of questions. To me it was extremely late about 2 a.m. I think. Finally got to bed, on the floor, no bed, at 5 a.m. my time. Welcome to Canada.

JO ON FOOD, MY TRAVELS AND A SCENT OF CHOCOLATE

Unknown said...

Ice cream is a little piece of heavenly loveliness.

L said...

It's amazing how this challenge makes us think and expands our knowledge.

Unknown said...

What a great theme for A to Z. I'll be back!

Sue McPeak said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ghadeer said...

I'm so much of a Baskin Robbins customer that I've tasted all the flavours!

Manzanita said...

Thank you for co-hosting this A-Z.
Baskin Robbins..... Yes, shades of my past and eating the ice cream out on the tables as who could take 6 drippy ice cream cones in a car? LOL
Manzanita
Wanna buy a duck

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Mom probably enjoyed the fact you were out of the house and out of her way, even if it did involve ice cream.

cleemckenzie said...

I'd never thought of Baskin Robins and culture shock in the same sentence before today. :-)

Al Diaz said...

Arrgh! Ice-creams! You kill me with ice-creams. They taste so nice but I am terribly allergic to them. (They put out my fire, of course.)
Thank you for your visit to the Cave! Have a wonderful B day too! :D

Sue McPeak said...

How thrilled your grandmother Vivian must have been to see you and to make sure you quickly became familiar with America's sure-fire best bribe to love grandmothers...ice cream. I know this how? I'm a grandmother and vanilla is my favorite...with a bit of chocolate drizzle...of course! Thank goodness for lactaid...my Grands are intolerant!
Sue~CollectInTexasGal
AtoZ LoneStar Quilting Bee

Adam Jones said...

I've never even considered pear flavored ice-cream before and now I can't stop thinking about it.

There seem to be a lot of recipes on the Internet. I may have to try one soon.

Willa Blair said...

I've never had pear ice cream, but if I ever find it, I'll have to give it a try.

M.J. Fifield said...

The first Baskin Robbins I ever went to was in Russia. (We only ever had Dairy Queens in our neighborhoods.) I went with chocolate.

wsbhark said...

I enjoyed reading your post, and I look forward to reading more of them!

Robin said...

I totally understand that you chose vanilla. 31 flavors was overwhelming right then. All you wanted was bed and not to have to make a decision. So, if you did have to choose, make it something familiar. I think the takeaway here is that change is hard. AND that everyone needs ME-TIME. I suppose you maybe just considered what it was like from your mom's perspective... you could have blogging material for the rest of the year!!!

katie eggeman said...

Lovely memories of getting ice cream as a kid. I have them too. I also took my 4 yr old grandson, last week, to his first visit to Baskin Robbins and he got chocolate.
Katie atBankerchick Scratchings

Marcie said...

I loved reading the Swede's story. I wish I were adventurous enough to move to another country - Sweden would be awesome, but I think I have to make do with semester there :-)

Would love to here your Mom's side of the story as well. And of course I'm looking forward to more of your childhood memories!

Marcie @ Marcie's Postbox

Laeli said...

Your Grandma sounds like me. My family went to Maui and chose vanilla ice cream...oh I scolded them for that,lol

Andrea said...

Aaaaaaaand now I need some ice cream!

HeatherL said...

My dad would take me to Baskin Robbins when I was a kid and I always got the small flavor. We are creatures of habit, I think, especially when it comes to our ice cream!!

Ink in the Book said...

What a great theme. I love it! And Baskin Robins ice cream is yummy!

Anonymous said...

It has been a long time since I had Baskins and Robbins ice cream...yum!

http://runningsurvivor.blogspot.com

Kirsty said...

I've never tried or even seen pear flavour ice-cream. Loved pistachio in Venice though.

Unknown said...

When my kids were little I was a single parent, occasionally we would have silly supper at Baskin Robbins. GREAT memories!!
Connie
Checkin' in from the A to Z Challenge
Peanut Butter and Whine

Diana said...

What fun, enjoyed your post, and kept reading back :-) I'm too far out in the boonies for a Baskin Robins, but do enjoy ice cream! Sorry ice cream doesn't jive with you

Shannon Lawrence said...

Oh man, yeah, I bet your parents were exhausted. I'm exhausted after a 2-hour flight with kids, LOL. Not because they're bad, but because I'm constantly worried that one will kick a seat, or be loud, so I'm tense the whole time because I hear all those stories about other people on planes being hostile to kids.

I'd like to try pear ice cream. Have you gone back, and do they still have that as a main flavor? We have a place that makes all their ice cream fresh and natural here, and they make prickly pear ice cream. It's Glacier, but I think it's just in Boulder and here, so far. Not sure? I will so happily drag you guys there if you ever come down for Garden of the Gods! Or you can try it if you ever go to Boulder, of course! That's the original store (or stores...I think probably more than one).

Shannon at The Warrior Muse

Rachel said...

I think ice cream might be my favorite food, but I'm not sure if it counts, since its a dessert. The easiest way to shut me up and make me smile is to hand me an ice cream cone.

Anonymous said...

Pralines 'n Cream - Now my husband needs to go to the store! Thank you for the great 'B' day post!

Unknown said...

Thanks for sharing this saga, Tina. I'll keep visiting back for more. Thanks for all that you do as an AZ co-host-- proud to be working with you.

Damyanti @Daily(w)rite
Co-host, A to Z Challenge 2013

Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge

klahanie said...

Hi Tina,

An ongoing fascinating story. And I reckon this verbalisation is also therapeutic for your good self.

Baskin Robbins, eh. Ah yes, had them in England for a short time. I'm only allowed ice cream on Sundae, sorry, Sunday :)

Happy alphabeting.

Gary, host of the alternative alphabet challenge :)

Anonymous said...

Ice cream... Mmmm Sounds so good right now. Interesting so far. Must have been a very exhausting flight for young kids.

#1Nana said...

I immigrated to the US at 5 in 1955. Perhaps I was too young to notice the cultural differances. We came by boat and landed in New York.

Jessica Marcarelli said...

The way you described the force feeding of ice cream in the middle of the night gave me a chuckle. Loved this entry!

Jessica @ Visions of Other Worlds
Twitter: @jmarcarelli, #atozchallenge

Sirisha said...

Yummm~ Icecream. I love Baskin Robbins especially anything with chocolate in them

www.vevisia.com

Anonymous said...

Don't think I've ever heard of pear ice cream.

It's been a while since I've been to a place with such a variety of ice creams on offer, you've given me the urge now...

miss uncertain said...

I haven't tried pear-flavored ice cream. But I bet it tastes like pear >_<

Miss Uncertain---sidetracked

Lyre said...

I am ambivalent about this "pear-flavored ice cream" notion.

So, in terms of good ol' Baskin Robbins 31 flavors, what was your favorite?

Mine was chocolate chip cookie dough. Yum. Two deserts in one.

Philip Verghese 'Ariel' said...

OMG!!!
Yet another interesting piece.
Ice Creeeeeeeeeeeeeemm!!!! Good.
I too like it especially the
one called Butterscotch,
and ha, not the chocolate one Ha ha... Here in India the Amul co's is good and famous
And even the Dentist advise to take
after removing the teeth. These days
i am eating more because of dentist advise. LOL
Waiting to read the next piece.
Keep inform
Best

Jill said...

Pear? Wow! I wouldn't have guessed. At this point, I think I'd choose pear over the other three. :)