Chiang Mai, Thailand - September 2012

Toward the end of our backpacking trip in Southeast Asia last year, Steve and I spent a week in Chiang Mai. Though there's plenty going on--jungle treks, rafting, mountain biking, and any number of other adventure excursions--we didn't really do anything. We wanted to save our money for our final stop, Hong Kong, and figured attractive, affordable Chiang Mai was a good place to enjoy the simple (and cheap) life. As anyone who has been to Thailand knows, you don't need to be on a constant adrenaline rush for the days to fly by.

We enjoyed browsing the various markets and sampling food, wandering among the multitude of temples, playing badminton in the park, and cruising around on bicycles. And, um, eating breakfast, according my picture of an adorable latte. I'm still pretty impressed by how much nothing we did without the aide of the Internet--wifi at our guesthouse was only turned on at night.

The Great Seattle Ice Cream Quest Round 4: Bluebird

Ever since I first walked by Bluebird, the adorable sign outside compelled me to sample their wares. It wasn't until recently that I actually went in. The first time, I got a scoop of peanut butter ice cream with hot fudge. The hot fudge was scooped out of a small fondue pot thing with a plastic spoon, and the spoon was then given to me. This is a wonderful thing to me; it signifies a special understanding between ice cream scooper and ice cream eater. They get it. They know extra hot fudge is more important to me than a slightly more visually appealing product. Who needs a pristine spoon? Not me. I need hot fudge and little else.

As a peanut butter fanatic, though, I didn't think the ice cream was peanut buttery enough. Don't you dare try to blame this on copious amounts of hot fudge--I won't stand for it! Another flavor on the menu, though, had caught my attention: snickerdoodle. Along with peanut butter dipped in chocolate, snickerdoodle is one of my favorite varieties of cookie--the doughier the better, which makes snickerdoodle ice cream a grand idea. So the next time I went, I tried it. Amazingly, it was everything I could ask for: thick and creamy with a buttery flavor and just the right amount of cinnamon. If cookie dough were ice cream, this would be it. I was on my way to meet a friend, and when I got there I naturally launched into a discussion of ice cream. It turns out he also was on a mission to go to all ice cream shops in Seattle (it's kind of the best mission) and Bluebird's snickerdoodle is one of his favorites. So, there are at least two people who love it.