The Best Hot Chocolate in the World…in New Hampshire?

This weekend, in addition to candlepin bowling, I also went on a field trip.  I was being very New Englandy.

Ever since I have moved here to New England I have been told how amazing the chocolate at Burdick's is.  There is a Burdick's in Cambridge, and I can attest to the fact that it is amazing chocolate.  Particularly the hot chocolate.

And it's not just me!  A while back I came across an article that listed Burdick's hot chocolate among the ten best in the world.  So I've been meaning to visit the mother ship of Burdick's in Walpole, New Hampshire for a while.  Yes, L.A. Burdick originated in New Hampshire.  If you read that hot chocolate article, you see Paris, Vienna, Chicago, NYC, Buenos Aires…and New Hampshire.

So, in random honor of our illustrious history of U.S. presidents, I headed out to Walpole!  It's about a two-and-a-half hour drive from Newburyport, but it was a gorgeous day.  The route changes from highway to road to highway often enough that it's not boring.  Not like driving I-70 across Indiana and Illinois which is an exercise in staying awake.  It was a beautiful drive, too.  New Hampshire is a gorgeous state.

So I arrived, and discovered that Walpole is so cute!  If it wasn't so cold, I would have taken time to explore the town.  These aren't the greatest pictures, but they kind of give you the gist:

And here is Burdick's:

Unlike the Cambridge store, this Burdick's has three elements: a restaurant, a cafe, and a store.  The restaurant was closed, but I ordered a Burdick Blend Dark Chocolate hot chocolate and this lemon chocolate cake-pastry thing that was delicious.  Then I sat in the cafe and read and ate and used their wifi for a couple of hours.

Here is the restaurant and part of the cafe:

The restaurant is at the far end, and the cafe is at this end.  However, the other half of the cafe is in the store.  That's where I sat so that I could spy on what everyone was buying.

This picture only shows half of the store.  It's at least twice this big, plus has half of the cafe.  I bought an obscene amount of stuff in the store.

I definitely plan to come back with friends to eat in the restaurant.

The drive home was also lovely.  I had some favorite parts.  First of all, I passed numerous "Moose Crossing" signs.  I wanted to stop and take a picture, but there was never a shoulder to pull over on.  I would have loved to actually see a moose cross the road.  I mean, assuming I was driving two miles per hour so as not to hit it and kill myself.  I hope that, living in New England, I will at some point, probably in NH or Maine, see a moose cross the road.

I also saw several "Snowmobile Crossing" signs.  Sadly, the roads were clear so no snowmobiles actually crossed, though there were snowmobiles driving parallel to the road and down frozen rivers and across fields all over the place.  So I also want to ride a snowmobile.

I also saw mysterious "Frost Heaves" signs.  I had no idea what on earth these signs could mean.  Is the frost throwing up?  Is it heaving snowballs at people?  Today a friend explained that the frost causes the road to lift up (heave up!).  So you could be used to a road you drive all the time, then all of a sudden one day there is a huge bump.  That's a frost heave.

It was a lovely day.  Great driving weather.  Lots to look at.  And lots and lots of chocolate.

Bowling vs. Bowling

So, when I say "bowling," apparently I mean "10-pin bowling."  Who knew?  Here in New England, when you say "bowling," you mean "candlepin bowling."  What on earth is candlepin bowling you ask?  I went for the first time this past weekend.  Let me tell you what I learned.

First, I have to explain that I don't understand all of it.  I went as part of a birthday party, so no one had the time to describe every detail and rule to me.  But I got the gist.

First of all, the bowling ball is small!  It is slightly larger than a ski-ball ball.  In fact, candlepin bowling reminded me a lot of ski-ball.

The ball doesn't have holes or anything.  You just palm it and roll!

Next, the pins are, well, like candles!  Taller than the pins I'm used to, and much, much skinnier.

This, I discovered, led to several interesting tidbits.  First of all, there is a lot more space between the pins.  The pins are much less likely to knock each other down.  For me, in what I consider "regular" bowling, the perfect roll lands the ball between the 1 and 3 pins.  In candlepin bowling, a ball hitting the 1 and 3 pins will maybe knock down a pin or two.  Argh!

Second, the pin setter does NOT clear the fallen pins between each roll.

The pins just lay there.  Sometimes this is great!  One time, I knocked down a pin that laid right in front of two other pins.  On my next roll, I hit that pin and it knocked over both the upright pins behind it!  This is called "using the wood," which sounds pornographic, I know.  However sometimes these fallen pins get in the way and are a real pain in the butt.

Another odd thing is that you get three rolls per frame in candlepin bowling.  A strike is if you knock all of the pins down in two turns.  A spare is if you knock them all down in three turns.

Finally, you have to work a lot harder to keep score in candlepin bowling.  "Regular" bowling has gotten so high tech that once you enter your name, the computer does all the work.  Not so here!  First, you have to tell the lane when your turn is over.  You hit a button by the ball return.

It doesn't recognize when you have taken your three rolls.  

Second, you have to enter your total score per frame.  This required a lot of peering at the pins from different angles to figure out which ones were still standing.

Anyway, it was really, really fun, and I can't wait to go again.

Next up, duck pin bowling?  I don't know what that is, either, but I'll have to try it out.

Non-fiction Surprise

I have never been much of a non-fiction reader.  I would not have done well if STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) had been a big push in public schools like it is now.  Schools are promoting the reading of non-fiction over fiction now, and that has never been something I'm very interested in.  For fun, I mean.

But recently I've begun reading non-fiction, and if the book is right, I love it!  What I'm noticing is that the non-fiction I like tends to read like fiction, which makes it all the more amazing, because it's true.  The old adage that truth is stranger than fiction is apparent in these books.

I thought I'd share a few of these titles, just in case any fiction-readers out there might want to dip a toe in the non-fiction lake.

First up is Frozen in Time: An Epic Story of Survival and a Modern Quest for Lost Heroes of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff.  For comparison purposes, this is like a historical Tom Clancy or Robert Ludlum book (without Clancy's incredible detail for every military weapon and machine).

I've discovered I'm not very good at describing this book, so I'm going to keep it brief.

In WWII, the Allies set up posts in Greenland, both to provide air and sea routes to Europe, and to keep Germany from using Greenland for air and sea routes to North America.  Greenland is much more treacherous than I ever imagined, and airplane were constantly crashing into and on the glaciers.  In 1942, there was a domino effect of crashes as plane after plane attempted to rescue the crashed plane before it.  Many men died, and some men lived.  The men who lived survived harrowing conditions: five months during winter in Greenland, living underneath the wing of their destroyed airplane.  Boats are also involved, as well as rescue attempts on foot via snowmobiles and dogsled.

Interwoven through this incredible adventure tale is a modern story.  A company wants to find, in particular, one of the planes that crashed while trying to rescue some men: a Grumman Duck which had been attached to a Coast Guard cutter.  The Coast Guard decided to help, because this particular Grumman Duck pilot was the only Coast Guard soldier who had never been brought home to the United States.  (A side note, in case you are thinking that this wouldn't be a big deal: the Coast Guard is NOT, in fact, limited to patrolling the United States.  They have fought, internationally, in WWII, Vietnam, and other conflicts.)

You must remember that this plane crashed 70 years ago, on an active glacier.  So it would have been moving over the years, and buried under who-knows-how-many feet of snow and ice.  In addition, the records are not clear about where the plane crashed.  Flight conditions were terrible, and almost all of the notes from anyone concerned were contradictory.

Amazingly, the boat has been found!  Thought it hasn't been recovered yet.  Hopefully next summer, 2014.

This book was non-stop adventure that was wilder than any military and/or survival fiction I've ever read.  I read it in two days, and it would have been less if I hadn't had to go to work.  Here are some more links if you're interested.

The book on Amazon.

The U.S. Coast Guard, if you're interested in it's history and missions.  Note that Homeland Security is in charge of the Coast Guard.

Perhaps most fascinating, Mitchell Zuckoff's (at the time) live blog of the recovery effort this past summer, 2013.  He was part of the mission!

If you are wondering what a Grumman Duck looks like, here are some pix.

More non-fiction recommendations to come in the future!  If you have a favorite non-fiction book, please recommend it in the comments!

You Are NOT Going to Believe This

Soon after I moved to Massachusetts, a coworker told me about this furniture store called Jordan's that has all of this extra stuff inside: trapeze schools, candy stores, ice skating rinks, IMAX theaters, etc.  WHAT?!  I mean, seriously, WHAT?!  It made no sense to me.

It took me over a year, but I finally went to my first Jordan's (it's a local chain).  This Jordan's -- the one in Reading, MA -- blew my mind, and it is now my goal to visit every Jordan's, because every store is different.  I have no idea how the Jordans came up with this concept, but it is the weirdest, most wonderful thing I have ever seen.

Here is a shot from my parking space.  The place is as big as an airplane hanger.  Maybe bigger.  I'm not sure I've ever seen an airplane hanger in real life. :)

Then I see this sign.  Apparently I can expect ice cream, TVs, Beantown (which I've been told is a candy store), speakers, Fuddrucker's, and outdoor furniture.  Interesting combo, yes?

Then, oh, then I walk into the door.  To my right, I see this:

Yes, it's the trapeze school.

To the right, beyond the trapeze school, is this:

Yep!  Dancing fountains!

Across from the trapeze school is the ice cream store.  Yes, of course I got a hot fudge sundae.

Now, when I walked in the front door of the store, straight ahead and to the left was candy.  And I mean CANDY.

The candy store is made of jelly beans.  (Yes, I bought candy.  Don't ask silly questions.)

Then…a candy garden.  (These are all made of jelly beans, people!)

And a jelly bean version of "Make Way for Ducklings" by Robert McCloskey.

And then I went to the IMAX to see "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire."  Both the theater and the movie were amazing.  The theater absolutely rivaled the IMAX at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle where I used to go to see all the films I wanted to see in IMAX.

But it gets better.  There are Jordan's Furniture commercials on TV all the time.  Take a look at this guy.  He's Eliot Jordan, who owns Jordan's Furniture.  Now, I never paid him much mind in his commercials until recently.  In one newer commercial he happened to turn sideways and I noticed he had a ponytail.  I was hysterical!  I always think the stringy ponytail on balding men is hilarious.  If any readers are thinking of having such a "hairstyle," I strongly discourage you.  Let's be honest: hair in the back does not make up for hair on the top.

Anyway, the point.  As we were looking for seats in theater, we noticed that four seats were not only being reserved, but were actually being guarded by a Jordan's employee.  "Ha!" we laughed.  "Maybe a Jordan is coming!"  Then, right before the movie started, ELIOT JORDAN and three other people walked in.  I am not kidding.  My first visit to a Jordan's Furniture, and the Man Himself shows up, ponytail and all.  Luckily the lights went down almost immediately.  As I was sitting a few rows back from him, I cannot say what I might have done after staring at that ponytail for more than a few moments.

I shall continue reporting on my Jordan's visits.  I have a friend in Natick, MA (Kari, for all you U of Rochester readers!), so that will probably be next. It has a Bourbon Street!  Why go to New Orleans if you can just go to a Jordan's Furniture in Natick, MA?  Some stores may even require an overnight trip, such as the one in Rhode Island, but I am bound and determined.  Stay tuned.

Snow in Phoenix?

My Mom and I discovered that a local outdoor mall in Phoenix makes it snow twice each evening for poor little Phoenician kids who don't get to see snow.  We had to see it.  It was actually pretty beautiful, and the kids had a blast!  They shoot the snow off the roofs.

Don't you love the snow and the palm trees?

Butterflies, Butterflies!

The largest Butterfly House in the world, Butterfly Wonderland, just opened in Phoenix, so my Mom and I went.  Holy cow, what an experience.  If you are ever anywhere in the vicinity of Phoenix, you must go.  It was amazing.

When you first enter, you see a quick movie about the migration of Monarch butterflies.  After that, you go into a hall and see a line of amazing cases.  Every case is full of cocoons (moths) and chrysalises (butterflies).  What is beautiful is that some of them were empty, some were full, and some were actively hatching.  It was so cool.

And then, into the indoor rainforest!  We were told there were at least 2,500 butterflies and moths in there!  The other thing they told us was to watch every step.  The butterflies are apt to land right on the paths.  My Mom and I found that we walked in a paranoid fashion for about an hour after we left.

This guy hitched a ride on my back for a good 15 minutes as I walked around.

They really like fruit.

A couple landed on my Mom, too.

Another landed on my shoulder, and he was perfectly placed for me to take a close-up:

Strangely, outside the rainforest, Butterfly Wonderland had other attractions, such as a pool of rays that you could pet, some beehives with tunnels to the outdoors so the bees can go in and out, and…fish!  Such as these smoochy fish (official name -- ha!) that my Mom couldn't resist.

And now, some random pictures of butterflies that you can skip if you are bored.

See?  Pesky butterflies on the pathways.

Let's Go Western!

The next reception option we looked at is very cool: the Hotel St. Michael right on historic Whiskey Row in downtown Prescott.

We checked out their reception room, and it was really intimate and beautiful.  They also had a podium set up, so Kevin couldn't help but be possessed by an angry politician!

The next place we looked would be one of the great sister personality switches of all time.  Yes, we looked at the Prescott Valley Public Library.  My Mom and sister were so excited to show me the Library.  Similar to the Newburyport Public Library, the Prescott Valley Public Library is incredible given the small size of the town.

One of the most fun parts of the Library was a rooftop lounge.

Isn't that gorgeous?  I'm insanely jealous.  If a person could guarantee good weather, what an amazing place to have a wedding reception.  It was really big.

They also had a very, very nice meeting room.  The only problem was that the small kitchen attached to the meeting room wouldn't have been at all big enough for catering or cooking for such a crowd.  Bummer.

So the Prescott Valley Public Library is, as I said, gorgeous and new and huge.  Here are some pictures:

A funny little sculpture right inside the front door.  I only say funny because the fish is swimming in the dirt.  Weird.

A cafe right inside the front door with plenty of seating.

OUTDOOR seating!  I'm so envious!  Though they aren't taking any chances: note the fence around the area so that people can't make off with library goods.

A massive children's department!

And, finally, the snazziest sinks I have ever seen in a library bathroom.  I obsessively watch "Love It or List It" on HGTV, so I happen to know that these sinks are very "in."

The Library is on a big municipal campus, and as we walked away we found TONS of sculptures, so we had to take tons of pictures, of course.

Ooo!  Illegal tackling!

You will NOT score, kid!

Mom and I joining in the celebration!

Kevin and I battling over the sculpture.  It's mine!  It's mine!

Allyson petting the sweet puppy.

Kevin sitting on the little boy.  Um...

As I said, this was a municipal campus, which also includes the police station.  I started wondering what all happens in Prescott Valley when I saw this:

Yes, that is the Mobile Command Center.  Egads.