Chrissy sent me treats—fancy chocolate covered licorice, crunchy chocolate espresso beans, gorgeous Pecan Caramel Waves, milk chocolate Bear Claws, and ahem, M&M's type Old Age Pills—from the Mantoulin Chocolate Works in Northern Ontario, where there are bears, chocolate bears.
This is what can happen when you shoot chocolate bear in Wisconsin in April (I like to think where there's sun, there's melting chocolate).Today it snowed and Friday it's going to be 80˚, go figure.
You can still see how pretty this Pecan Caramel Wave (i.e., turtle) is. Tell me you wouldn't grab it and shove the whole thing in your mouth no questions asked? Although the fancy chocolate covered licorice held up well, I think the wave was the tastiest. I like how it already looked melty.Which got me thinking, which candy travels best?
You can go to a camping store to see what they repackage and stamp their own brand name on, or hit the road, stop in a town along the way, and see what holds up.
What's your favorite road trip candy?It's got to stand up to the elements, be accessible to a lone driver, easily shared with passengers, stay solid after being holed up in the car for hours, and of course taste good.
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And speaking of elements, if you're road tripping to Devil's Lake, look out for these
Sorry, not Elvis, I mean these
Those specs on the rocks and in the air are bugs, lots and lots of bugs. There are so many crowding the air that Ranger Dave says they're choking people's car engines. They moved a Honda Fit from a South Shore parking lot to the Devil's Doorway. They're drinking cans of Red Bull and defacing trails signs. Guess what they did with the name "Tumbled Rocks?"I'd leave the candy in the car.
Oh, man! Did the chocolate melt in transit??!?! Gah! I was hoping to get them to you before it got too hot out. Melted chocolate isn't so much fun when it's not slathered on some hot hunk's body. Ahem...did I say that?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, sorry about the melty chocolate :( At least it'll taste better than it looks! Too bad, since they WERE pretty when I put them in the box!! :)
Love this post, Jeanna! You have a true gift for storytelling and writing. XO
I thought they were still pretty, C. and it was my lame ass photography skills that melted them, not the travel south.
ReplyDeleteYours is a better way of melting chocolate!
Thanks again, hon', kisses to LO.
wow, I've never seen chocolate covered licorice before. Like a really long and bendy chocolate covered pretzel. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of bugs are those? I was talking to some people who said they were drowning in love bugs. (Are they love bugs? And aren't love bugs just lady bugs?)
I thought they were gnats because when I asked Ranger Dave, "Hey Ranger Dave, what's with all the gnats?" he didn't correct me.
ReplyDeleteHis answer was "It's that time."
Then he told me how they got into car engines.
Damn, I remember in La Crosse in the seventies they had to bulldoze mayflies off the streets near the river like Soylent Green.
I only know the movie and I didn't see any gnats flying off with Volkswagens, but I'm pretty sure they were enough of them to do so.
The beautyof traveling with chocolate is that you are forced to eat it as quickly as possible. A favorite of mine is malted milk balls from Cracker Barrel. No road trip is complete without a stop at Cracker Barrel.
ReplyDeleteHey Thinker, The Cracker Barrel has a lot of nostalgic candy you can't find anywhere else.
ReplyDeleteI'm always sorry when I travel with chocolate. I think Red Vines and Snaps might be the best choices for me.
mmmmmmm...snaps....
ReplyDeleteI wish I had some right now. I was really disappointed that the ones I bought on my last visit to WI were stale. Dang.
Road trip candy would be snaps, indian raisins, or red vines.
I love stale Snaps, Mary Ruth.
ReplyDeleteI used to have a candy Jones for Indian Raisins now and again, but haven't had the urge in awhile, bet I will now that you've mentioned them.
Remember the Snap shortage from a few years ago?
I can't believe you dissed my favorite car?
ReplyDeleteThe Honda Fit!!!!
It's like the Rodney Dangerfield of cars.....it gets no respect?
That "Bear Claw" looks delish! I've never had one? Wonder if I can find one of those down here in the dirty Honda Fit south?
You know I have much love for the Honda Fit, James, but you in a Honda Fit is like a guy with a Boston Terrier. Oh. Sorry.
ReplyDeleteKisses to the girls.
I actually haven't seen many HFs around, but more and more Pontiac Vibes (aka the Toyota Matrix).
Bear Claws are a clever way to decorate a Turtle. The Pecan Caramel Wave beat it out.
Just read your post, James, so change that to grown man with a poodle.
ReplyDeleteJeanna--My jaws were so sore after chawing on those stale snaps...plus I thought I was gonna lose a filling or something. Gimme the nice soft fresh ones.
ReplyDeleteI thought of you when I saw this:
www.pub-corn.com Beer flavored popcorn.
(however, the reviews were not kind)
Excellent, M.R., just signed up for samples.
ReplyDeleteYou don't know you're eating candy unless your jaw aches and your fillings are in danger. Same goes for licorice and Peeps.
Crap, I almost barfed in mouth. A Kodac moment to be sure...
ReplyDelete**Guess what they did with the name "Tumbled Rocks?**
Um, bad-name bricks?
It's a dangerith world you live in, woman.
I was thinking more like humbled *ocks, Andi.
ReplyDeleteChocolate covered licorice?! Yummm!! I love the look of that path! We haven't walked much of Devil's Lake, we really should though. Would be great to see the Herons!
ReplyDeleteEww, why are there so many bugs???? I hate bugs.
ReplyDeleteIwanski and I are thinking of visiting the Kettle Moraine State Park on an upcoming trip to Wisconsin--do you think we'll see tons of bugs, too? I hope not.
As always, the candy pics on your blog made me hungry. :)
P.S. I just added your blog as a link on my blog. :)
If that's what they were, they're a little frightening, Lisa.
ReplyDeleteNot a fan of covering candy such as gummies or licorice with chocolate, but the licorice looked great and probably something I'd put out front in a candy store.
I'm trying to become familiar with more of the DL paths, but bad knees don't make for good climbing.
Thanks, Miss HP, it's the time of year when they hatch, but I'm seriously worried about what they did to my engine.
ReplyDeleteI went back a week later and they attacked the car as soon as I parked, inside and out.
You should have a little while to walk in the woods without getting eaten alive. Maybe until the end of May, depends on the weather, are you going to KM North or Southern Unit?
What are Indian Raisins. Nevermind, I'll google them. Indian raisins? Wow, I remember those days--the days when licorice and chewy candy didn't scare my dental insurance. It's not the same when you have to suck on jujubes.
ReplyDeleteJujubes are deadly little lumps of sugar, Jodi woman.
ReplyDeleteDid you see Indian Raisins on Google? They're usually softer and don't seem to stick as badly as the rest of the gummi pyramid.
I started to put up a post of your scrumlicious candy yesterday, but had to leave for Milw to watch the Pirates lose to the Brewers in the eighth.
Was wondering if you liked The Tudors on Showtime...got to start your book on the treadmill and love it—that series reminded me of you.