Will the End of Summer Mean the End of the Ice Cream Truck?

Lots of different goodies on the ice cream truck.

Almost every Sunday afternoon, the ice cream truck makes its way around the neighborhood and down our street. Now that summer is over I wonder if the ice cream truck will continue to make its rounds.

Dover/Davis Street ice cream truck.

When I was a kid living out in the country every now and then Tony's ice cream truck would come down the road ringing its bell. We would run out with our nickel (maybe dime) in hand to get ice cream.  Our neighborhood truck plays a calliope version of The Entertainer to announce its arrival, and a nickel or dime won't buy a popsicle these days.  Nonetheless, it's fun to hear the truck in the neighborhood, and it's fun to partake of its goodies.

Recently I just had to join the neighborhood kids and get a chocolate covered popsicle.  It reminds me of my childhood days back in Cleveland County.

Neighbors eating ice cream.

Chocolate covered popsicle.  My favorite.

Ice cream brings out the "kid" in me.

I hope the ice cream truck doesn't stop now that summer is over.

Cherry Blossoms on Dover Road

Cherry blossoms on Dover Rd.

Washington, DC is known for its Cherry Blossom Festival, and I once had the good fortune to be in Washington at the peak of the cherry blossom season.  But not this year.  However, we have our own neighborhood display of Yoshino Cherry blossoms.  I think the loveliest display is in Murphy's yard around the corner on Dover Rd.

In 1912, a gift of 3,000 cherry blossom trees was bestowed on Washington, DC by Tokyo, Japan. To this day, the Washington D.C area is famous for cherry blossom season. And this year, Washington is celebrating the Centennial of the Cherry Blossom Festival during a five week spectacle from March 20 – April 27, 2012.

The Yoshino Cherry is a native of Japan, Korea and China, but it grows well in North Carolina. It creates a real stir when blooms are as beautiful as they are this spring. The white to pinkish slightly fragrant flowers usually appear in mid to late March. So if you can't get to Washington this year, come around to Dover Rd. here in Raleigh, but you better hurry, because the cherry blossoms are at their peak and they won't last long.