Avid (adjective) – having or showing a keen interest in or enthusiasm for something. It’s more than just our company’s namesake. Passion for our work and for the things we love is part of our core values. Each month we’ll share some of the things we’re Avid Fans of with you. 

July 18 is National Ice Cream Day and we’re celebrating here at Avid Core! While this time of year leaves us craving a scoop of ice cream to cool off, we don’t need an excuse to enjoy a dessert that satisfies the sweet tooth in all seasons of the year. 

Ice cream used to be created mainly with whole milk, and the classic chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors were typically the only ones around. This once-simple dessert has become increasingly versatile with coconut or oak milk-based foundations, organic, sugar-free, and vegan options, and just about any flavor imaginable. Whether you prefer a creamy texture or a light and fluffy consistency, nobody can resist the joy and deliciousness ice cream will bring. Here’s the scoop on some of our team’s favorite flavors and the ice cream shops that we can’t resist. 

Amanda – Cinnamon! 

It’s so hard to choose my favorite, but the only flavor I’ve actively sought out and had a hard time finding is cinnamon (thanks, Wegmans, for coming to the rescue). I’ve had to be dairy free for the past year, and there are many great dairy-free ice creams now that are made with coconut milk, cashew or almond milk, and sunbutter. So glad the ice cream industry is on board with expanding options for those with dairy allergies!

Ashley – Blue Bell’s Homemade Vanilla 

I’m going to go back to my roots for this one. As a native Texan, the only answer to this question can be Blue Bell’s Homemade Vanilla. It has everything you can ever need in an ice cream – delicious flavor, creamy texture, and a heavy dose of nostalgia. It tastes like school field trips to the creamery, childhood birthday parties, and a hug from mom.  

While Blue Bell offers many delicious flavors (Hello Mardi Gras King Cake flavor!), you simply cannot go wrong with a bowl of homemade vanilla. Eaten by itself or topped with M&Ms, chocolate chips, or Oreos, it’s my favorite ice cream by far. 

Stephanie Mace – Penn State’s Berkey Creamery 

We take the “best ice cream” award very seriously in my family. My daughters were raised to believe that Penn State’s Creamery ice cream is the best and there will always be a bottomless supply of their favorite flavors stocked in Nana & Poppa’s freezers. It is a delicious treat on a hot day or post-tailgating. Every Penn State alum will be quick to tell you that happy cows are raised in Happy Valley and Ben & Jerry (yes, the Ben & Jerry) received their ice cream education from Penn State in 1977. While I can’t dispute the facts, I am on a mission to fill up my ice cream passport and learn all about the delicious types of ice cream out there! 

Michael – Amorino Gelato 

In July 2013, I traveled to Europe with my best friend and while in Paris and Rome, we stumbled across a gelato shop called Amorino. Within seconds after my first bite, I understood why this chain has expanded to nearly 200 locations worldwide (and 13 in the U.S.). Its signature is its rose-shaped gelato, but the rose shape never holds its form for long because it’s just too good not to dive right into. 

When we came back from Europe, we thought we’d never taste Amorino again because we thought it was only a European gelato chain. Two years later, we visited friends in New York and randomly saw one store while walking around Manhattan. All the feelings of nostalgia from the greatest adventure of our lives took over just by reading the sign and multiplied as we dove into sweet tooth heaven. Every gelato cone we eat from Amorino will always bring back that happiness into our hearts and our taste buds.

Andrew – Raspberry Sorbet 

My family made a quick stop on my first trip to DC — long before I knew I’d be living here — at Larry’s Cookies and Ice Cream, where I had the raspberry sorbet. It was life changing! I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth for chocolate/caramel/etc., but I do like fruit-flavored ice cream. I haven’t made it back to Larry’s recently, but raspberry sorbet is still my favorite and now I have a couple of go-to brands at the grocery store. 

Virginia – Ube/Halo-Halo  

We’re all fans of ice cream in my house. Ice cream sandwiches, soft serve, traditional, blizzards, McFlurries…you name it! The ice cream man even pulls into our driveway because nine times out of 10, we’re buying! It is hard to choose a favorite so I’ll represent the Filipino favorite — Ube and Halo-Halo. Ube ice cream is a Filipino ice cream made from purple yam as the main ingredient and it is the center of stage of Halo-Halo, a popular Filipino dessert! 

Tremayne – Vanilla Ice Cream  

After discovering the churro dog last year while watching the Arizona Diamondbacks game, I can no longer deny having a sweet tooth. I’ve always enjoyed sweet treats like donuts and churros, but it took a genius to think of pairing them with three scoops of creamy vanilla ice cream. This Chase Field exclusive fuses these satisfying treats into a beautiful granular creation and I think it’s the vanilla ice cream that brings everything together. Can anything ever go wrong with vanilla ice cream? 

Avid (adjective) – having or showing a keen interest in or enthusiasm for something. It’s more than just our company’s namesake. Passion for our work and for the things we love is part of our core values. Each month we’ll share some of the things we’re Avid Fans of with you.

2020 changed the world with the emergence of COVID-19; the way we worked, learned, interacted, and lived transformed as restrictions and social distancing became the new norm. Masks and hand sanitizer became everyday accessories, traveling was either limited or out of the question, and everyone wondered when they would finally get to physically embrace their loved ones again. More than 15 months have passed since the World Health Organization officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic, but after enduring many obstacles and uncertainties, society is slowly transitioning back to life as we once knew. Check out some of the activities the Avid Core team is grateful to experience again.

Amanda – Getting My Hair Done

The first thing I scheduled when I received my vaccine was a hair appointment! I am not particularly concerned about looks, but after a year of not having any excuse to look nice, I was eager to shake things up with a new ‘do!

Photo by Amanda Roberts

Ashley – Seeing Family

As soon as our whole family’s vaccination dates were set, my parents booked a flight to visit. In early May 2021, we were finally reunited for the first time since January 2020. We spent the week soaking up time together, visiting restaurants that we had previously only been able to do takeout from, and taking our dogs to our favorite bar/dog park combo, Barkhaus.

While I’m infinitely grateful for the ways technology kept my family connected during the pandemic, there is no Zoom call that can compare to that first hug in person! My sister lives in Wales and I am eagerly awaiting the day the U.K. eases its travel restrictions for vaccinated travelers so we can also have that beautiful moment.  

Photo contributed by Ashley Dobson

Stephanie – Exploring New Restaurants, Wineries, and Breweries

With an amazing vintage picnic basket always packed, we are ready to drive a few extra miles to visit new places to eat, unwind, and play games. My family created a post-pandemic checklist, which included hugging grandparents, going sailing, hanging out with friends again, and water balloon fights. Now that we’ve gotten those important activities out of the way, we’re turning our attention to other places to be explored! There are so many fun small towns that offer a much-needed change of scenery within 1 hour of DC. Whether it’s a local farm that provides horseback riding lessons for my daughters and delicious brews for parents, a trip to Fort Monroe, or a Middleburg winery for a besties day out, people of all ages can experience something new. Really, it’s a win-win situation. We are getting the opportunity to discover new favorite places/drinks/treats while supporting small business owners. Feel free to let me know what else to add to our never-ending checklist!

Photo by Stephanie Mace

Andrew – Attending Food Festivals

After having been a regular at Taste of DC since I moved here more than eight years ago, I’m looking forward to the return of food festivals to the DC area the most. While I’ve done my best to support restaurants in my neighborhood throughout the pandemic, there’s nothing close to the experience of wandering through all the stalls and food trucks to sample street food from around the world.

Photo by Taste of DC

Tremayne – Spectating Basketball

As life seems to slowly return to normal, I am looking forward to a few things like live concerts, local farmer’s markets, and spectating basketball games. We all remember when it seemed like the world stopped turning, but it didn’t connect with me until after basketball games at the local and professional levels were canceled.

Across the Navajo reservation, basketball is king. You’ll understand what I mean after watching Basketball or Nothing on Netflix – a show based on sharing the struggles of high school basketball players from the reservation. My nephew is featured in the final episode. I come from a big basketball family and am a former player, coach, and now an avid spectator. I cannot wait until I can attend a basketball game to cheer on my nieces and nephews playing at the local high school level and cheer on the Phoenix Suns as they make a run for NBA Western Conference Finals.

Photo by Tremayne Nez

Michael–Planning My Wedding with My Fiancée

When my fiancée and I became engaged in December 2019, we were set on having our wedding in the Spring of 2021. After watching couples across the country either cancel, postpone, or adjust their wedding format to comply with their respective state regulations, we were worried about taking that route for our wedding as well. We weren’t crazy about the thought of looking back at our wedding photos years down the road and seeing us and our wedding guests masked or knowing we had a 10-guest wedding, but also, we weren’t willing to jeopardize putting our loved ones at risk, especially since many of our family members and some friends had underlying health conditions and higher in age, so we were willing to push our date further down the road in hopes life would return to normal sooner rather than later. Thankfully, it did.

Planning a wedding during the pandemic was difficult and full of unknowns because vendors weren’t operating and venues wouldn’t allow us to physically visit, which made solidifying a date, booking vendors, and financially and logistically planning nearly impossible. Also, nobody knew when we would be able to travel or be able to hold and attend gatherings of any sort and how many could congregate in one place, indoors or outdoors.

Now that life has come back to normal, we’ve booked our venue, locked our ceremony to September 2022, and can plan and have the wedding we anticipated on creating and celebrating with everyone we love without the worries COVID-19 gave us in the past.

Photo contributed by Michael Chan-Lok

Virginia – Traveling

I love to travel, internationally and domestically. We took COVID-19 precautions very seriously, especially before my parents, in-laws, and all of us who were eligible for vaccination were vaccinated. Needless to say, we have not travelled much during the pandemic, certainly not by plane. Now that we’re all vaccinated, I can’t wait to travel again and continue to explore the world with my family.

Our first stop is southern California at the end of July! My husband was born at Camp Pendleton and a few years ago, we were able to see the house he grew up in before moving to Virginia and ate a bakery his parents frequented when they were first stationed there. We realized that there is so much more to see…including Disneyland!

Photo by Virginia Quiambao Arroyo

Avid (adjective) – having or showing a keen interest in or enthusiasm for something. It’s more than just our company’s namesake. Passion for our work and for the things we love is part of our core values. Each month we’ll share some of the things we’re Avid Fans of with you. 

May is National Preservation Month! This month we celebrate the importance of preserving historic sites across the U.S., which provide a sense of pride both in our nation and within local communities. Avid Core’s work prioritizes effective community outreach that supports environmental and cultural planning, including the preservation of America’s historic and archaeological resources.

In celebration of the spirit of this month, we’re sharing a few sites on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) that hold special meaning for our team.

Hana – Dix Hill in Raleigh, NC

Founded in 1856, Dorthea Dix Hospital, located on Dix Hill, was the first facility caring for mentally ill patients in my home state of North Carolina. Today, the facility is no longer open, but you can still honor its history at Dorthea Dix Park, Raleigh’s largest city park. I spent many days after high school at the park— a wide open grassy field perfect for frisbee and picnics with friends. My first quarantine hangout was at this park, with plenty of space to socially distance. It is so easy to take for granted the dissipating stigma around mental health and the institutions we have in place today that care for those who need treatment. Visiting the origin of such an iconic care facility reminds me of the amazing progress we have made, as well as the work that still needs to be done.

Amanda- Frying Pan Park

Frying Pan Park is a working farm park that preserves and interprets farming from the 1920s to 1950s. It includes historical buildings, farm animals, old farm equipment, a 1920s carousel, and a modern playground.  My children and I love coming here in the early mornings before the rush of visitors to see the farm animals as they are just waking up. As the area around this park becomes more developed, this park seems like a hidden country treasure and a reminder of what much of this area (now suburbia) used to look like. 

Steph – Beacons of Light

I’m that person who always buys the postcard with the local lighthouse on it. My fascination with watch towers started at an early age as I imagined myself as the keeper peacefully watching the sun dance across the water from 300 – 436 feet above the rest of the world. Before GPS and Siri existed, lighthouses spread across thousands of miles of shoreline proved to be vital beacons to captains anxiously navigating across the choppy seas. Each lighthouse is unique—the identification signal, the painted exterior, the curvature, and the design. That’s why I make sure to visit as many as possible during any road trip.  

Even though approximately 700 U.S. lighthouses have weathered the storm, they face many maintenance and funding challenges.  The National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000 allows the U.S. Coast Guard, National Park Service, and General Services Administration to sell the lighthouses to private owners and keep the beacons of lights around for many generations to come. I’m looking forward to crossing an item off my bucket list by staying at the Cove Point Keeper’s House in 2022. Be on the lookout for postcards!

Ashley – Duquesne Incline, Pittsburgh, PA

My husband went to grad school in Pittsburgh and when he was in class, I spent my time exploring this rich historical city. One of my favorite views came from the top platform at the Duquesne Incline, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.

At one point in time Pittsburgh was home to 17 active funiculars (aka inclines), using them to transport people and cargo up and down the many different hills located around the city. Now only two remain. The Duquesne is extra special because the community came together to save it, raising funds to make necessary repairs and working out a deal with the Port Authority of Allegheny County to keep it open and viable for the public.

Also, the Duquesne Incline features in Flashdance, a movie that stands as an absolute pop culture revelation. Its use in the movie makes no sense with the supposed geography in the film, but it’s just one more reason that this spot should be celebrated as a historical treasure!

Tremayne – Hubbell, Lorenzo, Trading Post, and Warehouse

The Hubbell Trading Post in Winslow, Arizona, was built in 1917 and was initially used for storage and shipping for the railroad. In 1920, the warehouse was sold to Lorenzo Hubbell, who transformed it into the Hubbell Trading Post. The trading post became the central location for Native Americans to exchange goods and supplies. The trading post was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002 and holds many great memories for my family. I remember hearing stories from my mom about how, as a kid, she would sit in a wagon for a day’s ride into Winslow from our home on the reservation. My mom and her siblings would wait outside the city limit while my grandpa rode alone into the town on horseback. He would visit the trading post and other places to gather essentials like flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and an occasional black licorice treat. Then, he would make the ride back and meet the wagon for another long trip home by nightfall.

Today, the trading post houses the Winslow Visitor Center, and the journey that once took a whole day can be made in 30 minutes by car. Whenever I drive through the area, I think about how fundamentally different and simple life was back then and appreciate the access to historical monuments and stories that hold value from the past.

Virginia – Malcom X Park (Meridian Hill Park), Washington D.C.

It is hard to describe what Malcolm X Park meant to me when I lived in Washington D.C. It was my gym, my running route, my yoga studio, my concert venue or dance hall, my reading “nook”, my meeting place with friends, and the list goes on. It was a sanctuary for me during times of uncertainty, and it is where I would go to keep myself grounded, think, and reflect. The park has also served as a wedding venue for several friends! Twelve acres of beautiful landscape sit atop a hill in the middle of Washington D.C. with an incredible cascading fountain. It has also been the site of a weekly drummer’s circle for decades, among other long-standing gatherings. The park was listed in the National Register on October 25, 1994 and as a National Historic Landmark on April 19, 1994.

The history this park holds can be its own column! I’ll list a few facts below from Washington Parks & People, but there is so much more, and I encourage you to learn more about it.

• The hilltop marks a defining feature of the federal city laid out by African American surveyor, writer, and naturalist Benjamin Banneker.  The hill would later be championed by Thomas Jefferson as the demarcation point for the Prime Meridian of the world.
• The hill was the site of a camp for Colonel Robert Gould Shaw before he went to his death as the commander of the 54th Massachusetts Union Army Regiment, the northeast’s first all-black regiment whose courage led to the naming of the adjacent neighborhood of Shaw.
• The hilltop was the home of a trail-blazing Black higher education institution called Wayland Seminary and College.
• Many African American homes were displaced for the creation of the park, and many African Americans helped build it.
• The park was America’s first national park built for the performing arts, with sunset performances ranging from Pearl Bailey to Bo Diddley Jr.
• Martin Luther King Jr. frequented the park whenever in D.C., staying at the next-door Pitts Motor Hotel.

Andrew – Benefit Street, Providence

On the East Side of Providence, RI near Brown University, Benefit Street is a one-mile stretch of historic and NRHP-listed buildings rich in colonial history and architectural tradition. If you catch it on a quiet night, it can be like traveling through time. Many of the historic houses (locals call them “plaque houses”) are still private homes, but others operate as museums during the day and offer tours. You can also find walking tours of the whole neighborhood—and at night, even ghost tours!

Here are some of the places you’ll discover in the area:

• John Brown House (1786)
• Nightingale-Brown House (1792)
• First Baptist Church (1785)
• The Providence Athenæum (1836)