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Summertime comes with hot days, afternoon thunderstorms and its own sweet treats: watermelon, lemonade and, of course, ice cream.
Bethesda residents have several ice cream shops to choose from and different types frozen treats to select. There are gelato shops, places for purchasing frozen yogurt and even a cart that moves about selling shaved ice in a variety of flavors.
"Our biggest seller is ice cream cones. Swiss chocolate is an original Gifford's flavor so people like that," said Jordan Miller, 17, of Bethesda, who is spending her second summer dipping ice cream at the store.
Enjoying Miller's hand-dipped cones were Eileen Rogers and her daughters from Downers Grove, Ill., spending some vacation time with her sister, Carol Rogers and niece Grace Swinnerton, 14, of Bethesda.
"It's hard to pass an ice cream place," said Eileen Rogers, who confesses to eating ice cream every day in the summer.
They were at Gifford's on the recommendation of Swinnerton.
"I come here a lot with my friends," Swinnerton said.
Sitting outside the shop last Friday, along with three of her friends was Mary Dixon, 70, of Silver Spring, just finishing up a hot fudge sundae, another of Gifford's specialties.
"My mother used to love the hot fudge sauce so I always get a sundae in honor of her," Dixon laughed.
She also revealed that she worked two summers herself at the Gifford's store in Silver Spring while at Montgomery Junior College in Takoma Park in 1959-60.
"The hot fudge sauce is as good as it was [then]." Dixon said.
Not-so-good humor man
Ice cream man Kaba Arafan's sales are like the temperatures in his freezers: "Down, down down."
Despite the inviting climate outside his Good Humor truck on Saturday afternoon, Arafan says he is struggling to match his sales from his previous work seasons, which usually run from May through October but sometimes begin in April.
"It depends on the weather," he says.
Taking a short break outside the Montgomery Farm Women's Cooperative Market on Wisconsin Avenue in Bethesda, he says ice cream sandwiches are the best sellers so far this year. His patrons do face the agony of choice, however, when confronted with illustrations of Snow Cones, Lick-a-Color popsicles, Cookies N' Cream Shakes, and other treats that seem designed to bring adults back to their childhoods, if not their youthful waistlines.
Sadly, the ice cream truck itself is not fun for children of all ages: Arafan says his insurance policy does not cover additional riders in his vehicle.
Arafan, a Prince George's County resident, has been in the United States for the past 13 years, after emigrating from Guinea, in western Africa. He's worked as a Good Humor man for the past decade. He said his brother and cousin were both ice cream truck salesmen when he came to the U.S., so he felt it was a job he could do. He also used to have a job as a delivery truck driver.
Asked what his favorite part of the job is, Arafan replies that he doesn't really like the work much. But he cracks a smile when asked about his songs. He has eight different enticing whimsical tunes that he can play over the truck's speakers, controlled by a box directly over his seat. He switches between the songs rapidly to illustrate his point, creating a somewhat jarring effect for the listener.
While his freezers may keep the ice cream cold, Arafan himself can find the temperatures in his truck uncomfortable during the summer.
"When it's too hot, you don't have AC inside," he says.
Soft serve groupies
With gourmet soups, fresh baked bread and espresso on the menu, Kensington's Old Town Market tries to cater to a mature palate. But on summer days, even the most adult of tastes give in to their inner child and spring instead for the soft serve ice cream.
"I came looking for some broccoli, really," explained a sheepish Eleanor Scott of Silver Spring, waiting on store employee Melissa Gross to sling some chocolate ice cream into a bowl. "They didn't have any."
Gross tried to cheer her up with some soft serve nutrition facts: 4 ounces of the vanilla has 160 calories.
"Less than half of that is from fat, it's pretty good," Gross explained.
With a taste, Scott concurred. "Good. Yes. Pretty good."
Even on a rainy Friday afternoon, business was steady with streams of families coming in for something sweet. Owner Suzy Cooper said she might keep the ice cream machine open through the winter.
"It's so funny, sometimes we'll have people come in at 10 in the morning for ice cream," Cooper said.
Manager Carmen Lucas said there's only one time when ice cream sales are predictable.
"The store is closed at 8 o'clock. At 10 minutes to 8, we have a line," she said, gesturing along the length of the counter.
Friday, several of the younger patrons were coming from basketball and football camps at St. Johns College High School.
Liam Rafferty, 8, of Kensington, cooled his sunburned face with errant smears of a vanilla cone with sprinkles as a celebration his week at football camp, while sisters Erin, 12, and Kelsey, 6, enjoyed their own chocolate-dipped and twist treats.
Kelsey was carefree save a freezy headache. "I have to slow down! I'm eating it too fast!"
Their mother Michele said all three of the kids spent the week at various camps and even the rain couldn't dampen their spirits.
"It's been a great fun week and we just decided to treat ourselves," she said, as they often do at the soft serve counter. "We're like groupies."
Celebrating with a solo scoop
Once a week, Art Schmidt makes his way out of his apartment complex, down River Road, and into the Wow Cow ice cream shop for a frozen treat.
The soft-spoken 79-year-old usually sticks with something simple — "Chocolate is my favorite," he said. The day of the week that Schmidt chooses as ice cream day varies; usually it's over the weekend, but sometimes he cheats and gets his scoop early in the week, allowing him a second cone a few days later.
"It's just nice to get out and about," the Bethesda resident said. "I'm 79 years old, so I figure every day alive is a good one."
A retired government employee — "I would tell you what I did," he told a reporter, "but I wouldn't want to bore you" — Schmidt said he usually shuffles down River Road late in the afternoon, when his sweet tooth gets a craving. Schmidt usually grabs his cone and then walks around the rest of the Kenwood Station shopping center, checking out the fruit outside Whole Foods or catching a glimpse of diners at Ledo Pizza.
While he has other friends in his apartment complex, he prefers to eat his ice cream solo.
"I always come alone," he said. "It helps me think."
At his age, Schmidt, who on Friday wore a blue polo shirt, dark brown pants and tan orthopedic shoes, said he should enjoy the ice cream while he can.
"Oh, friends of mine pass away, and I'm still here," he said with a chuckle. "I've made it this far, so a little ice cream can't hurt."
Staff writers Peggy McEwan, Andrew Ujifusa, Jen Beasley and Bradford Pearson contributed to this report.
