1st Day of Spring!

One of my favorite "holidays" growing up was the 1st Day of Spring... It may not have been a big deal in your town, but in the Philly area it's quite a big deal! "Why," you ask? Free Water Ice!

Note: Before you correct me and tell me that it's "Italian" ice and not "Wudder" ice, please realize that it's not worth the fight that I'm going to win anyway... Where I grew up it's "Water Ice" and nearly sacred!

We grew up with water ice places all around and would save up our pennies and change from Mom's car so we could ride our bikes down to Rita's and get a treat. We'd sit on the curb, or on our bikes, and savor every moment!

Anyone from the Philly area knows that Rita's always has free water ice on the first day of Spring... and is willing to sit in the line and wait for it!

When a Rita's opened in MD and my hubby's family told me about it, I may have scared them a bit by reciting my favorite favors and telling them all about the 1st Day of Spring! After all the only "Philly" things that I really care about are my cheesesteaks (forget about Pat's and Geno's- save yourself the drama and go to Tonelli's, Slack's, or a small shop downtown!), soft pretzels (with spicy mustard!), and water ice!

This year we lucked out and had a gorgeous day... The perfect night to take Doodle over to Rita's and eat water ice on the curb!