Toft's Ice Cream

I knew my stomach would start growling once we hit the Ohio Turnpike. The lunch I had back in Virginia would be a distant memory and Christmas cookies and clementines would not be enough fuel for 12 hours on the road. Naturally, I had a plan. If my anatomy were the solar system, my stomach would be the sun.

We stopped in Sandusky, a town introduced to me by my friends Candice and Logan during our Thanksgiving carpool to Virginia. Sandusky is the proverbial last outpost of Southern sprawl, possessing comfort food chains Lee's Famous Chicken and Cracker Barrel that are far more popular below the Mason-Dixon line. Recharged with chicken and biscuits, we were ready for the last 5 hours. But first we had one more stop.

Pictured is the "small" cone at Toft's. Having had their "small" once before, I knew to order a two piece at Lee's instead of a three piece. This regional dairy's dipping parlor offers dozens of flavor options, so stopping on each of my drives home seems mandatory. Here are some of the flavors I've enjoyed:

• Orange Pineapple, orange ice cream with pineapple. (pictured, top)
• Wedding Cake, white cake batter ice cream with red raspberry filling and cake pieces.
• Graham Central Station, graham cracker ice cream with chocolate covered toffee and graham crackers. (pictured, bottom)
• Bullpen Chocolate, a rich chocolate cookies and cream with a fudge ripple.