Well we are back in the Northwest where every time we visit we get our fare share of water!! This time it was a little more than we asked for. With I-5 shut down because the salmon made their river across the freeway and parking lots flooded up to the tops of cars it was an interesting experience, to say the least! However, all you loyal Schokinag Fans made sure you came out to say hello. Even the Redmond Fire Dept. thought they would pay us a visit! Hey, isn’t that the Oscar Meyer Mobile? Good old Nora would be thrilled to see her pal again!

With a high of 40 degrees and snow flurries coming in all around, it is the perfect time for drinking chocolate. After four 7-hour days of drinking chocolate selling and sampling, Cleveland has been converted to Schokinag! What a great success this show was. We met Food Network stars and saw great food demonstrations. Thanks to everyone at the IX center for you help and support. Hopefully next year it will be another huge success.

Sendik’s Market
10930 N. Port Washington Road
Mequon, WI
262-241-9525

Sendik’s Market
5200 W. Rawson Road
Franklin, WI
414-817-9525

These stores were such a hit!!! Thanks Sendik's for welcoming Schokinag Chocolate!!!

Since Nora left us we have found someone that is willing to join our crazy family!! Randy Butler, or as we will grow to know him, Big Tin Daddy has been making his rounds visiting all you Schokinag fans around the country. We hope you find following his travels just as exciting as Nora's!

Well as many of you have followed this travel log, you will notice that Nora has not checked in in awhile. Rest assured Nora or Big Tin Momma as we all grew to know her as, is doing fine but moved on to bigger and better things in January 06. We all loved her and her abundant sense of humor and certainly wish her the best of luck!

We officially began our first Earth Fare Roadshow (a 13 store schedule throughout the southeast) in Boone, NC and their other North Carolina stores in Asheville, Charlotte, Greensboro, Chapel Hill and Raleigh soon followed. We then visited Earth Fare stores in Charleston and Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina. While in Charleston, I managed a quick visit to Fort Sumter, the sight of the shot that started the Civil War. Unfortunately, an unexpected ice storm caused us to cancel (and reschedule in early 2006) our remaining South Carolina visits in Columbia and two stores in Greenville. We finished the Roadshow with visits to the Earth Fare stores in Athens, Georgia and Knoxville, TN. Interestingly, Schokinag's Extreme Dark Drinking Chocolate was always the first flavor to sell out. We think this trend shows that the consumer is listening to the research indicating the positive health effects for the consumption of dark chocolate and changing their eating habits in response. It is nice to be able to share Schokinag's Extreme Dark - the darkest drinking chocolate available on the market. Triple Chocolate was a close second and our new Moroccan Spice and Chocolate Mint also proved to be popular holiday gifts and stocking stuffers. More often than not, I heard, "One for Aunt Betty, one for me, one for my neighbor and one more flavor for me." There's no reason why everyone shouldn't be happy at this time of the year!! It was a pleasure to work with all of the Earth Fare employees, visit their stores and meet their customers. We look forward to our visits in 2006! Until next time, safe travels from Big Tin Mama!

Introducing the newest addition to the Schokinag Chocolate family! You can see me, Chelsea Ingalls, driving this new Scion xB, all around the Seattle area! It is a bit like driving a go-cart, and yes it looks like it is a wind up car but I love it! We recently had these awesome graphics "wrapped" on to the vehicle and since then you would not believe the amount of waves and stares I get. The local ferry workers just smile and shake their head, kids point and yell at their moms, but I especially love the fact people follow me into a parking lot to thank us for such a wonderful product or to ask where they can find it. Like Big Tin Mama, I too am having to convince people my car is not filled with chocolate or I have not been sent by the chocolate God's. All in all the attention is wonderful and I love the enthusiasm! So, if you see me cruising thru your town, give me a wave or a honk and thanks for your support!

My thermos if full of Triple Drinking Chocolate and we are at the West Point Market in Akron, Ohio to participate in the store's "Day of Chocolate!" The Tin and I are at the store entrance greeting everyone with a sample of three flavors of drinking chocolate - Triple, Dulce de Leche or German Chocolate Cake. Inside, Maren has set us up with a wonderful display of our drinking chocolates and retail baking bars - complete with samples of the most mouth-watering chocolate pudding made with Schokinag's Bittersweet Baking Bar. Big and little kids alike are exiting the store with chocolate on their faces! For part of the day, the Firestone High School girl's swim team has joined me at the store entrance to raise money for the local children's hospital (there are also girls swimming a continuous marathon at the high school pool at the same time). I was happy to supply them with samples of drinking chocolate and of course, give a donation. All in all, a wonderful day at West Point Market filled with good feelings inside! Thanks for the hospitality! Until next time, safe travels from Big Tin Mama!

My day has started with my thermos filled with Extreme Dark drinking chocolate in honor of the time change - it is now dark in the morning when I start my travels on the road! The sunrise is beautiful, the trees are in full color mode and driving through parts of this state is like being on a roller coaster - roads that roll up and down and twist and turn. We have finally arrived at the Louisville, Kentucky Whole Foods store for a day of sampling. My stomach settles back into place and the drinking chocolate is flowing like a chocolate stream. German Chocolate Cake seems to be the favorite for the locals! Thanks to everyone for a great event! Until next time, safe travels from Big Tin Mama!

I am on the road traveling to my next event when I wake up this morning to find another "mobile" vehicle parked at the hotel across the street. Coincidence? I think not. Good thing I have visited The Spy Museum and paid attention. I took advantage of the early morning darkness, put on black clothes and used the bushes and trees surrounding the parking lot to mask my approach. I whipped out my digital camera and quickly snapped a photo of the "intruder." I quickly returned to my room, packed up the Tin, filled my thermos with a mix of coffee and Dulce de Leche drinking chocolate and made my getaway before detection. This may have been a trick but I got the treat! Until next time, safe travels from Not-So-Secret Chocolate Agent, Big Tin Mama!

For the next two days, the Big Tin and I will be making our debut at two of four Straub's stores in the St. Louis, Missouri area. This is a special visit for us because Straub's was one of the first gourmet retailers/grocers in the U.S. to order/stock Schokinag's retail line - including the drinking chocolate! After my visit, I can see why their customers are so loyal and the business has been operating for over a hundred years - the professional staff gave new meaning to the words "customer service" and the quality of the products on the shelves was only top-of-the-line. It was a pleasure working with both stores and I look forward to many visits in the future! Until next time, safe travels from Big Tin Mama!

I'm in Chicago at the exquisite gourmet food store, Fox & Obel (just down the street from Navy Pier), for a day filled with chocolate - "Choctoberfest!" The store is filled with a variety of chocolate stations and the Big Tin and I are sitting right outside of the store's entrance. We are having a blast handing out samples of five flavors of drinking chocolate - triple, extreme dark, dulce de leche, german chocolate cake and chocolate mocha. The neighborhood is buzzing and our corner turns out to be the "tour bus" drop off site for tours visiting Navy Pier and we are in high gear from the minute we open our windows until the end of the day. What a fun day - thanks Daniel, Keith, Meme and all of the wonderful staff at Fox & Obel!

After our Fort McHenry experience, I decided it might be best to leave the Big Tin with babysitters at the hotel while I spend a few hours in Washington, D.C. As many times as I have been here, it is always nice to visit new places while re-visiting old favorites. This trip I visited Ford's Theater where President Lincoln was shot and the house across the street where he died. Also, I spent several hours investigating The Spy Museum. What a fascinating place. If you find me staring at your shirt buttons the next time you visit the Big Tin for a drinking chocolate sample, don't be alarmed. I am only looking to see if you have a hidden camera! Until next time, safe travels from Big Tin Mama (my code name!)!