A stop for ice cream around Lake Norman

“Going out for ice cream” can mean more than one thing. If all you really want is ice cream, you can step into any supermarket or convenience store and find something that’s icy, creamy and churned.

But “going out for ice cream” implies something more. It’s that special stop with the team when the Little Leaguers chalk up a win (or when they don’t). It’s a summer-evening drive while you wait for the house to cool off after supper.

It’s a break in a too-rushed day. It’s a special moment with your grandpa or a stolen moment with your grandchild.

Before the full heat of summer gets here, we looked around the Lake Norman area to find special places where you can get a cold treat. The reason to go is up to you. Mooresville Ice Cream Co., 172 N. Broad St., Mooresville, 704-664-5456, http://deluxe1924. Hours: 11 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays, and 3-7 p.m. during Cruise-Ins (the first Saturday of each month). Prices: $2 for single cup or cone up to $4.40 for a triple, plus kiddie-size for $1.20. Talk about eating local -- the little ice cream shop in downtown Mooresville is at the front of the DeLuxe Ice Cream plant, where they’ve been making ice cream since 1924. They’ve got plans to add an ice cream parlor with tables on the corner, but for now, it’s a simple place: A front room, a counter and a chalkboard for the flavors.

Make that a very big chalkboard. They usually carry around 34 flavors, from the new Red Velvet Cake (with a cream cheese swirl and chunks of cake) to Chocolate Overboard (chocolate ice cream with chocolate fudge ripple and chocolate truffle chunks).

Don’t miss the cooler full of frozen treats. DeLuxe is known for its ice cream sandwiches, including double-chocolate, and the hand-dipped Nutty Cone. Carolina Cones, 20801 N. Main St. (N.C. 115) in downtown Cornelius, 704-892-8190. Hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. daily through Nov. 15. Prices: $2.88 to $4.53 for cones and cups; half-gallons are $8.70. This is the crowd-pleaser, and a beloved institution in Cornelius since 1981. It’s a combination ice cream parlor and garden center, so you can stop in for plants and cool off before you do the yardwork.

Owner Gary Winge (wing-GEE) opened the ice cream shop as a business for his mother to run and ended up adding a garden center to have a second business. While they were closed for the winter, he gave the place a facelift, taking out the video rentals and adding a new seating area. But he wouldn’t dare make major changes -- the toy train with the Hershey’s Syrup tank car still runs around the track just below the ceiling, and the toy and candy vending machines still draw kids.