WHERE IS YOUR “MUST GO” PLACE WHEN VISITING NEW TOWN?

Every Thanksgiving, like many families, we go around the table to share what we are thankful for.  I have saved these “thankfuls” for my family for the past 25 years and laugh and cry every year when I bring them out and put them on the coffee table for others to enjoy.  When you do something so consistently you bring up memories of those still with us and those that have departed, you bring up memories of your own life and where you were at a certain time stage in your life and memories, for me, of joy and love.

One year I switched it up a little and before asking what everyone was thankful for I asked them “when you go to a new town, what is your “must go” to place?” This was way before Save Small Shops and had nothing to do with shopping local.  It was just a question that came to me as we were all entering an age where we were traveling and exploring new places.

The youngsters all said toy stores of course but us elders had to take a few minutes to think about it. The answers were across the board and so many of them we were all shocked about.  One sister goes to local grocery stores, a nephew looks for music stores and a niece was a vegetarian restaurant. Even though I asked the question I actually had to think about my answer because I hadn’t even had time to think about my answer (I hosted Thanksgiving until last year and had cooking and cleaning to do).  I couldn’t decide on just one until someone at the table said I could actually combine them!   Any ideas on what they were?

For me it was independently owned coffee shops and bookstores.  I shared that I thought that was where the locals hung out and where you could get a pulse on what the town was like.  I still, probably 10 years later, find a locally owned coffee shop and bookstore (yes, often combined now) to visit whenever I go to a new town.  What is your “go to?”