We love where we live.
Well, most of the time.
There are days I dream of living in the South,
where the manners are nicer and the pace of life slower
(and the cost of living cheaper!)
Or I dream of living in the Midwest,
with its practicality and hardworking folk
and their common-sense values.
I occasionally wonder about areas like Utah
but by and large I don't know enough about the Northwest
to really long for it.
I'd like to vacation there, though.
But, amidst all the dreaming,
I do have a great appreciation for where we live.
Our town and the area around it
has won numerous awards for being
"The Best Place to Live"
and "The Best Place to Raise a Family."
While the cost of living is high,
the schools are fantastic,
there are lots of opportunities to do things outside,
their are a multitide of cultural opportunities all around us.
Since we are "stay-cationing" this year,
the kids and I took a day a week or two ago
to just explore a town nearby.
We had a lovely time.
After a bite of lunch,
we looked over the bridge for turtles and fish in the river below.
By crossing the bridge on foot, we went from one county to the next!
The kids kindly posed for a snapshot
and we continued on our way.
Next we went into one of their favorite stores,
the one they call the "Fairy Store."
This multi level store is literally chock-full of every fantastical thing
you can imagine!
They have a level devoted to all things Halloween
plus huge areas all devoted to Christmas towns.
They have doll rooms, fairy rooms and various freaky things everywhere!
After browsing along our way at a few displays here and there,
and going into the best old-timey toy store in the Mid Atlantic
with a proprietor named Frank who hand picks the toys,
the kids then went to an old Country Store where there is, quite literally,
PENNY CANDY!!
This is so much fun for the kids, as 25 cents can buy quite a bit of candy,
given in a little brown paper sack.
Unfortunately, there were no chocolate babies that day. :-(
The kids and I took our candy and climbed up on the big rocks
to overlook the little town while they ate their rock candy.
They had a blast and I had fun too.
These are the days that childhood memories are made of!
