Temples of our Familiar

Am I the only one who has a favorite place where we are transported back to a place and time where you felt a connection to? Or a place where you had an incredible experience that compels you to return to it...almost like a pilgrimage? Or someplace special where your memories foster and your muses revel in inspiration?

If you are like me, who have these temples of our familiar, copy and paste this passage, then start a list below, then share this list with others.

1. Bylery's grocery store.

When I was going to college at UW-RF, my friends and I would go on what we called Target runs. Because there was no department store in River Falls, Hudson, or any accompanying town, we would drive to Woodbury, MN, to the Target store and stock up on household stuff, like shampoo, cleaning supplies, toilet paper at the Target Store just off White Bear Ave. For lunch, we would go to the restaurant at Bylery's grocery store. Since I was from a small town, the idea of a grocery store with its own restaurant was incredible. And I'd never seen an upscale grocery store before. There was a chandelier over the frozen foods section. I never saw sushi until I was in the grocery store. Lee Ann Chin's. An unbelievable deli. Their own Wild Rice Soup! Fresh lobster in the tank at the seafood bar. I could go on an on, because I only heard about their sampler days, where some friends of mine have gone there for lunch and left stuffed! But I remember the coffee the most. The coffee they served in their restaurant is available in the store. And it was incredible.

The grocery store is still there. The restaurant is still there. The coffee is still available. The chandelier is gone, though. Mind you, there are more grocery stores with upscale features that are very similar. I can go to Whole Foods in Madison and it mostly satisfies. But when I'm visiting friends up north...I find an excuse to go to Bylery's and stock up on decaf Restauant Blend coffee.







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