What’s your favorite candy?

Every year growing up, my whole extended family would take a week-long vacation to a little beach resort in Wisconsin. We would fill almost the entire resort with just our relatives. Cabin upon cabin, filled with lifetimes of familiar faces. This resort was tucked away in a tiny town out in the middle of nowhere with the absolute best candy shop in the world. I remember it being filled with every candy you could think of, my family’s own version of the candy shop at the beginning of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. They even had the freshest salt water taffy and they served ice cream cones with flavors you couldn’t find anywhere else.

But…. I didn’t really love a whole lot of candy. I still ate various pieces because they reminded me of vacation and family time, but I never cared much for chocolate and tended to prefer savory over sweet as a kid.

Fast forward to 2020, and for the first time in over a decade, I was able to bring my own family on that same family vacation! Of course, we stopped off at the candy shop. It was different, there was a global pandemic deeply effecting this town’s viability and the candy store was not exempt from these hard times. Still, you could actually FEEL the leftover magic when you stepped into the store, even with many empty shelves. I’m happy to report the candy store is still there today, and we’ll be back again this summer to fill up our candy bags with all the goodies that remind me of my grandma and, with any luck, will one day remind my own grandkids of me. Generational candy.