Couple of Coffees

Laura's favorite small towns

These are my own choices, and if my husband has anything to add, he'll do so when he comes home from the annual guys' camping trip.

Northampton, Massachusetts. It's a college town with lots of fun vintage clothing shops and restaurants and a great vibe. Emily Dickinson's home is in nearby Amherst.

Saugatuck, Michigan. It's a fun little town on the water with great people watching.

Montclair, New Jersey, and surrounding towns. My old stomping grounds have certainly grown trendier in recent years. It's especially lovely in that area. And you can't beat the bagels or the pizza.

North Hero, Vermont. This tiny town on an island in Lake Champlain charmed us when we visited longtime family friends.

Hyde Park, New York. A cheap movie theater, grand old mansions and the CIA flanked by Hudson River beauty. What could be more interesting? Rhinebeck was fun, too.

Saratoga Springs, New York. The food was great, the shopping was great, and that's all without even making it to the springs for rejuvenation. Yes, it's also a college town.

Newport, Rhode Island, the land of the very rich back in the day. It's affordable to go visit and take tours of the mansions, where every room in every house is exquisite.

Lake Pleasant, New York. It's one of the many small towns in the Adirondacks, and although it was pouring rain, its charm did shine right through the gray. Plus seeing my kindergarten teacher there made it all the more special.

State College, Pennsylvania. It's a happening, funky college town, surrounded by farmland and pigs and horses.

Oxford, Mississippi, home of Faulkner and a very cool little town way out there in Mississippi, which is a lot of fun to spell as far as states go. College town? You bet.

posted by Laura the Writer @ 8:28 PM