Anyone with children or grandchildren knows that visiting the gift shop is one of the exciting parts of a trip for little kids. I am of mixed minds when it comes to the gift shop. I know that my two children can become a bit fixated on the gift shop and make me crazy by asking if we are going to stop by the shop. But, I do like to visit the gift shops of museums because I know they raise money from the gift shops to help support the exhibits that we go to enjoy.
On a recent drive to see my mom, we decided to take a side trip to the Toy Museum in Natural Bridge, VA along the way. This was a last minute decision and we pulled off the road at 3:45. The kids were excited as we walked down the stairs to the museum, but as we approached the window to buy tickets I saw that the museum closed at 4:00. The tickets weren’t cheap, so 15 minutes of walking around to see the toys was out of the question. So, what was I going to do? I decided my only way out was to say, “Do you guys want to visit the gift shop?”
Two scoops of ice cream later, we were back in the car and I was thanking my lucky stars there was a gift shop to save me.
