Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Day 194 Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop- Love Lives in Memories –Happy Valentine’s Day




On this Valentine’s Day, one of my blog inspiration books, Everything I Need to Know About Love I Learned From A Little Golden Book, says it so well, “love lives in our memories of simple, happy times.”  When I found Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop in the Pittsburgh's Strip District, the candies of my childhood brought back some  memories of those simple happy times.


Grandpa Joe's -Strip District, Pgh


                    Reflection
In Day 87, I  enjoyed Chicago like a child  when I found  Dylan's Candy Bar but  I            did not know that  Pittsburgh had one!There is nothing like being a kid (now an older, bigger kid) in a candy store. This  place had  floor to ceiling candy! I found the penny candy that I enjoyed during my childhood weekly Saturday matinee movies. I remember how at eight years of age, we were just dropped off for the day at the theater. We would go to the candy store next to it and get “sugared up,” filling our brown paper bag with our favorites for ten cents.  I also had a flashback to my weekly  grandparent Sunday visits when I found the candy  that frequented the  bowl on their coffee table!


Flying saucers
I have to admit that I was excited when I found my childhood loves (now called vintage candy): flying saucers that we pretended  were communion wafers with jimmies inside; wax bottles with super sugar flavored juice; candy dots that lined a white strip of paper and more. Everyone has their  favorite candy but  I think it's not really the candy but the memory attached to it that makes it so enjoyable.

If you’re not as sappy as me and just  have a sweet tooth, this place  has every kind  of sweet that you can imagine.  It also has homemade fudge, root beer from the tap and boast of over 300 types of bottled soda (that’s called pop to us natives from Pittsburgh).  I left Grandpa Joe's Candy Shop with my penny candy bag (now costing much more than a penny) filled. Latter, I enjoyed my flying saucers and remembered my Saturday matinee adventures with my childhood gang. 

Get some "vintage candy" from your childhood and Have a Happy Valentine’s Day filled with the love of that special memory of a simple, happy time, whatever it might be. 
My son --love this memory


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