SerpApi.Org
How many have you visited?
Summer is the very best season for nostalgia, perhaps because we had more time as children to go out and appreciate the beauty around us. We had both self-guided summer fun—splashing in the creek, coming up with our own lemonade stands, and hitting up the movie theatre—and occasional family vacations, from road trips to theme park visits to after-dinner scoops of ice cream as the summer sun set. (Pause here to call your siblings, parents, friends, or children to reminisce together.)
A recent survey from Advance Funds Network polled several thousand Americans over the age of 45 to find out just which places carry the most nostalgia for them. From here, they determined winners for every Southern state. (You can find the full list of winners, including Canada, here.)
Most of these nostalgic destinations are theme parks and family fun attractions, coupled with treats tied to traditions. Perhaps your favorite fruit stand wasn’t in and of itself a tourist attraction, but if you visited McCloud Farms in McBee, South Carolina, every year for fresh peaches on the way to the coast, like my husband did, that’s nearly a legacy. Almost a quarter of participants said that long-running summer businesses matter because “they preserve local character,” the survey says. Another 17% of respondents shared that these businesses “give families something to return to.”
As we go through this list highlighting simpler times around the South, I encourage you to savor those memories—and perhaps consider making a few more this year. After all, each storied spot is, remarkably, still in business. Let’s keep it that way.
- Alabama: The Track Family Fun Park in Gulf Shores
- Arkansas: McClard’s Bar-B-Q in Hot Springs
- Delaware: Fisher’s Popcorn in Rehoboth Beach
- Florida: Gatorland in Orlando
- Georgia: The Varsity in Atlanta
- Kentucky: Homemade Ice Cream & Pie Kitchen in Louisville
- Louisiana: Carousel Gardens Amusement Park in New Orleans
- Maryland: Thrasher’s French Fries in Ocean City
- Mississippi: Ship Island Excursions in Gulfport
- Missouri: Silver Dollar City in Branson
- North Carolina: Britt’s Donut Shop in Carolina Beach
- Oklahoma: Coney Island Hot Wieners in Tulsa
- South Carolina: Family Kingdom Amusement Park in Myrtle Beach
- Tennessee: Dollywood in Pigeon Forge
- Texas: Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels
- Virginia: Kings Dominion in Doswell
- West Virginia: Camden Park in Huntington
How many of these Southern destinations have you visited? Perhaps you’ve sipped on a Frosted Orange from The Varsity, ridden on the one of the nation’s oldest operating wooden carousels at Carousel Gardens, or sat in on the Wings of America Birds of Prey show at Dollywood. Maybe you grabbed fries at Thrasher’s after a beach day in Ocean City, beat the Texas heat on water rides at Schlitterbahn, or took home Fisher’s Popcorn as a souvenir from your trip to Delaware. The majority of these picks go back to days spent with friends and family, forever tying nostalgia to shared memories together.
There’s still time to make the most of your Southern summer, with old-fashioned traditions to help you—and perhaps a few other neighborhood hooligans from back in the day—feel like a kid again.
Read the original article on Southern Living
