February 17, 2026 by Amy

Hail, Caledonia!

Or, the day I found a charming hamlet in which to play with my new camera.

I had a random day off with no obligations, a rarity. I made breakfast plans with my bestie since seventh grade, the first person who consistently told me, “Do you know how fucking stupid you sound?” with so much love and compassion that I instantly accepted the assessment and reevaluated my life. Every time. At breakfast, I mentioned my plans to drive 90 minutes to a little town I found online to test out my new camera. I also mentioned that she was welcome to join me and, to my delight, she agreed. Off we went, after I gassed up at Costco and she did a family member a solid and returned an enormous bible to Amazon via Whole Foods. That’s how we roll.

We had an absolute blast. Well, I did. I’m not sure what she got out of it but I’m awfully glad she went. In Caledonia, which is Latin for Scotland, we found the Old Village Mercantile, which is a feast for the senses. Not only is it chock-full of wonderful photo-worthy vignettes, it smells divine. They roast their own coffee beans in all sorts of yummy flavors. Eli was behind the huge coffee bar and pulled lids off of giant glass canisters so we could smell all the flavors. After tasting the Highlander Grog, I bought some. And some Caramel Pecan Roll. I’m obsessed and cannot wait to get back to buy more. M loves it, too. This will be a perfect Corvette drive when the weather warms up.

My new favorite thing is to find a small town I’ve never visited and go exploring. I’ve only done this once, in Missouri’s Scotland, but I’m looking forward to my next random day off with no obligations. Whenever that may be. In the meantime, here are some images captured from my visit to Caledonia.

#friends#photography