What makes small American towns so endearing? I guess there are several factors. Perhaps it's the makeup of the town itself. There are usually more independently owned restaurants, shops, and stores than you typically find in the suburbs, and the town also actually has a downtown and not just a strip mall running the length of the main drag thus lending each town its own flavor or atmosphere. Small towns are also "small" for a reason: not that many people live there, so the lot sizes are larger and often full of wonderfully mature grown trees which provide much needed shade during the hot summer months. Most of all, though, I think it's the unique architecture of the individual houses that bestows such a charming feel to small towns. Compared to the boring cookie-cutter homes so often found in suburban neighborhoods, small town homes are really so much more enjoyable to feast one's eyes on - and photograph.
Come take a look at these charming gems I found along the streets of some of the towns we visited on our road trip around Michigan. I'd take any one of them! Although I suppose I might change my mind once I had to start maintaining the house and yard...
Do you see a favorite? They certainly don't build houses like these in California anymore; I guess there's a reason for that! So, in the meantime I'll just dream about living in a cute little house on a tree-lined street in a small American town. Coming up next: the shorelines of the Great Lakes.
