#3 The Civic Council

I generally love thrift stores and South Dakota has plenty of good ones (the Re-Uzit Shop in Custer is a particular favorite), but Vermillion's own Civic Council is definitely one of the best. "The Civ" as it's often called, avoids the common trap of either having too much cheap junk or being ridiculously overpriced (hey Everyday People in Minneapolis -- for your prices, I can get new pants from Target that don't smell like hipsters). The inventory changes often and is pretty high quality. At this point, Civic Council purchases make up at least 50% of my wardrobe.

Today the Civ was having one of their frequent half price sales and we bought Stocks and Bonds, a 1964 game manufactured by 3M. It's pretty fun, but seems a little crazy about nuclear power. We thought about picking up crazy fitness guru Tony Little's Gazelle machine for $5, but decided to do more research about it first. There's also a bed pan for sale. I'm really curious about who donated that.

#2 Vermillion Area Farmers Market

God must love the Vermillion Area Farmers Market. It's been cold and dreary and raining all day, yet yesterday afternoon at the market it was warm and sunny and beautiful. There was a great turnout of both vendors and shoppers for everything from grassfed meat to eggs to veggies to homemade desserts. It's been exciting to see the market grow over the past few years and I'm certain it's only going to get bigger. Also getting bigger: me if I don't put down the delicious pickles I bought there yesterday.

Check out the Vermillion Area Farmers Market every Thursday from 3-7 p.m., late May until October at the 4-H grounds on the corner of Cherry & High Streets.

#1 Kuchen at HyVee

To kick off what promises to be a very long list of Vermillion awesomeness, I thought I'd start with something I saw when I was grocery shopping last night: HyVee is carrying handmade kuchen from Scotland, SD.

Kuchen, South Dakota's state desert, is a sort of crusty custard-y yummy desert that's made all over the state, but seems to be tied most closely with the Eureka area.

I believe they're also carrying kolaches, which can also be delicious, despite their lack of state-level recognition.