Tombstone’s true bonanza is antiquing! Shops come and go, but Steve Elliott seems to be a fixture. His antique shop has somehow morphed into the Tombstone Heritage Museum. Steve specializes in antique clocks. Somehow, year in and year out, he manages to produce something my mother does not have in her collection.
Forget Sierra Vista for unique shopping unless you need to make an emergency trip to Target (pronounced tar-jay, please). There’s a mediocre Dillards that does have Clinique if you have an urgent need, and a Hastings if you run out of things to read. I must admit, though, one of the best Chili's I’ve ever dined in is there on the corner of the same strip as Target.
I saved the best for last. Bisbee is unique. It is an old mining town situated on the side of a mountain. Bring your camera. Send the family on the copper mine tour while you shop. And, you will shop until you drop.
Antiques -- be still my beating heart! It is possible to spend an entire afternoon just doing the antique stores on Main Street. Trust me, been there and done that! Just meander up Main Street until you find a place to park. If you are coming into town, you go by the Copper Queen Hotel and go to the left.
All you need to do is walk up and down Main. I recommend the weekend. There will be a little bazaar up on Main where small vendors, who usually aren’t open, set up their little stalls.
Don’t miss the Old Bisbee Roasters. They specialize in coffee from boutique plantations throughout the world. Aside from the coffee my sister will soon be selling in her new café, it is some of the finest coffee you will ever consume. Do not confuse it with the Bisbee Coffee Company. The two can’t compare. Seth, who owns the Old Bisbee Roasters, also makes lethal chocolate truffles. (Would I lead you astray?)
There are two very nice antique stores as you start walking up Main. One specializes in clocks, the other glassware. Keep going. Don’t miss the Killer Bee Honey Shop. It may be a tiny shop, but they stock some of the best mustard you will ever put in your mouth.
When I had my gift shop I specialized in mustards. This is the best I’ve ever tasted. They put various flavors of killer bee honey into whole mustard. The flavor explodes in your mouth. Traveling? Bring a bag of pretzels with you. Get a jar of honey and a jar of mustard and you have your midnight snack. The honey is sweet (please forgive the pun) and it is excellent, but it cannot compare to the magnificent mustard.
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