When you go on vacation, people often want to bring home something from the trip.

T-shirt? magnet? ashtray? shot glass?

Well, everywhere where I go I get one thing. A stick pin.

My obsession first started after my grandfather died and I was going through his things.  I found his marine corps hat with stick pins attached. Each of these little pins brought back a memory for me and I started to smile.

This Kansas pin was on his hat and it one of my oldest pins on my collection.  I lived in Olathe,Kansas until I was about 5 years old.  I have fond memories. When I showed my grandmother the pin, she did not have the same memory of that pin that I did. She told me that is where my grandfather was born and he got it when he returned in 1980.  Huh…I had no idea.  I realized all the importance of the pins and took them all off his hat.

Then it began.
Everywhere I went, no matter the event, I found a pin.  I have some from restaurants, Broadway shows, states, hotels, or even sporting events. My goal was to get pins from places that I actually visited, but friends and family now know my obsession and get pins for me from places they have been.  My most prized pin is when a friend went to Africa. Yes, I have a pin from Africa!

I display the pins proudly in the guest bedroom and it is ALWAYS a topic of conversation.

Recently, I have also taken up a collection of Starbucks mugs (due to me recent obsession with coffee) Did not realize that there is a Starbucks everywhere! They are easy and quick to get because they are usually in airports.  I have about 4 so far and they are also fun to collect.

Collecting things is fun and it gives you a small memory of all the things you have done.  My kids love to just point to a pin and I know the story of when and where I got that pin.  It is always amazing to me HOW I remember .

What do you collect on vacation?