Last week, I went on a micro-trip.

I love traveling - airports and planes, road trips and long distance hauls across the country…it’s all something I love doing and experiencing.

But last week, I stayed a little closer to home during my adventures.

I took off work on a Thursday to travel up into Georgia and see some of the little shops throughout Bainbridge, Dothan, and Enterprise, Alabama.

I consider myself a "Coffee Tourist" - meaning I travel primarily by jumping from coffee shop to coffee shop...so of course my micro-trek started with The Bean up in Bainbridge, Georgia.

I love small town coffee shops, and The Bean is near the top of my 'favorites' list (it has an amazing breakfast sandwich, especially considering I am not a breakfast food or sandwhich person).

From The Bean, I ventured a little further north, stopping into the outskirts of Colquitt, Georgia for the Peace Valley Market and Bakery.

The little roadside market  is easily missed, but an undeniable must-visit.

The shop smells like warm, fresh bread and is endearingly family operated.

I bought some delicious Jalapeno Cheddar sourdough there.

From Colquitt, I took a hard west turn and went to Dothan.

Despite spending several of my growing-up years only a hop and a skip from Dothan, I'd actually never been to Downtown Dothan.

There I found another coffee shop (Bird & Bean had one of the best iced lattes I've ever had), and walked downtown for a bit.

My Dothan trip was not complete without a stop at Red House Books (a deceptively expansive bookstore that makes you feel a bit like Jennifer Connelly's Sarah in Labyrinth, with all its mazes of shelves and dead-end corners).

The trip came to an end in Enterprise, where my traveling companion and I had dinner at a charming little hole-in-the-wall Korean restaurant (you know what  the Tallahassee scene is really missing? A Korean restaurant).

Through it all, the trip was a nice little day trip that had no real itinerary, no goal, and no deadline.

I've always been a vocal supporter of the "Explore Local" movement, and this micro-trip concreted that mindset for me.

I didn't have to go to any big city to have amazing Bulgogi, and I didn't have to go to a different goblin dimension to get lost in a maze (I really did get lost in that bookstore. Twice).

So next time you start feeling a little restless, like a vacation is calling you, or you need to just do some urban exploring...I suggest exploring closer to home, first.

Find a town nearby that you haven't properly ventured through, wear comfortable shoes, and walk through it's downtown while browsing shops and meeting locals.

Just make sure you stop at every single coffee shop you see along the way.