Goolrick's

A person I was working with recently called Fredericksburg "the most historical city in the United States."  While some other people would disagree with him, there is plenty of support for his opinion.  The history here goes back to some of the earliest colonial settlements, it was the home to some key revolutionary figures (including George Washington), and was fought over in the Civil War.  You cannot walk or drive in Fredericksburg without going past a historical marker. 

There are also some places that remind me of more recent historical times, like Goolrick's Pharmacy. 

The sign outside looks like it dates to the 1950's, and the inside looks like it hasn't changed much since then, either. 

Until I'd been inside Goolrick's I thought it would be a tourist stop, a place to get something to drink and some souveniers, but I was mistaken.  The building is narrow and long, with a real pharmacy in the back and a lunch counter in the front.  In between are a few aisles of typical over-the-counter items you would expect to find at a pharmacy (antacids, pain relievers, bandaids, and cough medicine). 

The lunch counter has a traditional lunch-time menu, with simple sandwiches like BLT, egg salad and chicken salad on regular sliced bread. 

What drew me in was their malts.  What could be more fun that getting a malt at a place like this?  All the food prep is done behind the lunch counter, so we could watch as ice cream was scooped into the metal cup, milk and malted were added, and it was all mixed with a traditional malt/shake mixer.  The girls weren't sure that they would like a malt, but very quickly decided they were fans.