So I grew up in a tiny town where I had to drive an hour to find the closest nerd of my ilk. That was a small hobby shop, and I only saw about ten regular people there, no one else. So imagine my surprise when, given a little freedom in California, I found myself outside of a hobby shop that mine could've fit in six times over. I think it was called Evil Lair Comics and Games, and thats where I bought my first Imperial Knight.
Now, the shop was full of comics, which I'm a passable fan at, can't seem to find the ones I want on the regular, but that's not what I was blown away by. What I was blown away by was about eight tables set up just for tabletop games, covered in terrain they were, and not any shoddy bits either, it looked like I'd stumbled upon miniature ecosystems. There was a big ol' shelf full of even more terrain, buildings, rivers, ruins, craters, and even trees.
There was your typical nerd painting some Sons of Malice at a painting table set aside, who I got some nice tips from, and your average slightly scruffy, acne scarred fellows playing magic. That wasn't what surprised me, what surprised me was the gorgeous gal playing with them, who looked like some sorta ethereal forest spirit. That could because I hadn't seen a woman in three months, but I like to think that that wasn't the reason.
I wandered about the store a little more, before leaving, still blown away by the fact that a city could be this big, and that hobby shops could be that big. What, I'm a country bumpkin, cut me some slack!